Dissonance
by Kuugen the Fox
Summary: It is entirely possible to have "too much good". After destroying all the emmissaries of the darkness, the elemental equilibrium has been greatly disturbed. In a final attempt to resolve this dire problem, the powers-that-be have transported all of the Cures to a far-off place. However, the Cures are no longer who they used to be. Years have passed and time has changed them...
1. Entry

**Dissonance**

_Event I_

**Entry**

Some say that light can only exist because of darkness. That the day can only be appreciated because of the night. That the rest in the shadows is only pleasant because of long walks in the hot sunlight.

All those things are true. And it is also true that those things were gradually disappearing. The Universe was changing. The balance of light and darkness was completely destroyed. Good, justice, heroes, saviors: those people were responsible. Blind in their quest for the triumph of good, they ignored the delicate balance of light and darkness and destroyed even the tiniest and most trivial evil in their path.

But the world, even the Universe, cannot exist if light dominates all. Without a night, one will never truly rest. Without shadows, all walks become endless marches through the sun. Without evil, where is truly the difference between people? If all are good, then being good itself loses all meaning.

Beyond the disputes of there being a god or not, none could deny that there were forces of nature, basic laws governing the Universe itself: gravity, time, space, light and darkness, and one of those had been diminished beyond what should be. Even the force of light had become cautious, wary of what would happen if darkness was to vanish completely.

Not all darkness equated to evil. Not all evil equated to darkness. But most evil prefers the guard of darkness and as such, the situation at hand arrived.

Unwilling to let the Universe come to ruin, a decision was made. One so grave and yet so trivial, that none but the most wise would understand. To interfere; it was unthinkable. Forces of nature existed to govern what was and ensure that it would not change. To make sure that birds did not fly backwards, that day and night were a cycle, and that time continued to pass

Those forces decided to interfere before the damage became irreversible.

=== Dissonance ===

Nagisa hit the ground hard, confused and with a slip of panic on her mind. One second she was walking back home from working out at the gym, the next second she found herself face down on hard stone ground. It was cold. The temperature and humidity were completely different from the street she had been walking down moments ago.

Was it the ploy of some new evil enemy? There had been silence for over half a decade since the big battle against Valdez. Nagisa had never stopped training, never stopped thinking about being a Cure, a warrior of justice. Nor had Honoka or Hikari.

Getting up, Nagisa found herself to be in a minimally decorated room. A plain bed was the only piece of furniture present, not counting the equally plain door. The ground and walls were all of the same material: unadorned plain stone. The ground was cold; Nagisa had been made sure of that quite intently.

Not sure what to do, the only thing **to** do was to go outside and see what was happening. She regretted leaving Mepple behind now. But without Honoka, it would be impossible to transform anyway. Thinking about it, Nagisa suddenly felt a little insecure about being in a completely alien area with no way to defend herself against possible enemies.

Opening the door, a hallway greeted her, empty and every bit as plain as the room she had just vacated. There were more doors to her left and right, and at the very end of the hallway the way parted. Nagisa thought for a second about where she could be, and finished this contemplation none the wiser.

Nagisa looked for something she could use to defend herself, but there was simply nothing. The place was completely barren. At least for now, there was no sign of any hostile entities anyway, so Nagisa proceeded to investigate her surroundings.

She quickly stopped when a loud noise came from beyond the door that led to the room east of hers. Sneaking up to the door, not wanting to make any noise, Nagisa pressed her ear against the wall but could hear nothing. She was sure she'd heard something, but couldn't quite rule out the possibility that she was imagining things.

Another sound: it was the voice of a girl. A voice Nagisa had heard somewhere before. Ready to jump and fight with just teeth and fists, Nagisa pulled open the door and stepped through. What she found was far beyond her expectations.

"You're..." Before her stood a well dressed woman with long purple hair, blue eyes, and a face Nagisa did indeed remember. The woman was at least a meter and three quarters tall, which was enormous for a Japanese woman. Nagisa hadn't seen her in years.

"Aono Miki. I remember you. Your name was... Nagisa. Misumi Nagisa. That's right, isn't it?" The girl had really grown. She was only a little smaller than her but looked still very athletic. While she had grown her hair out, it was bound in a ponytail on the back, giving her the same appearance from the front she had all those years ago.

"Not to be rude, but where are we? I was just ready to start giving a lesson when I found myself on the ground all of a sudden." Miki occasionally agreed to give a dancing lesson at a friend's shop.

"I'd like to know the same thing. I was walking back from the gym when I landed here out of the blue. It's unbelievable how these things keep happening to me." Nagisa frowned for a few seconds. "We should check the other doors. I don't want to really believe it but..."

"Yeah. There might be more of us here. Is your partner with you?" Miki didn't want to be rude and show up that she did remember the names of Nagisa's partners: Yukishiro Honoka and Kujo Hikari.

"You mean Honoka? No. I landed here alone. Are the other three not with you?" Nagisa knew about Miki as well, but had trouble remembering their names. She didn't mention it, but she would've never remembered Miki's name on her own.

"I haven't seen Love and Setsuna in weeks. They're off somewhere on an adventure. I really have to call it that. I can't believe they just decided to go on a trip without any money. And Inori is so busy these days, I'm lucky if I see her twice a week for dinner." Miki rarely had anyone to talk to about these things so it flowed out all on its own.

Nagisa opened the next door and found someone actually sleeping on the cold ground. She knew the girl; it was impossible to forget that face and hair. It was even longer than before and every bit as willful*Don't even know what you're trying to say here* too. "Marine." Nagisa only knew her Cure name but didn't want to admit it in front of someone that was not Honoka or Hikari.

"Erika Kurumi. I can't believe she hasn't woken up." Miki knelt down next to the girl with the ever so dark blue hair and poked her cheek.

"Tsubomi... stand still... I can't take... measures..." Erika was talking in her sleep, earning a suppressed laugh from both of the two looking at her. "Itsuki... have your boobs grown again...? I need to redo the measurements..."

"I wonder if we're supposed to be h earing this." Miki had turned around, trying to hide her wide smile over the girl's sleep talk. She had often heard Love talk in her sleep when they went camping together but that Erika girl was on a whole different level.

Nagisa knelt down and shook the girl a little. Erika awoke and sat up so suddenly that her head collided with Nagisa's sending both back to the ground. "That hurt! What is... who are you? Where am I? What year is it? Who's the president!?" Erika looked around, quite stunned to not find herself passed out in her room, re-doing the final measurements for Itsuki's dress for the eighth time.

"We don't know... and you know us. At least, we know you. We met a few years ago. Don't you remember? Cure Black? Cure Berry? Ring any bells?" Nagisa rubbed her forehead with her hand and stood up, looking down at Erika.

"Sorry, nothing." Erika was not exactly known to have exact or photographic memory and her life had been pretty hectic the last couple of months. She knew there were other Cures, and that she had met some, but she didn't remember their faces or names. "I'm really sorry. I know I should remember but I've been really busy, and I'm just not getting any breaks. Damn you Itsuki, you and your growing boobs." Erika cursed thin air and clenched her fist.

"We're both not sure where we are. You're Kurumi Erika, aren't you? Cure Marine. You partner with Cure Blossom, Hanasaki Tsubomi. That Itsuki you mentioned in your sleep is Myoudouin Itsuki, right?" Miki remembered them because she had seen some of Erika's clothes in an article in a fashion magazine.

"You've got some good memory there, amazing! You know all their names just like that." Erika got up and saw that she was stuck between two giants. Nagisa was at least a hundred and sixty eight centimeters tall, and Miki was even taller than that. She felt a little tiny at eight centimeters shorter than the redhead. At least in the breast department was she not lagging behind. Nagisa was the athletic type. Erika the busty type. They were both around a C cup. Miki was hard to guess and Erika stared a little too intently trying to figure it out.

"D. Your manners could use some work, Kurumi." Miki was a little put off by the girl's behavior but it was nothing special to Nagisa. She was in a relationship with Honoka, so one girl staring at another girl's breasts was commonplace for her.

"I'm sorry, I can't get my curiosity to back down sometimes." Scratching the back of her head, Erika smiled wide and displayed part of her unique charm. It was hard to be really upset with her.

"There must be others. Let's split up and look for them." Miki suggested the most efficient way to find out who else had been brought to the place. "I'll take the doors the floor up from your room, Misumi."

"Nagisa is fine. We all fought together; it's okay to use my first name. To be honest, it feels weird if you call me by my last name. It's like we're not even friends." Nagisa was often bothered if people acted too distant towards her.

"Erika is fine. I don't like using last names." Erika joined with Nagisa. "We will check the doors the floor down then."

"If that's so, you can call me Miki." Having learned that being polite could go a long way to get what one wanted, it was sometimes almost a burden to act that way.

"Before I forget. Can either of you transform?" Miki didn't feel very safe leaving the other two women alone unless at least one of them could defend themselves. She always kept her device with her, regardless of where she went.

Erika pulled her own device from her pocket, showing it to Miki. "What about you Nagisa?" Erika completely forgot about the little issue of not having Coffret with her.

"At the very least I'd need Honoka and even then... I didn't bring Mepple with me." Nagisa was far more restricted than Miki.

"Don't worry, I'll take care of her!" Erika showed Miki a thumbs up and laughed, much to embarrassment of Nagisa. She was the senior one; that should be her job.

"We'll meet back here later. If you find anyone else, stick with them. We don't know what could be lurking in this place." Miki gave a few instructions, acting as a temporary leader of the three.

"Wow. She's really responsible. Was she the leader of her group?" Erika's memory was still asleep.

"No, I think Cure Peach was. The girl called Love. What about your group?"

"Hm, that's a good question actually. I think it'd either be Tsubomi or Yuri. Eh, Blossom or Moonlight." Erika added their Cure names when seeing Nagisa's expression. Both of them weren't any good with remembering names.

"Shall we go?" Erika took the lead and Nagisa followed closely, feeling very awkward being the only one of the three that couldn't transform.

Looking over her shoulder, Miki was gone, most certainly having vanished into one of the many rooms. Erika casually pulled open the next door down their part of the hallway and hit the jackpot right away.

A green-haired woman in a long flowing black dress was sitting on the floor of the room. The woman was really beautiful; Nagisa had to admit it, even if she was completely not her type. Her hair appeared relatively short because most of it was bound in a very long ponytail on her back. It was twice the length of Nagisa's. The woman also had wonderful curves. Nagisa was jealous. Erika had to be too, judging by the way she was staring at her. While she was not as tall as Nagisa, only a few centimeters separated the two in height.

"You two are?"

"Kurumi Erika." Erika answered and couldn't keep herself from staring, making the woman uncomfortable.

"I'm Misumi Nagisa. Or if you want our Cure names, she's Marine and I'm Black." Nagisa found it always easier to remember those compared to long Japanese names.

"Akimoto Komachi. Cure Mint." Komachi introduced herself. "Where are we? I was just giving an interview and suddenly..."

"We don't know either. Cure Berry is also here and looking for any others. Can you stand?" Nagisa felt an instinctive desire to help and protect the woman. It was just... she was beautiful and felt kinda weak. Holding out her hand to Komachi, Nagisa wanted to help her up.

"I'm fine, thank you." Komachi accepted the help graciously and got up, putting some dust off her dress that looked pretty much ruined. There were multiple rips and tears in it. A matter of time before the dress would fall apart or become very revealing. "This won't do..." Komachi pulled out her device from between her voluptuous breasts, transforming on the spot.

"You can just call me Mint or Komachi. I understand you're looking for more of us in this place? Should we go? Kurumi seems to have taken off already."

They could hear Erika's voice from the room next to them. "Mint, I found a friend of yours!" Her voice was so loud that Nagisa felt a little amused. She must really had a lot of energy, or she was simply fearless.

Erika had tried to transform and finally noticed the lack of Coffret. To her own surprise, the transformation worked nevertheless. She was trying to defuse the situation at hand by showing off that she was a Cure as well. She was facing a red-haired woman, a very athletic type similar to Nagisa but with apparently a lot more temperament and much shorter patience. Wearing gym clothes, just like Nagisa, Erika had tried to be a little too friendly.

"Mint‽ You're here too? Hey you, Marine. Explain to me what's going on! Where are we? And what are we doing here? Who is that?" Rouge was not one to be very patient when it came to situations where she was potentially in danger. The phrase "hot-headed" applied to her in mor ways than one.

"Calm down Rouge. That's Cure Black. As for why we're here or how we got to be here, your guess is as good as ours." Mint answered for Marine. Nagisa excused herself with an awkward smile, leaving the three to argue. She set about checking on the next door.

The room was empty, and so was the next one. Nagisa was about to give up and assume that there was nobody else down that way when the last door swung open and a whole group of people came out, lead on by her own partner. Nagisa's heart jumped. She hadn't felt that happy to see Honoka in a long time.

"Honoka!" Nagisa shouted, instantaneously getting the attention of the group at the lower western end of the hallway. They were a group of four but Nagisa recognized none of them. A woman with long blonde hair, wearing it down. She looked pretty roughed up and wore a thick white coat and a Russian-looking cap completed by two high, black boots. Minus the hat, she was maybe about as tall as Mint.

The other two were quite a bit smaller. A young-looking woman with wild, slightly curly hair that barely fell to her shoulders. She was wearing something resembling a lab coat, sneakers, shorts and t-shirt; her outfit unremarkable apart from the white coat. She was over a head shorter than Nagisa, even smaller than Komachi, at best marginally taller than Marine.

The last of the group seemed to be still a minor. Her hair was a kind of bright brown. Even though quite a bit of was confined into a ponytail, she had hair almost as long as Marine, if much more well kept. None of them were transformed.

"Nagisa‽ You're here too!" Nagisa watched her partner run towards her, with the other three following her. At the same time, the three women that had been with Nagisa had finally finished arguing and came out of the room Rouge had been in.

Honoka was still wearing her lab coat, working in a private research institute in Tokyo. A black skirt and black shirt were barely visible beneath the lab coat. Her legs mostly free, Honoka wore a pair of simple black pumps that Nagisa had gifted her last Christmas. Standing next to each other, only few could tell that Honoka was actually three centimeters taller than Nagisa because she wore her hair down, distracting from her height.

"It seems you found others too. There are at least eight of us here; that's a lot. I wonder if something sinister is plotting against us. If they wanted to hurt us, it's not very smart to put us all together." Honoka's analytical thinking was great. It was what got her into the job at the research institute.

"I see you have Mint, Rouge and Marine with you. This is Love, Kanade and Inori." Honoka introduced the three women behind herself. They all remembered each other, so they were already pretty friendly.

"Miki will be happy that you two are here too." Nagisa looked at Love and Inori who didn't seem very surprised that Miki had already met someone else.

Speaking of the devil, Miki returned as Berry together with three others. That brought their total number to twelve Cures. That many assembling in one place was a rare occurrence.

"We checked every door. There was exactly one of us for every room. That can't be a coincidence." Honoka concluded while Love and Inori transformed and greeted Berry. Peach hadn't seen either of them in a while but she was worried about Passion.

The three with Berry were all women Nagisa didn't recognize. One of them had pink hair divided up into long twin-tails. She was about as tall as the girl called Kanade and wore a waitress uniform that looked a lot like it was straight out of some kind of late night anime. She seemed oddly comfortable wearing it in public.

The tallest of the four was without a doubt the blue-haired beauty. If Mint was beautiful, then so was that woman. Deep, almost black, blue hair that shone even in the dimly lit corridor. She was a few centimeters taller than Miki and had very nice, smooth looking, long legs ending in a pair of high heels. The beauty wore a simple black dress that had difficulty concealing her curves. Not anywhere as busty as Mint, Nagisa guessed her though at least a C cup.

The last of the four was rather eccentric looking. Long blonde hair split into four tails, each of them the exact same length. She was only about as tall as Marine, which was very short compared to the blue haired woman next to her. Her outfit was every bit as eccentric as her hairstyle. What could only be termed a flashy costume, her attire was obviously intended to be worn on some kind of stage.

"This is Kasugano Urara on the right, Yumehara Nozomi in the middle and Minazuki Karen to the left." Berry was getting a little tired of the polite business and dispensed with the formal introduction process.

They belonged to the group same group as Mint and Rouge. Soon, it was only Nagisa, Honoka and Kanade who had not transformed yet.

After the initial happiness of getting back together, the Cures became worried. There was still no explanation as to where they were and how they came to be there. "I will go and check. Lemonade, help me out." Rouge was by far the fastest of the group, terms of both the speed at which she moved and that with which she lost her temper.

"I'll go with her." Marine offered herself, unable to just sit around while there was no sign of Tsubomi, Itsuki or Yuri. She was not very strong but made up for this with speed, which she believed was all that was important.

Lemonade created a single golden chain from her hand which extended seemingly without limit, piling up on the ground. "How many meters do you need Rouge?"

"Just keep it going. Marine, you ready?" Rouge waited for a nod from the blue haired Cure and as if someone had given them a starting signal, they sprinted away.

The rest of the group was more level-headed, if only because Aqua, Berry and Honoka had them under control. "Nagisa, give me your hand. We should just try to force a transformation." Honoka was amazed by the material from which the place was constructed. She couldn't say without closer examination, but it didn't resemble anything known to modern Science. She had a hunch that they were no longer on Earth.

"Dual Aurora Wave!" Nagisa was not one to refuse something Honoka asked her to do. It was always more trouble than it was worth as Honoka always won their arguments.

To their surprise, the transformation went through fine. They stood there, as Cure Black and Cure White, amazed at themselves. "I had a hunch we were no longer on Earth. This confirms it. Under normal circumstances we wouldn't be able to transform without Mepple and Mipple"

The clattering sound of Lemonade's chain was becoming constant background noise. Kanade looked at her device. Without fairy tones, she should not be able to transform either, but judging by the conversation of Black and White it was worth a try.

"Let's play! Precure Modulation!" Kanade found that even her transformation worked fine. White had lifted her transformation already and seemed to be thinking about something on her own.

"Aqua, what do you think?" Honoka was trying to establish a few basic facts about the place they were in. For now, there were no enemies at all, not even sign of any life, hostile or not.

"Based on the fact that you three could transform without the proper triggers being present..." Aqua returned to Karen and thought about it for a few seconds. Without a word, Karen stepped back and Honoka watched her transform into Aqua without a word or motion. "As I thought. This space, whose location I hypothesise to be extraterrestrial, ignores the rules of our transformation. It seems to be entirely based on willpower."

"But why would we be brought to a place like this?" Honoka changed back to White and started thinking about it. In the end, it was Rhythm who came up with an idea first.

"Whoever brought us here is not after us. They're not hostile. They had the power to bring so many of us to this place all at the same time. There must be some purpose to us being here. What worries me is where the others are. We are twelve. I am missing three of my group: Melody, Beat, and Muse. Who else is missing?"

"One of us: Cure Passion." Peach was the first to respond.

"Milky Rose is missing as well." Aqua answered. Nagisa could see that Mint was shooting a weird glare at Aqua when she mentioned that name.

"If I remember correctly, Marine's team was composed of four. That makes three missing ones from there as well." White added. "If we assume all the Cures are here, then Saki and Mai would likely be here too." For the sake of easier understanding, White added their Cure names. "Cure Bloom and Cure Egret. Friends of Nagisa and me."

"Marine's team is composed of Blossom, Marine, Sunshine, and Moonlight. I remember meeting Tsukikage Yuri when I worked with Kurumi Momoka." Berry added.

"Shiny Luminous is also missing. She's part of our group." Black knew that White had not forgotten about her, but sometimes the scientist was a little caught up in her complicated thinking.

"That brings us to eleven missing, almost as many as we are." Aqua brought the number to a total.

"What about those two that were with Bloom and Egret?" Berry had an excellent memory and proved that once again. Even White had forgotten about them.

"Bright and Windy, if I remember rightly." White had only met them once before. Saki and Mai apparently did quite a bit of stuff together with them, but they never really came along when those two visited her and Black.

"That's thirteen Cures missing. I didn't realize there were twenty-five of us." Aqua thought about it. "Maybe there is a specific reason we were split up like this."

"If they wanted to separate us, they would have split us up more. Not just into two parties. There is also only one out of your team missing, while five are here. It makes no sense to do this." Rhythm had a feeling that wasn't the reason they were split.

"For now we don't know if the others are even together." Berry interjected. It was bad to throw assumptions around in a situation like that. "Rouge and Marine have been gone for a while. They should have found something."

"I'll ask them." Aqua went back to her group, who had mostly sat down on the ground, Lemonade still extending the single chain from her hand. It was being used up at amazing speed, as expected of Rouge.

"Are they still going?" Aqua seemed perplexed. "Just how big is this place? Are you sure they will find the way back?"

"Don't mock my chain, Aqua. Rouge and I have done this before." Lemonade had changed quite a bit from when they had fought Nightmare and Eternal. "We'll just have to wait."

Going back to what the other Cures would later call the Leader Summit, Aqua told White, Berry and Rhythm the news. "We will have to wait. There really is nothing to do but wait." Aqua looked around and found that it was a bad idea for people to just wander off.

"We should tell everyone to stay here for the time being. Each of us has a room in case that they want to sleep." White, as the oldest present Cure, took over leadership over the group. There were no objections from either of the three. White had the most experience of all of them and was really smart on top of it.

And so they waited.

=== Dissonance ===

Peach, Pine, and Berry had retreated into Peach's room. They were both curious as to what Peach and Passion had been up to together.

"It was about time you two got that out of the way. I've been thinking that you two looked nice together since years ago." Berry sat on her bed, next to Peach, while Pine sat on the ground, listening.

"Really? I mean, maybe I always had a little thing for her. I'm shocked you're **not** shocked. Isn't it pretty bad to like another woman?"

"If I cared about everything people say about me, I'd not have time to do anything else, Peach. I don't really think it matters one way or the other. If I met the right person, I don't think I'd care about gender. You and Setsuna always had this mood when you were together."

"Berry's right, you know. I thought the same thing. I mean, if not for you, she would've been Eas for all her life. Honestly, I... uh... sorta thought you were secretly dating and doing it under our noses. Seems I was wrong. That it took you this long to get together surprises me much more than the fact that you did get together." Pine cracked an awfully forced smile and earned a few seconds of Peach letting her head hang down.

"What about your love life Miki?" Peach turned the conversation around. She was also very inconsistent about using their real names and their Cure names.

"I wish we could skip that topic. I'm so busy with my two jobs that I have barely any free time."

"I'm always asking you this Miki but why do you work two jobs? You make a fortune just as a dancing instructor! People book your studio months in advance. And you model, too. For what do you need all that money?" With Peach using their real names and them just being among their own group, Pine also switched to real names.

"I don't know, really. It's just that I really want to succeed at both of those things. I don't want to give up either even if I could easily live from just one of those jobs."

"You're the complete opposite of Love." Inori laughed, earning a pout from Love.

"What about you Bukki? You've surely met the odd nice guy at the clinic, haven't you?"

Inori worked full-time in a pet clinic as vet, and she was really good at her job, which meant a lot of patients.

"I never really think about it. I went out to dinner with a few guys and even two women but neither clicked with me. I just haven't met the right person. Sometimes I wish we were still fourteen and could enjoy school together. I feel a bit lonely. You and Setsuna are overseas, Miki is working so much that I barely get to see her. I hate to admit it, but I miss the times when we were fighting Labyrinth. At least we were all together then." Averting her eyes and lowering her head, Love and Miki saw Inori's face form a rare and very sad expression.

Pine was surprised when Love hugged her all of a sudden. "I didn't know you were this lonely. I didn't really think about it and just went away with Setsuna. I'm sorry."

"It's fine. I know you didn't mean to hurt anyone, Love. We all like you just how you are. That will never change. But we're all grown up now. Look at us. Miki is going to be nineteen next month, I will be in half a year. Miki already has her own dance studio and works as model. I work as a veterinarian. People change. We're still Cures, but we're not the same people anymore."

"You're so exaggerating Bukki. You're just like you used to be. A bit moody right now, but still the same nice girl." Love patted Pine's head and grinned.

"Nothing is ever gonna change Love, I guess." Miki smiled wide.

Letting go of Inori, Love sat back on the bed. "Anyone among the others that catch your fancy? I think Mint is really... sexy." Love made a meaningful pause and demonstrated just what she meant, forming large circles in front of her chest. She was a C cup, smaller than Miki and about the same size as Inori, but that all paled in comparison to Cure Mint.

"I am so gonna tell Setsuna that you said that." Inori had a mischievous grin on her face, causing Love to let her head hang. "There are nine of them. Come on, there must be someone your type. Or is she with the other group?" Love was a relentless matchmaker.

"Why do you assume we both lust after one of these women? We might not even be interested in women." Miki tried to change the topic but accidentally dug her own grave.

"Oh? Who was it that said 'Gender doesn't matter', just five minutes ago? And who was it that went out with two women for dinner?" Love looked first at Berry, then at Inori.

"Fine." Miki sighed and let herself be beaten by Love's tenacity. "If I really had to say... I guess White isn't bad. She's smart, has good looks and is levelheaded." Berry had only thought about it for a few seconds and the first one of the Cures to come to mind was White.

"Isn't she openly dating Black?" Love had gotten that impression from those two.

"Pretty sure she is. Tough luck Miki." Inori grinned, though only for a few seconds.

"What about you Bukki? Who catches your fancy?" Love was merciless but Inori was prepared.

"Aqua is nice. She is smart and really nice curves. Rouge isn't bad either but I'd prefer Marine to her. She seems like a lot of fun. There is also Rhythm. She has... this air about her that makes her interesting." Inori grinned and watched Love's painful expression.

"You're horrible, Bukki." Miki laughed at that onslaught and Love gave up. Those two really didn't have a shred of romance to them.

=== Dissonance ===

"Aren't you bored, out here alone?" Rhythm kept Lemonade company. The chain was still clattering and they were starting to wonder if Rouge and Marine had simply fallen into a bottomless hole or something.

"I'm fine. Are you sure you want to be here? The others all went away?" Lemonade wasn't able to go anywhere as long as the chain kept going.

"I'm the only one of my team here." Rhythm felt a little lonely without Melody, Beat or Muse around. "Aren't the others your friends? I think it's weird that they would leave you out here alone."

"I haven't really talked to any of them except Rouge in a long time." Lemonade had very bad memories of that particular day. "I used to be a pop idol but... people change when they grow up, you know? The business is hard and it just wasn't really me after I turned sixteen, so I changed careers. I joined a punk rock band and became their vocalist. We got really popular all of a sudden but the others didn't think it was the right thing to do. We had a big fight. That was over a year ago. I haven't talked to any of them except Rouge. She started coming to our concerts and we became friends again. I don't even know why I am telling you this. Maybe I'm just really bored." To Rhythm, Lemonade looked very depressed.

"I'm Minamino Kanade. I wish I could be something great like the vocalist of a popular band. A few years ago I was really excited about taking over the business of my parents, a bakery called Lucky Spoon, but when it stopped being just baking and the actual deal of running a business became my responsibility, it became a lot less fun. I guess we both found out that growing up is not as easy for some as for others."

"A bakery, huh. That sounds like hard work. Just how far are they going to go? I must have spawned at least ten kilometers of chain by now!" Lemonade looked at her hand, which was starting to fall asleep.

"I used to fight a lot with my partner, you know. We didn't even talk for a few years. It was because of a stupid misunderstanding, but we only found that out much later. That was before we became Cures, still."

"And you made up just like that?" Lemonade leaned against the wall across the doors.

"We fought a lot until we finally made up. We still sometimes fight but not like back then. I partner with Melody, Beat and Muse, although I think my main partner is really just Melody."

"What is she like? I think I saw her once, but I can hardly remember what she looked like."

"She's a bit of an airhead I guess. She's really energetic, does a lot of sports. I think she'd be angry if I called her the hyper type..." Rhythm made a short break. "Beside that, she's really cute. Lately she has been keeping her hair in a ponytail. It looks awesome. Her dad tried to get her into a job in the music business but Hibiki, that's her name, wanted to do something else. Right now she works part-time in a gym as instructor and as a tutor in a dojo hall."

"Are you two dating?" Lemonade casually asked Rhythm, making the younger Cure blush ferociously.

"Wh-what? N-No! I mean..." Kanade wasn't sure what exactly she should say.

"I see. You're not dating but you have a crush on her. She knows nothing about it, am I right?" Lemonade was very sharp when it came to relationship drama.

"How did you-" Kanade was speechless at how accurately she guessed it.

"Mint has had a crush on Aqua for years now. She got successful and cares for her looks a lot to get her attention. Aqua is going out with Milky Rose though. Mint knows that. But she can't give up. It's a little pitiful, really. We all know about it but we don't meddle with those two."

"Sounds pretty bad."

"It is. Or was. Mint was really shocked and depressed when Aqua and Milky Rose started going out secretly and she found out. It's a shame really. Mint is gorgeous. I'd kill to have her body. I didn't mean that literally, just for the record."

"What about you? No love triangle with Beat or Muse?" Lemonade was just being sarcastic but hit the proverbial bull's eye, judging by Rhythm's depressed face. "Seriously? Which one? And with who?"

"I'm not sure... but at least I think Beat has a crush on Melody. And well, Melody isn't exactly the sharpest person in the world when it comes to such things. You usually have to spell it out to them. I'm not sure what I should do. It's been like this for a few months. I would hate to ruin our friendship by confessing and being turned down."

"Your friendship will eventually go down the drain if you keep burying your feelings. I only need to look at Mint and Aqua to know that. After they graduated, Mint was basically a shut-in for a few weeks until Dream dragged her out. I know Milky Rose was not out to do that to Mint, but she really has a thing for Aqua. The cruel part is, I'm not even sure that Aqua has no feelings for Mint. I think if Mint had gotten her stuff together and confessed..."

"Things were easier when we were younger."

"You can say that again. How old are you, Rhythm?"

"I turned seventeen just two months ago. What about you? You don't look any older than me."

"Ha, thanks. But I'm a year and a half older than you. Aqua is the oldest in our group."

"Coincidentally, I'm the oldest in my group. And I'm apparently still the youngest out of everyone here."

"I don't think it really matters. White is the oldest of us and has the most experience. She sort of took charge earlier and everyone seemed to be okay with that."

"You seem really nice. Are you sure you're in a punk rock band?" Rhythm never liked that kind of music, but talking to Lemonade made her curious. Maybe not all of it was bad.

"Thanks, I appreciate you saying that. There are a lot of different people in the business. I can be a lot meaner on stage, but... I don't know. I was forced to act really cute most of my teenage years and I think that just made me sick of acting all goody two shoes."

"Beat is like that too. She was really socially awkward when she first joined with us and got better. At some point she just grew out of being afraid of people disliking her and acted more like her former self. She's an absolutely terrible liar anyway. Beat is really nice, but she's fast with smacking you up the head if you're being unreasonable."

"Sounds like an interesting person. A bit like Rouge, although Rouge is more... hardcore. She's really into music and she's aiming to be a pro soccer player. She plays for a big club right now and hopes to get into the national team before the next World Cup."

"It looks like you have a thing for her. Is that right?" Kanade was just going by her feelings.

"Maybe. I'm not sure to be honest. She was the only one to accept my change and be nice to me. We hang out together and do stuff, but I can't tell if she has any interest in any **kind** of romance." Lemonade left out a few saucy details. She wasn't comfortable talking to Rhythm about those.

"I always thought fighting as a Cure was difficult. That was before I tried to have an actual relationship with someone else. I admire Black and White. They seem like the perfect match for each other."

"Those two? They're almost too perfect for each other. It's a little boring, don't you think?"

"I would like to have a relationship like that to be quite honest..." Kanade looked on the ground.

=== Dissonance ===

"I'm worried about Hikari." Black and White were in what they had declared 'their' room, formerly being White's room.

"She's not that little girl from back then anymore, Honoka." Nagisa was sprawled out on the bed while Honoka sat on the upper end, looking down on Nagisa's face. It was surprisingly relaxing to be free from research worries and papers.

"Do you think we're the only gay couple here?" Nagisa had never any problems of talking about their relationship. Honoka was similar in that aspect, but she was less blunt about it.

"I don't know most of the others that well. It wouldn't surprise me if we weren't. Saki and Mai started going out officially even before us. They weren't even sixteen when they came out with it. I was really surprised when I heard about that. We started going out shortly after your sixteenth birthday party. I remember how nervous you were when you asked me out Nagisa." Honoka grinned and caressed her partner's cheek.

"I was about to faint when you didn't say anything for like five minutes. It was unbelievable. I totally expected you to turn me down."

"I had fun making you squirm back then. I didn't expect you to actually ask me out. I always thought about you that way, ever since we became Cures. I just never acted on it, thinking you'd be disgusted."

"How many times have you told me this now? And each and every time it's like I'm hearing a different story. You always thought about me like that? Back then we were fourteen! You're one shrewd girl, Honoka."

"Oh come on, you had that crush on that guy and whatever else. That wasn't any better."

"The first time I saw you, I would've never expected you to grow up looking like this. I bet you made most of the others out there jealous. I need to guard you so none of the others steal you away."

"You're such an oddball sometimes Nagisa. I don't even have a shred of interest in anyone but you. You know that. But I'll let you go ahead and play my knight in shining armor. I know you love doing that."

"...must you crush my dreams so? Oh woe is me!" Nagisa's line came off badly and Honoka broke out in laughter. "Oh come on! I practiced that line so much!"

"Ha, ha, ha. Oh Nagisa, you always remind me what I love so much about you." Honoka cleared a single tear from her eyes, held back her hair and leaned down, giving her partner a passionate kiss.

Nagisa never tired of these. Honoka was an amazing kisser, always leading Nagisa on, often the one to start a sinful tongue play between the two. Supporting herself on the bed, Black moved up and intensified the kiss. She was usually horny when she came back home after a nice workout but Honoka was rarely in the mood after having had a long day in the laboratory.

Kneeling on the bed, Nagisa was slowly taking over the dominant part of their little make out. Her left hand moved over Honoka's skirt, up her sides to her breasts. White was quite a bit bigger than Nagisa, depending on how overworked she was swinging between a D and E cup, more often a D.

Stopping the kiss briefly, Honoka warned her partner. "If they hear us, it's all your fault. You can never keep your voice in check." But that was nothing Nagisa was especially concerned with. There was nobody in the rooms to the right and left of theirs and Lemonade was further down the hall.

The roles were reversed instantly, White pushing down Black on her back. Their Cure outfits were hard to take off, so they both switched back to their normal clothes. Honoka moved her hand up Nagisa's stomach, her fingernails leaving minuscule scratch marks. Nagisa had just a tiny bit of a thing for rough play.

Honoka moved her hand further up and below Nagisa's black top, firmly grabbing her left breast, making Nagisa moan in pleasure. Alternating between a firm and a soft grab, Honoka kept making Nagisa hornier, occasionally pinching her nipple.

Honoka's lips were as busy as her fingers, kissing Nagisa, playing with her tongue, licking her neck, nibbling on her ears. An overwhelming assault. "You're cruel..." Nagisa was always on the receiving end when they had sex.

Grabbing Honoka's breasts, Nagisa was really careful not to feel Honoka up too hard. While she liked rough play, Honoka was really sensitive, especially at and around her breasts. Nagisa pulled up Honoka's shirt and opened her front hook bra with one hand. Honoka shivered for a few seconds when she felt Nagisa's hands right on her skin.

Sitting up, Honoka moved on top of Nagisa, sitting on her stomach. The trained woman could easily support her without even blinking. "It's risky to do anymore. We can't shower here. There's no change of clothes beside our Cure outfits." Honoka didn't like stopping but she was the reasonable of the two.

"You really wanna stop now?" Nagisa moved her hands down to Honoka's skirt and lifted it up. Honoka was every bit as horny as her partner was, Nagisa could see that.

"I don't want to. But I think we have to." Honoka's breathing was irregular and she couldn't suppress a moan when Nagisa put a finger on her panties and moved it in circles.

Honoka was about to just give in and let lust take over when they someone yelling in the hallway. It was an instant mood killer. There was clearly someone having a fight.

=== Dissonance ===

"See if I care." Mint walked out of the room, fed up with Aqua. It was always the same. Kurumi this, Kurumi that. Did that woman have any tact? She was so smart, so how could she be so ignorant of the feelings of others?

Dream went after her for a few steps, but Aqua called her back. Being torn between two of her friends fighting, Dream was all but happy. Mint walked straight past Lemonade and Rhythm who seemed to have a pretty good time just sitting in the hallway.

Marching down the floor all the way past the last room and going around the corner, Mint finally stopped and sunk down to the ground, feeling like she was about to cry. Why was Aqua like that?

She loved her so much and all Karen ever talked about was that thieving cat Kurumi. She had known Karen for so much longer and then that stupid... thing just came around and stole her away. Sure, she was not completely without fault either, having not confessed to her, but Kurumi didn't even care if anyone else had a crush on her.

"Mint?"

Komachi didn't recognize the voice, but that had to be Rhythm.

"I'm sorry, I know it's none of my business but... I heard from Lemonade what's going on with you." Ever the tactful one, Rhythm stood around the corner on purpose, in case Mint was actually crying. She knew that nothing sucked as much as someone else seeing one cry. Especially if it was crying over a lost love.

"I... think you can't just sit around and do nothing. Lemonade said the same thing to me. I have a crush on my partner and I think I have a chance but she might also like someone else. I think Aqua is just... really bad with feelings and stuff. I know I am."

Trying not to cry, Mint just sat there, listening to Rhythm. Her words were oddly comforting.

"If I don't confess to the girl I like, I won't ever have a chance. Some people just... need to have you spell it out for them. I know it sounds really cheap if someone just tells you to do it. I know how hard it is. I thought about it a hundred times: where and when I would do it and how I would say it. And what if she rejects me?"

Kanade wasn't sure she could ever muster the courage to confess to Hibiki. "If... if you can do it, if you feel you can do it, please try. I don't feel like I can... I would hate to see someone else lose the person they like because they won't try. That's... all I wanted to say."

"I can tell you're in love with that girl you talk about. Want to sit?" Mint knew how incredibly nonsensical it was to offer someone a seat when there was really just the ground, but she wanted to see who she was talking to: the person who comforted her.

Rhythm walked around the corner and sat next to Mint. She felt like a child next to the sexy woman. "You have a really nice body... I'm so jealous."

"Thank you. But I think you look stunning too. Not everyone likes sexy curves. Aqua is a beauty but completely different from me."

"This girl you like... She is your partner?" Mint was a little curious. None of them knew much about Rhythm and the other three.

"Cure Melody. I used to fight a lot with her and we hadn't even talked much before we became Cures. Things got better after that, and then Beat joined, and Muse shortly after. We all get along really well but... I feel like Melody and Beat have a crush on each other. They're just a little on the dense side of things, I guess."

"Why would she turn you down? You seem smart and you have a really nice personality from what I can tell. I'm shy and a little introverted so I have a hard time getting across what I mean in person... It's so much easier in books."

"You write?"

"I don't think you've read it, but I wrote _Afterglow Summer_ and _Night of Only Two_." Mint had received prizes for both works, and especially _Night of Only Two_ was a very strong seller.

"What? You're Akimoto Komachi? I never would've thought! Your books are written so powerfully... I have read both of them, multiple times. I love your work! I tried to get Hibiki to read them too, but she's not the type to read, sadly." Kanade was surprised to meet one of her favorite authors like that.

"Thank you. I didn't think you would've read them. They're adult books after all. You're not eighteen yet, are you?" Mint had a good eye for such things.

"I just turned seventeen." Rhythm was suddenly embarrassed, like a child who had been caught secretly eating candy.

"You're really easy to talk to. I'm jealous of the girls in your team. Lemonade and I haven't talked in ages. Rouge is... well, you saw how she is. And Aqua... I can't stand it if she is with Kurumi and they're always together. I only occasionally talk with Nozomi."

"That's horrible..." Kanade was afraid that that would happen to herself too at some point.

"We all have our lives now after all. Nozomi works at three different places as a waitress. I have no idea how she manages to keep those jobs. She's really clumsy. Rin... I am surprised Rin does what she does now, really. She used to be really interested in jewelry working back then, and her family runs a flower shop, but at some point she started pursuing a professional soccer career. I'm sure you heard from Lemonade what she is doing. I always thought it was the wrong step for her to take but I saw an interview of her on TV a while ago and she seemed really happy." Mint stopped talking about their lives, knowing that it would be her and Karen's turn next.

"I work in a bakery called Lucky Spoon. Melody works two jobs, part-time at a gym and in a dojo, teaching people. I wouldn't have expected her to be actually serious about her work but she puts a lot of effort into it. Beat works in a band, like Lemonade. They're not as famous, but she gets by. She does the vocals and the lead guitar. She used to be incredibly socially awkward, so a job like that came at a real surprise for Melody and me."

"What about the last one, Muse?" Mint was curious about the people Rhythm lived with.

"Muse is really young. She's barely thirteen now. She still goes to school. Melody does too, and so do I. We all work part-time. Beat sometimes skips school for her band, but we're technically all still students."

"I wish I was still a student. Things were so much easier back then."

A moment of silence came and went as soon as they heard Lemonade shout. "They've stopped, they stopped!"

=== Dissonance ===

Everyone was surrounding Lemonade who was about to call back the two runners. They had been gone for almost two hours. "Golden Gate!" Lemonade created a dozen chains that sprung out of the ground and extended up to the ceiling. The stone seemed to melt inbetween the chains.

"They're so far... how big **is** this place?"

"What is she doing?" White asked Aqua, who seemed the most intelligent on the same team as Lemonade.

"Using her ability. She can summon whoever holds her chain, no matter how far away they are." Aqua explained briefly, not knowing the very specifics of the skill either.

"It's not just that. I see the entire path they took. They went on for miles... ...up and down... ...this place is bigger than a town. Even than a metropolis. It's a gigantic labyrinth of hallways, rooms, and small & big and passages. Found them." Lemonade closed her eyes. The distance was so great that she feared it would be too difficult to pull both of them through. Failure would leave one lost forever in the labyrinth.

The chains that connected the ground and the ceiling started to move up and down at insane speeds, too fast for the naked eye to follow, appearing like beams of light. The chains had to travel the distance the extended chain was away to complete the skill. It was not something that could be used in combat.

"Call!" The chains stopped moving and Rouge fell straight through the ceiling, shortly followed by Marine. They both landed uncomfortably on the ground, the chains vanishing and Lemonade taking a break. "I'm never going to call two people at once again."

"I almost feel like I'm home. This place is so goddamn **huge** and **empty;** it's no joke. We must have went on for twenty kilometers before we hit a dead end. I am never gonna do this again. I'm beat." Rouge was still flat on her back with Marine right next to her, laying face down on the ground.

"I'm so tired... I wanna eat something sweet... and a shower. I hate this place..." Marine complained about a few things before she rolled over, accidentally looking straight up Pine's skirt.

"Oh, sorry." Marine casually rolled over again and was back to her initial position.

"So there is absolutely nothing in this place?" White knelt next to Lemonade, who seemed to be very tired.

"Nothing at all. I saw everything, the whole thing. At least where they went through. Which might as well be the whole thing. Twenty kilometers. I would like to have a word with whoever built this." Lemonade was not happy at all that things turned out like that.

"You two didn't notice anything unusual?" Berry stood next to Rouge and Marine.

"This place is as barren as a desert. It's just all stairs, corridors, rooms, and more stairs, hallways and rooms. I guess the most unusual thing was a huge room that might have been over fifty meters high and as long as a soccer pitch." Rouge reported.

"What do we do now?" White looked to Aqua and Berry. The three got together, followed by Rhythm, who felt that she at least somewhat belonged to that conversation.

"If this place is indeed this barren, it's almost like a prison. There is no food here and no water. Aqua, can you take care of the latter issue?" White suggested. Using Cure powers for that was not really something they should be doing but need made way.

"That should be easy enough if we have something to store the water in." Aqua responded quickly.

"That won't be hard. We can let one of us blast a hole in the ground and then let Rouge work the hole with fire. It will be like a big bowl. It's primitive, but effective." Berry remained level-headed.

"That solves our water issue, but even with that off our mind, none of us can create food." Aqua and White looked at Berry who just shook her head.

"We might have namesakes, but none of us three can create anything edible."

"I think we have a bigger problem on our hands right now. Look!" Rhythm pointed at something that was slowly coming closer from the end of the hallway.

It was nothing that would warrant an detailed explanation of its looks. It was a simple orb that shone with a golden light. There was nothing else to it. It seemed almost surreal.

"Offensive fighters, take the front, defensive fighters the sides, support behind the offensive!" White issued orders as fast as she could and the Cures took position. Nobody bothered to argue, whether it was her job to give orders or not.

"Fear not for we are not your enemy." The orb seemed to talk. It wasn't so much that they could hear a voice but rather they just understood something intangible. A message sent to them which they comprehended on a level far beyond simple logic and reasoning.

"This is far beyond your world. We have brought you here to avoid the extermination of darkness. You, embodiments of light, have created an imbalance between the forces of light and darkness."

While they felt like someone talked to them in their mind, there was no talking, no voice they heard inside their head. They just 'knew' what was happening, slowly understanding. Step by step, they learned of things no human knew.

"Not just the planet you live on, but the Universe has come to face the threat of darkness being exterminated. To you, darkness might be evil, an existence despised. Yet without darkness, you too could not be."

"To be here is to fix what was broken. You will serve as our avatars, creating balance where is none. You shall remain here until balance is restored. It may take a year or ten centuries. It all depends on your will."

"You shall know if you read. You shall read and understand. You will understand and act. You will act and protect."

The orb vanished on the spot and a large thud made the Cures come back to reality. They all suffered a heavy headache and felt sick to their stomachs. Something had just intruded into their minds and left a mark.

White was the first to get it together and take the book. It was thin, only a few pages to it. The pages were filled with text that looked just like her own handwriting, like a memo to herself. It didn't seem safe to just read it, and she wanted the others to have a look at it.

Berry was the next one to join White. "Take it and tell me what you see." Handing the book to Berry, White noticed that the text did not change. It was still her own handwriting even when Berry held the book.

"It's filled with my own handwriting. Was it different when you held it?" They were joined by Aqua and then slowly everyone else. The book was passed around slowly, every single one reading the few pages at a time. There was not much meaning to one of them reading the text out loud. It was more of a set of rules than anything else.

The last one to get the book was Rhythm, who gave the book back to White after she had finished. None of them looked pleased, or even relaxed, anymore. they had just read was horrible. Not in all the time they had fought had they came across something that terrified them that much.

Not because there was an enemy that would destroy the world. Not because one of them had died. Something far more fundamental. They themselves, in their fight for good, had caused something that was now threatening to swallow them all.

This time, there was no enemy to beat or fairy land to save. No mystic artifact to recover. This time, there was only a battle they couldn't win. They were not supposed to win. A battle they were to fight over and over again. A stalemate, designed after the very clash of the forces of light and darkness.

A fight to restore the balance they had slowly shredded to pieces. They all thought the same thing.

'I don't want to fight my friends.'

'Is there no other solution?'

'Why is this happening?'

Yet the answer to their questions was clear inside their mind.

There was no other way. No alternative. They were already on very edge of a catastrophe.

The first battle was to begin shortly.

=== End of Event I ===


	2. Battle

**Dissonance**

_Event II_

**Battle**

Tsubomi had walked for what felt like days and found nothing. No sign of her friends. No sign of an enemy. No sign of life. There were only hallways before and behind her. Rooms above and below her.

Loneliness crept into her heart. At first she had called for them, called for her friends. Erika. Itsuki. Yuri. Both none of them had responded. Her throat dry, her voice exhausted, Tsubomi became silent.

Each step echoed thorough the hallways, reaching her from behind. How often had she passed this hallway? How often had she looked into that room? Never? A hundred times? But there was never anything. Door after door. Hallway after hallway. Room after room.

"Everyone..." Her voice was faint, a whisper. Not even her echo responded to her anymore. Tsubomi had known despair and fear before. The fear of being weak. Of losing her friends. Of not living up to expectations. She had beaten those fears in the past.

To fight her own insecurities, Dark Blossom. To fight Dune. To survive and safe the planet. But now was different. Her life had changed. Working part-time for Erika, Tsubomi studied botany. They had grown up. They had not fought together as Cures for a long time. She didn't want to be thrown into another fight. Tsubomi had just turned eighteen. She cut her hair a little, to about two-thirds of what it had been when she was young, and wore it down. It just got in the way too much otherwise. Wearing a plain skirt and t-shirt, she had been at home, studying.

Her feet hurt and so did her legs. To walk the cold, hard stone ground for so long was something she wasn't used to. Looking at her device, she couldn't even transform without Chypre.

She was thirsty and hungry. It had not been the best choice to call out to the others for so long. And it looked like she kept walking in circles. Every hallway looked the same. Every room seemed to be identical. Every stairway seemed to be absolutely identical.

Walking further and further, she didn't even remember what the area she had first landed in looked like. She had nothing to mark the walls, nothing except her nails, which were not well suited for such tasks.

"Why am I alone here? It's not fair..." Tsubomi stopped. It was unlike her to just whine. She suffered from a bit of stress, studying and helping out Erika, but she never complained or let it affect her mood. "I guess I really am terrible at dealing with being alone..." Erika had told her that once when Itsuki had gone away for two weeks and Erika went with her sister and Yuri on a tour. Left behind alone, Erika had come back earlier than expected, only to find Tsubomi moping in her room.

Tsubomi had a tendency to become depressed when she was alone. It was not that she relied on people. It was the opposite. She loved to help others, to be there for them and support them. When there was nobody around her, she started to feel useless. The longer she was alone, the more depressed she became.

The same was true for most people, but Tsubomi was much more susceptible to it than others.

Sitting down on the lowest step of a stairway, Tsubomi rested her tired legs and feet. They were sore from walking without shoes. She started to space out. How long would she be stuck there? Erika would notice she was missing in a few hours. Would she and the others come and rescue her?

It seemed so unlikely. Even if they came, how would they find her? Maybe they already were somewhere in the labyrinth of hallways, searching for her. What if they never found her? How long would she survive in a situation like- Tsubomi slapped her cheeks. "I'm not fourteen anymore..."

The sound of something hitting the bare stone ground caught her attention. Tsubomi thought she hallucinated it at first. But, in the hallway she had just come from, there was a small book.

=== Dissonance ===

"Which of us will go first?" White looked at the others. There would be no volunteers. She knew that much. Nobody was thrilled or willing to fight their own teammates and friends. They all belonged to the same side. But that was exactly what the book had warned them about. If they just sat around and did nothing, the situation would finally escalate completely.

The first fight was four of them versus four from the other side. "This is so wrong. I don't know what to say..." Peach was looking at the ground, depressed over the situation. What if Passion was in that battle? She couldn't find the woman she loved.

"I hate to think about it this way but, if we do nothing, everything we ever fought for will be gone." Aqua tried to be rational, but it was hard to think that way when the task at hand was such a gruesome one.

A fight of Cures versus Cures. Each of them representing a side of the never-ending clash of Light and Darkness. It didn't even matter which side someone was on. To fight for Light and against Darkness or vice versa. Both meant fighting friends.

"I'll go. I don't want to fight them either, but doing nothing would be even worse. What about all the people on Earth? And not just people... I can't even imagine what a world without night, without shadows, with everyone being the same would be like. A world like that scares me more than fighting my friends." Marine was the first one to volunteer. Chances were high that one of the three others would be in the battle. It was a one in four chance.

"I think the same way. The others are in the same situation as we are. They don't want to fight either. But it's as Marine said. Doing nothing... is just like giving up." Rouge stepped forward and stood next to Marine, much to the surprise of her teammates.

"I asked for volunteers so I will be going." White had fought even her own partner once before and knew the pain of fighting her friends. She could bear it.

"That makes four." Black would never let White go alone. They belonged together, no matter what happened.

"Are you four really sure about this? Your opponents are Cures too! How can you fight them? This is just wrong!" Dream was shouting, seemingly about to cry. It was already difficult enough for her to stomach the discord in her own team. And now they were supposed to fight other Cures on top of that? It was more internal strife than she could handle.

"So you would prefer the world as we know it to perish?" White rarely raised her voice, but she had to talk some sense into Dream. "People wouldn't be able to sleep and rest. The same goes for animals. Plants would dry out. The entire world would see a drought. Didn't you face a lot of hardship fighting? And after all that you would just give up now?" White stepped closer to Dream, grabbed her arm and looked right into her face, their faces close enough that they could feel each others breath. "Don't you tell me that nonsense. This won't end with anyone dead. Sure, we might get hurt, but isn't that better than **everyone else** in the world getting hurt?" White finished her speech and let go of Dream, walking away, toward the northern end of the hallway.

Black, Marine and Rouge followed, impressed by her determination. As soon as they were out of hearing range, they started talking about it. "That was some amazing speech. I could really feel your determination." Marine was not easily impressed by others but White left quite the impression on her.

"We're all thinking the same thing she is. Some of us know that it's not a solution to do nothing. You three know that too or you wouldn't have volunteered for this. She will have to come to terms with this. I don't like it either. Not one bit. But what choice do we really have? Let the world go to ruin? That's not a choice." White turned around the corner and stopped in front of a large door that was different from the others. As the book told them, they were in the western side of a place called Libra. A huge battle ground created just for them.

The door in front of them led to the center of the castle. The actual grounds for their battles. The entire space Rouge and Marine had explored with the help of Lemonade had been part of the 'safe' space which could not be entered by the Exile and the other team.

The door could only be opened in two cases. When it was time to do battle and when one of each team would meet in the middle to negotiate the type of battle. Anyone could negotiate and once decided, the terms could not be changed. Who fought and who did not was decided among the team. It could be decided an entire day ahead of time or just a minute before the battle.

The door opened and White stepped through, followed by Black, then Rouge, then Marine.

=== Dissonance ===

"Why? Why you two? Ah this is going to be bad! So bad!" Marine was ruffling her hair in panic at the mere sight of two specific people.

They had stepped through the door and followed a long hallway into a room that could easily have fit ten houses. Multiple stairs to each side, balconies, doors and hallways on multiple levels. The main room was at least a hundred meters long and wide.

In the middle was something like a barrier. A wall that was translucent but not quite invisible. An energy barrier that would be lowered when the fight began. White took position behind Black. The book had mentioned that only fighting seriously was of any use. That they should treat their enemies as such. Fight to knock them out. Fight with their full power.

Rouge and Marine formed the other combo, paired up front to back. Black and Rouge were close combat fighters, White specialized in special attacks and Marine, well. Nobody quite knew what type of fighter Marine was. Except the two on the other side of the barrier.

Cure Bright, Cure Windy, Cure Sunshine and Cure Moonlight. Neither of the four cures on the west knew much about Bright and Windy but Marine was a member of the team to which Sunshine and Moonlight belonged.

"You know what we know Marine. Otherwise you wouldn't be here." Moonlight was not friendly but not sarcastic either. "We both feel the same about this." Instead of a two front two back formation the east team had a three front and one further back formation. Moonlight was versatile, which would be a problem, Marine knew that.

And the fight began. Black rushed straight for Bright, trying to land a punch on her. Bright took Black's punch straight on, endured it, took her arm, flipped around, over and smashed her into the ground. Black rolled away, smoothly evading the follow-up ground-smashing punch of Bright.

White and Windy were facing each other off from a distance. They could feel the threat they both posed to the opposing team, even without knowing what kind of fighter the other one was. In just a single blink they both vanished to the balconies, each trying to get the advantage on the other.

Rouge attacked Sunshine, was grabbed by the arm and thrown away, smashing into a wall. Rouge quickly figured out that there was no way she was going to simply overpower someone that had studied martial arts. With a grin, Rouge spawned huge claws of pure fire around her hands and attacked Sunshine again.

Marine was on the run from Moonlight. She knew that there was no way she could beat Moonlight alone. The hallways heavily limited Moonlight's line of sight and her speed. It was useless to go at full speed if she had to slow down on every corner. Marine would hide and wait for her chance.

Bright shattered the ground below Black again. She was stronger and tougher than Black but slower. Black jumped out of range and the two were in a face off again. Their partners were far above them, fighting a battle of who could first score an opening. But Black had to concentrate on her own enemy.

"Sun Burst!" Bright's body started to glow intensely and Black took a defensive stance. So the girl wanted to bring out the big guns. She could deal with that. But Bright didn't even approach Black and instead jumped straight up. Black could barely believe how high she jumped. Twenty, thirty meters easily. It would be hard to follow her.

Jumping from balcony to balcony, Black could see the fight between Rouge and Sunshine had gone into a stalemate.

Rouge was breathing hard, having taken multiple hits from Sunshine. To the stomach, to her shoulder, to her legs. That girl was extremely skilled in martial arts but completely inexperienced when facing an armed opponent. Rouge had landed a few hits and Sunshine's arms and legs were showing burns as sign of that. Rouge was not build for endurance fights and Sunshine didn't show any sign of exhaustion.

"You're pissing me off..." Rouge cursed under her breath and decided to go for a knockout. Lowering her claws and focusing for a moment, the air about Rouge changed. Sunshine had drawn the short straw. She needed to get closer to attack and that was a fatal issue when Rouge as her enemy. "Hell!" Rouge put her right hand above her head and a burning red butterfly appeared above her who dissipated quickly and extended to the whole area around them.

Sunshine immediately felt what that ability did. The temperature rose so far that she instantly started to sweat badly and her throat was dried out in seconds. The heat of the hottest deserts on the planet seemed pleasant compared to this. She had to take her out really quickly or they would all succumb to the heat.

Rouge went straight at Sunshine, knowing that nobody but her could fight normally when faced with a sudden eighty degrees Celsius. But Sunshine had more willpower than Rouge gave her credit for. Taking her attack with no guard, Rouge was too slow to get away. "Aegis Dynamo!" Sunshine grabbed Rouges right shoulder, kicked at her ankle, pulled her over her own shoulder and smashed her into the ground right below her. "Sunflower Aegis!" Sunshine crushed Rouge literally into the ground with her shield. Rouge spit up blood.

Further up, White was suddenly faced with a two-versus-one. Bright and Windy had surrounded her and were attacking in turns. Windy was no problem to evade but a direct hit from Bright would most likely knock her out. They fought on small, barely thirty-centimeter-thick stone connections between the two sides of the big room. White jumped up into the air to evade another from Bright's straight punches and fell for their trap. Windy was right above her, using a drop kick on her. White could not block in time and took the kick straight to the face.

The second Windy relaxed of having landed a hit, she felt the presence of someone behind her. She couldn't turn fast enough to even get a look. "Black-light Devastation!" Windy felt a massive force hit her in the back, followed by an energy blast. Bright witnessed how her partner was literally crushed into a nearby wall with a corkscrew-like energy attack.

Black had finally caught up to Bright and instead of protecting her partner, used the opening White created to take out Windy. The further White fell, the hotter it got. Her clothes were sticking to her from the sweat. It had already been over forty degrees up near the top of the room and it only got hotter the further they went down. She could see down on the ground that Rouge and Sunshine were grappling each other. Sunshine was starting to lose consciousness, being near the source of the immense heat and Rouge having taken a few blows too many.

White came down and removed herself from the almost boiling ground, looking for protection on a nearby balcony. In the same moment, Moonlight emerged from one of the many entrances and rushed straight at Rouge in an ambush.

White felt sorry for Rouge, but she would take them all out the second the three were together. But she didn't get that far. To her surprise, Black and Bright came crashing down, the two of them grabbing each other, each trying to smash the other into the ground. White couldn't risk taking out Black as well, and changed plans.

Moonlight was forced to interrupt her rescue operation to avoid the two physical fighters drawing her into their fight. She was skilled but couldn't take a direct blow from Black without suffering massive damage.

Black's right hand started to glow with black energy again and Bright jumped back, cautious of that energy attack. It had hit Windy full power.

"Hyper Flash!" Putting her hands together, Bright created a brightly shining orb. Black, White, Moonlight, Rouge and Sunshine lost all sense of sight. Black and White retreated into a hallway on the first level, Rouge and Sunshine to different corners of the room. Moonlight went straight up for the ceiling of the room, where White and Windy had gone before.

"Warn me if you're going to do that!" Sunshine was rubbing her eyes. Bright was standing next to her.

"I didn't have much of a choice. That attack of hers is pretty fatal. Windy took it and I'm pretty sure it knocked her out." Bright didn't know that Bloom's friend was such a strong fighter.

"We have to take out Rouge. Her ability is still going." Sunshine wasn't in a good condition.

"So she is the reason it is so hot in here. I was wondering..." Bright had used her Hyper Flash and separated everyone. The battle had come to a short stand still. "We drew the short straw, fighting these four."

"It's the same, no matter who fights. I hate having to fight Marine and the other three, but we all know we have to be serious about it." Sunshine tried to move her left arm and found that the burns had caused more damage than she thought. "I am going to try and take out Rouge the next time I see her. If you can, distract her for a few seconds."

Further up, Black and White were contemplating what to do. "It looks like Rouge will handle Sunshine but I am worried about Moonlight. I don't know much about her and I fear she took out Marine." White rubbed her face where Windy had kicked her.

"Rouge shouldn't use her ability like this. We're boiling as much as the enemy." Black complained and tried to fan herself some air.

"Let's get out of here."

Further down, Rouge had landed in a dead end. To one side was the blazing bright orb and she couldn't see a thing. "Dammit." Her ability would reach its limit soon. She had to take care of Sunshine before that. That girl could take one heavy beating.

Rouge saw no choice but to grit her teeth, aim roughly at the orb and try her luck in slashing it. She hoped that thing could even be destroyed. But someone else took care of that for her. "White-light Illumination!"

A massive pillar of energy burst through the ground, obliterated the orb and returned the room to the previous, dim light. White didn't like abusing her ability like that but it was unavoidable.

Rouge was in the middle of the room when both Bright and Sunshine emerged from the opposing end. "Let's knock them out." Black grabbed White's hand and they concentrated for a moment. "Marble..."

Rouge saw herself outnumbered and decided that it would be easiest to just take one of them down with her. Trying to get above Bright and attack Sunshine, Bright grabbed Rouge's legs and started to spin her around with enormous force. It burned her skin to touch Rouge directly but Bright endured the pain and made Rouge fly high into the air. The fire Cure had lost every bit of her sense of direction and was flying through the air like a sack of potatoes.

"Sunflower Omega!" Sunshine jumped in front of Bright who had almost been hit by a combination attack from White and Black. To do one of those with just two people, Sunshine was impressed. Her shield was a triple-layer Sunflower Aegis, which should have been able to withstand any attack, but the white and black energy beam had pierced the first shield in less than a second and was about to break the second.

Moonlight had waited patiently for an opening and found one. Black and White were standing in a fixed location, holding hands and firing an energy attack at Sunshine and Bright. Using a wall as stepping stone, Moonlight achieved incredible speed, diving down almost vertically right at Black. She was the more dangerous one of the two.

Black had no chance to even see Moonlight coming. She was hit by a brutal kick in the back, smashed into the ground so hard that she bounced right back up. "Crescent Cross!" Moonlight kicked Black again, lifting her up and landing a final kick, sending Black fly right down into the room, at Bright's mercy.

Black took a direct blow straight to the stomach and spit up blood, changing directions and sent crashing into a nearby wall. White was exchanging a series of punches and kicks with Moonlight, the two of them equal in speed, power and skill, neither giving the other even a fraction of an opening.

"Black-light..." Sunshine didn't have enough time to turn around. "Devastation!" Sunshine crashed right into Bright, who tried to endure the blast, protecting her teammate.

Marine could copy almost any kind of special attack, and she had just happened to see Black use her Black-light Devastation earlier, while she was hiding from Moonlight. But that was not all. Moonlight and White were hitting each other now, dropping their defense completely, knowing they could go at it forever if they kept it up like that.

"Hyper Flash!" Marine created the orb in her hand and threw it right up. Moonlight and White separated and now Moonlight was at a severe disadvantage. "Time to finish you off!" Marine announced the downfall of Bright. Sunshine had been knocked out by the energy blast.

"White-light Illu-" Marine dropped on the spot, the white energy vanishing from her left hand. Bright looked up and saw Windy falling down, unconscious. So she had managed to endure the previous attack by Black. Bright was proud.

It was down to two versus one. Moonlight and Bright versus White. The red haired Cure made the first move and jumped straight at White who saw herself in danger of losing the fight now. Jumping further up, White made use of her superior speed to at least get rid of Bright. But Moonlight was right there. White had to take the chance. "White-light..." Moonlight was too quick. She was right in front of her, ready to drive her into a wall.

White was shocked and jumped back when all of a sudden Moonlight started screaming in pain, crashing down. Looking below, she saw that Rouge had jumped on Moonlight from behind and rammed her two fire claws right into her back.

The two of them crashed right into the ground and just lay there, both of them knocked out. It was down to just White and Bright.

Both were exhausted from a fight they had never fought before. But White had the advantage now. Bright was slower than her. But she had lost sight of her.

Bright broke right through the wall and grabbed White's throat, the two of them falling towards the ground. White knew if she hit the ground at that velocity, there was no doubt she would be knocked out. There was only one other option. It was risky but better than giving up.

"White-light..." White charged her left hand with energy and grit her teeth. It would hurt. But her not as much as Bright. "Illumination!" White put her hand right on Bright's chest and the piercing energy beam erupted straight out of the Cure, knocking her out and high into the air.

White got hit by the recoil of her own attack and still hit the ground hard enough to crush the stones.

All the Cures were down. The room was filled with silence after being destroyed for a good thirty minutes. There was just one sound. Someone moaning. "That hurt..."

Black had not been knocked out but she was hurt pretty badly after taking Bright's hit. "That girl packs a punch... ouch..." Black crawled out of the hole in the wall and looked at the silent battlefield. White was on the ground, knocked out, and so were Marine and Rouge. The other four were all there as well.

"Seems we won." Black blinked only once before she was back in a very familiar room. The very room she had first arrived at. But there was something different. There was a simple black bowl on her bed, filled with coins. "I guess this must be the favor the book talked about." Black sighed. That fight had been a lot worse than she thought it would be.

They seriously hurt each other. She felt better than she did after taking Bright's hit but wounds and especially exhaustion didn't seem to vanish completely. Ignoring the bowl, Black left her room, ignored the shocked Cure's standing in the hallway and went into White's room.

"I am so going to have a headache." White was sitting on her bed, rubbing her forehead. Blasting herself and Bright with a special attack had not been a very clever idea but, in the end, everything played out like she thought it would. Black was very tough. Chances were good she hadn't been knocked out.

"Are you okay?" Black sat down next to her partner and canceled her transformation. "I didn't think it would be so painful, in many ways, to fight against our allies." Nagisa obviously wasn't out to hurt the others on purpose, but once she took a fight seriously, she couldn't back down.

"It's okay like this. We were serious and so were they. It's what we're supposed to do." White undid her transformation as well and laid back on the bed, her eyes closed. "But it was a lot harder than I thought to win. We're all much stronger than we used to be. I didn't think it would be that close."

Someone knocked on the door and a pretty beaten Rouge and Marine came in, both of them looking tired. "Did we win?" Rouge was always fierce when it came to competitions, even if it was one to fight her allies.

"Barely. Are you two okay?" Honoka didn't bother to sit up.

"Somehow. My head booms like there is a whole carnival being chased by a pack of dogs." Marine felt sick to the stomach. She had plain lost consciousness all of a sudden in the battle. That was not like her at all. "Did I get Bright?"

"No, you were knocked out before you did. I'm not sure which one did it or how." Honoka remembered something. "Did you all find a bowl with coins?"

"Are those the favor mentioned in the rules?" Marine had left the bowl in her room.

"I think so. Didn't it say that each participant, regardless of team, gets favor based on their performance and the winning team gets favor for their team? I guess that's their way of motivating us to fight. I have to say, it's working. If your team keeps losing, you won't even have anything to eat unless someone shares with you." Rouge could see why they set it up like that. If someone refused to fight, he would end up without even basic needs.

"We're all friends here. Nobody will go hungry." Marine gave Rouge a curious look. "Or do you want to spend your favor on something else? Maybe... something racy?" Marine laughed, causing Rouge to blush before cancelling her transformation.

"Shouldn't we talk to the others about this?" Rin had already been apprehended by Dream and the others before she came into the room.

"They're probably all leaned against the door and eavesdropping!" Marine walked to the door and pulled it open as a joke. About five Cures toppled over and landed in the room. "Woah! I was actually right?" Marine laughed even louder.

"Since all, well most of you, are already here, we'll tell you what it was like." A quick flash and White walked out of the room. Aqua, Berry, Rhythm and Lemonade were standing near the wall, not one to indulge in eavesdropping.

"It's a serious battle. We fought as if our lives depended on it and so did they. I don't think anyone was **seriously** hurt, but we're all sore, aching and have headaches. To hesitate means to be knocked out. Marine faced two Cures from her own team and didn't hesitate knock one of them out when she could." White was leaning against a wall and the others had came together to listen to her.

"We won the first battle, but we don't know who will fight next and how many. One of us will have to go and negotiate that now. We will also have to decide who switches teams." White had memorized all the rules from the book.

"I will fight next. I will also go and negotiate the next battle." Aqua spoke up and took a step forward. "I realize nothing good will come out of pretending this has nothing to do with me." She really hoped she would not face Milky Rose in a battle. She would try to negotiate a one versus one to reduce the chances of that happening.

"I will switch." Rhythm offered to go. "It's not that I don't like this team but Melody, Beat and Muse are on the other side. I miss them."

"What about you Marine? Your teammates are on the other side too." Berry looked at the short woman.

"I'm fine here, really. Sunshine and Moonlight can take care of things over there. Sure I don't like fighting them, but if Rhythm wants to go, I'm not going to be stubborn about this." Marine smiled at the youngest of the group and received a happy smile back.

"Any objections?" White was still acting as their leader. "None? Good. Aqua, try to at least get them to agree to a four versus four. Most of us don't have any favor yet and we desperately need those." White knew that even though they were all allies and friends, internal strife and jealousy was very easily to flame up in such situations.

"Does anyone know where the team favor is stored?" White looked at those that had not been in the battle and Lemonade was the first to point at the lower end of the hall. A bowl that was more of a barrel was standing there, closely resembling a bigger version of the bowls found in the rooms of the Cures that had fought.

"Because this is something we will all come to need sooner or later, the first favor should go towards a bathroom." White wasn't one to be needlessly embarrassed in such situations. People needed showers and... basic facilities. "All who agree please raise your hand."

Not a single Cure let her hand down. "I will go and take care of this. I will also donate my favor so we can all eat something." White knew that an act of charity now would go a long way to getting selfishness and jealousy out of the way.

"I will too." Black and Marine joined the idea and after a sigh, even Rouge did. As Aqua took off, she was in deep thoughts. Was it really right for her to be so selfish and try to get a one versus one battle? There could only be two battles a day after all. Those four fought, got hurt and then simply gave her favor away so everyone could feel better.

Aqua had developed a nasty habit of biting on the nail of her thumb when she was under stress. Standing in front of the door, the color of the light had changed. Previously a deep red, it was now a calming azure.

Stepping through, Aqua faced a Cure she didn't recognize.

=== Dissonance ===

_Hours ago..._

"Where am I?" Yuri was in a room she had never seen before. One moment she was talking with Momoka, the next she was standing in an unfamiliar place. Not even a minute had passed before she tried to transform despite the chances of it being impossible. If there was one thing Yuri had learned in the past then it was that it never hurt to try. She had already given up once.

Moonlight stepped outside the room and faced another woman right away. A woman with long golden hair, divided up into three long braids on her right side, wearing a leather apron and a plain outfit. She didn't know the woman, stepped back and got into a defensive position.

"W-wait! I'm on your side!"

"Prove it." Moonlight was always cautious of people she didn't know and in this kind of situation, there was nothing else she could do.

"Stop it, Moonlight." A familiar voiced called out to her. "Can't you see she's almost frightened of you? Would an enemy be frightened?"

Looking to her right, Cure Sunshine approached them slowly. "I can't blame you for not remembering her." Sunshine came up to Hikari and took a close look. "You're Shiny Luminous, aren't you? Don't worry, Moonlight is just a little on edge because of this place."

Hikari took a deep breath and calmed down. She didn't know where she was. One moment she was making coffee, the next moment in an almost empty room. "Yes. Do you know where we are?"

"I don't think anyone does." The three turned when another door opened to their right and a, to Hikari at least, familiar face came out.

"Milky Rose!" Hikari ran over to her friend. She had met Kurumi and her girlfriend Karen a few times when they visited the town she lived in for Karen's work.

"Hikari? What are you doing here?" Milky Rose's attention fell quickly to the two Cures. "I don't remember you two."

"I'm Sunshine and she's Moonlight. Luminous here already told us your name." Sunshine grinned. It was good that someone Luminous knew showed up, but where in the world were they? She had been at the dojo giving a lesson, when she was suddenly brought to this place.

"So, none of us know where we are, is that right?" Milky Rose, followed closely by Hikari, stepped up to Moonlight. "Could you please not stare at me? I am not your enemy." Moonlight had indeed been staring at her.

"You can't..." "...blame her." Two voices, completing each others sentences, came from behind Sunshine. Two more Cures had come up. None of the others recognized them. "Cure Windy and..." "...Cure Bright."

Their weird way of talking was something they had a few years ago tried out as a joke and found it to be very amusing so they stuck to it. While they could speak normally alone, they always preferred their little trick.

"Windy, shouldn't we call for..." "...Bloom and Egret? Yes." Bright left Windy behind and went back down the hallway, ignoring the doors. They had arrived over ten minutes ago and had already met their old friends.

Windy undid her transformation and became Kiryuu Kaoru. A tall, blue-haired woman with an intelligent look on her face. She was wearing a male suit which gave her an odd look. The pair of glasses on her nose only enforced her smart look. "Relax. We're all lost here. Bloom and Egret are here too. I'm Kiryuu Kaoru." It took a lot of chaos to get Kaoru to lose her composure.

"I know those two. So does Hikari." Milky Rose interjected and followed Kaoru's example, undoing her transformation. A white, flowing dress complimented by her wild, slightly curly purple hair. "I'm Mimino Kurumi. She is Kujou Hikari." Kurumi was only a few centimeters taller than Hikari and was almost dwarfed by Moonlight. Sunshine was a little taller than her.

Sunshine was the next to regain her human form. Itsuki had changed greatly in the past few years, becoming a lot more womanly. Growing her hair out so long that it reached her waist, wearing a single earring with a sun symbol and having a rather curvy body, Itsuki was often the object of jealousy of other women. "I'm Myoudouin Itsuki. You can call me Itsuki if you want."

Moonlight sighed and returned to being Yuri. She had not changed much in the last four years. She had become a little more of a woman but was still taller and slimmer than Sunshine but not as curvy. "Tsukikage Yuri."

At that moment, Bright returned with a large group. "Bloom and Egret..." "...found even more? Yes." A grand total of six Cures were following Bright.

"There are this many of us here?" Kurumi was starting to get suspicious. What in the world had the power to transfer so many Cures to such a place?

"We found those three not too far down that path. They were looking around. We literally bumped into each other." Bloom had a large red mark on her forehead, and so did the pink Cure behind her.

The five women that, led on by Itsuki, introduced themselves to the Cures. "They are..." "...Cure Passion..." "...Cure Melody..." "...Cure Beat and..." "...Cure Muse." Bright had returned to her human form as well. She kept her crimson red hair cut short because it got in the way whenever she went out to jog. "I'm Kiryuu Michiru." The woman stepped next to her sister and they looked at the others.

Bloom followed their example, returned to human form and introduced herself. "I'm Hyuuga Saki. Cure Bloom." Saki had not changed too much over the years. The same short auburn brown hair, it was obvious by her trained form that she was an athletic type.

Her partner was the exact opposite and had changed a lot. "I'm Mishou Mai, Cure Egret." Her dark blue hair had grown past her waist, and her figure had become that of a gravure model, always spawning envy from others but much to the pleasure of Saki.

The pink haired cure had already transformed and seemed a little distanced towards the others. She was not very good with making friends outside her group. "Higashi Setsuna. I'm Cure Passion." Setsuna had changed only little over the years. Her dark purple hair grown only slightly over her shoulders, she was wearing a thick coat and Russian cap, making the others wonder just where she had been before they were brought there.

"I'm Hojo Hibiki. They are Kurokawa Ellen and Shirabe Ako." Hibiki took care of introducing all three of them. Out of all the people present, Hibiki had changed the least and Ako the most. While the only changes in Hibiki were her height and a few curves, Ako had become a lot taller and measured only a few centimeters less than Hibiki. Ellen had changed quite a bit and not for the better, according to Ako. Having dyed her hair black, she grew it out a little more to compliment her stage outfit.

While Hibiki wore the classic uniform of a dojo, Ako was in her school uniform, the same one Hibiki had worn until just recently. Ellen's outfit attracted unwanted attention for it was her stage outfit. Laced leather boots up to her knees, a long, black skirt and a combination of a white shirt with an open black coat. She seemed very embarrassed to show herself like that to the other Cures but none of them had exactly impressive outfits on them either, the worst being Hibiki, who wore just the dojo uniform.

"That makes twelve of us." Yuri counted them quickly. "How many are missing?"

"We are missing Marine and Blossom. I know that Hikari belongs to Black and White's team." Itsuki started the count of missing people.

"I am the only one of my team here. There are five others." Kurumi didn't seem very pleased to be the only one of her team present.

"The same goes for me. Peach, Berry and Pine belong to my team." Setsuna added.

"We are..." "...all here." Kaoru and Michiru added in their usual speech pattern.

"We're missing Rhythm." Hibiki felt a little overwhelmed by all the senior cures.

"I don't think it is a coincidence that we are twelve here and there are thirteen missing. It looks like we've been split into half. But by whom and for what purpose?" Yuri was a quick thinker.

"If they were out to attack us, wouldn't they do it while we're separated?" Kaoru was talking on her own.

"Sounds logical. I think so too." Itsuki looked to Hibiki. "Have you seen anything unusual around here?"

"Not a thing. I don't think there is anything here." Hibiki shook her head. "It's just stairs, rooms and hallways."

"I hate to suggest waiting, but it doesn't seem like we're going to find out anything like this." Yuri looked at Melody and Bloom. If there was anything out there, they would have said so. Just running around blindly would not help any of them.

"Shouldn't we at least look around?" Ellen wasn't sure she was comfortable with Rhythm being lost somewhere.

"I think Yuri is right. If there was anything you would have seen something. If someone has brought us here, he will show himself sooner or later." Kurumi agreed with the suggestion Yuri made.

"We will go..." "... to our room." Michiru and Kaoru found the others to be amazed at their composure. "But it won't do us any good..." "...to sit around and be bored."

"I wish I at least had my guitar." Ellen contemplated and looked at Hibiki and Ako. "What do we do?"

"You work in a dojo? What kind of martial arts do you practice?" Itsuki had approached Hibiki, the two of them slowly walking off together.

"I'm going to sleep." Ako was not one to worry needlessly and left Ellen by herself. Saki and Mai followed Michiru and Kaoru's example and returned to Mai's room.

Kurumi took off with Hikari and Yuri returned to her room alone. Ellen found herself alone in the hallway with Setsuna, both of them not knowing a thing about each other.

The silence became more awkward with every passing second, worsened only by the voices of the girls talking in their rooms. "You play in a band?" Setsuna figured that any start was at least something.

"Yes. The Black Cats. I actually have dark purple hair normally but I had to dye it black for the band." Ellen walked to the wall and leaned against it.

"What kind of band is it?" Setsuna was a big fan of music and listened to quite a few things. Getting closer to Ellen, she had a weird feeling. There was something unusual about that girl.

"We're a rock band. I guess we sometimes have a few progressive and power metal elements in our music. I play the lead guitar and do the vocals." Ellen was the most comfortable when she could talk about music.

"I feel like I've heard of your band before... Did you per chance have a song called Crow in the Night?" Setsuna's memory was not bad but it was difficult to remember the names of songs just like that.

"That's not from us but I know that song. It's by Black Sun. You got the names mixed up." Ellen smiled and sat down. "If I had my guitar I could at least play something. I'm not comfortable singing without it..."

"Now I remember. Cure Beat. 'Beat of the Dawn' is something you sung, isn't it?" Setsuna sat down next to Ellen, hoping that she would not mind.

"I'm surprised you remember that. It was the first song I ever wrote." Ellen felt flattered and she blushed a little. They were not unpopular, but to have a fan among other Cures was pretty unlikely. She was happy. "Kanade and Hibiki like classical music more, but Hibiki sometimes comes to my concerts."

"You make a living with your music?" Setsuna was interested.

"Now, yes. I used to work part-time at the bakery Kanade, Cure Rhythm, works at until I could support myself with this." Ellen remembered when she first started out. It had been a hard piece of work to get as far as to be able to make a living out of music at her age.

"Aren't you still going to school? You're not eighteen yet, are you?" Setsuna did sense that Ellen was still a minor.

"I do go to school with Hibiki and Kanade. But I want to be able to go through my life with music. That's why I am working hard to be able to live from it even now." Ellen looked at the woman at her side and couldn't imagine what she worked at. "Aren't you hot in that getup?"

"Sort of, yes." A flash of light and Setsuna changed to Passion. "My partner and I were in Russia when we were brought here. We pretty much work anywhere we can part-time to have money for traveling around. I haven't really decided what I want to be in the future. Love wants to be a dancer, but that is really hard work and a difficult business. That's why we're traveling. We want to see the world and learn what else is out there."

"That sounds amazing. I wish I could be like you. Just go and travel around, working somewhere you haven't before just like that. I could never do that." Ellen felt a little uncomfortable in her normal form and switched to Beat.

"It's not that amazing. Love had to practically kidnap me to get me to come along. In the end, I'm happy she did though." Passion blushed and drew circles on the ground with her right index finger.

"Did something good happen?" Beat was not too good with relationships. She liked Hibiki, but there was no way she could ever say that out loud.

"I don't really tell this many people but you seem nice. When I first met Love, I was part of Labyrinth, the enemy. It took a long time and quite a lot of selflessness on Love's part to save me. I only figured out what it meant to be happy after I was no longer part of Labyrinth. It's... weird, really. If Love had not cared about me so much, even though I was her enemy back then, I wouldn't be here today. I felt grateful to her... at first. I started to live with her, became a Cure and then... I even fell in love with her. A while ago, we got together as a couple." Passion's face was slowly turning into a shade of red that closely resembled her outfit.

Beat didn't say anything and just stared at Passion until the latter became uncomfortable. "I shouldn't have told you after all..." Passion was about to get up and leave when Beat held her back.

"That's not why I was so surprised. It's just... your story is similar to mine." Beat had not any fond memories of what happened to her before she joined with Hibiki and Kanade. "Since you told me, I'll tell you too."

Passion sat back down and now it was her turn to stare at Beat. She couldn't believe there was another Cure who went though something similar.

"There was a conflict between Major and Minor Land. It's a long story but in the end, I betrayed Major Land and became the songstress of Minor Land. I kept failing trying to beat Hibiki and Kanade. The others started to doubt me. It all came down together when I turned into a Cure right before everyone's eyes. I was so shocked and lost. I had been an enemy to them the whole time and did horrible things. There was no excuse for that. But Hibiki and Kanade just forgave me. They welcomed me as Cure Beat. It took me a while to open up to them. I became their friend, their ally. And now, over a year later, we're still together." Beat finished her story and thought about the painful times she had while confused about who she was and where she belonged.

"So we both used to belong to the enemy... I don't think it's a coincidence that we met like this. Don't you think so too?" Passion smiled towards Beat.

"Sounds awfully convenient to be a coincidence, doesn't it?" Beat smiled as well.

"What is it like to stand on a stage and sing for a crowd?" Passion couldn't imagine herself doing that. Love was the type to be really excited about something like that on the other hand.

"I was so nervous the first time I almost forgot all the lyrics." Beat cracked a smile.

"I can imagine. I kinda wish I could do something like that. I mean, I like traveling with Peach, but... I'm not going to do that forever. I haven't seen Berry and Pine in a long time. I miss them. What about your friends? Isn't it kind of cruel to just leave you?"

"I don't think like that. Melody was curious about Sunshine and Muse..., she's so mature; it's hard to make out what she's thinking most of the time. I like them both and they're there for me when I really need them. And I got to talk to you after all, so it turned out pretty well."

"Yeah. It's a bit of a weird connection, but I guess we can relate to what we each went through. If you want to, you can call me Setsuna." Passion held out her hand to Beat.

"You can call me Ellen, Setsuna."

=== Dissonance ===

"So you work part-time at a karate dojo? Do you want to be a full-fledged instructor in the future?" Itsuki and Hibiki had gone to Itsuki's room to talk. Hibiki had noticed halfway through that she had left Ellen behind alone but when she looked out of the room, she saw her talking to Cure Passion.

"I don't know. My dad still tries to get me into the music business and Kanade, Cure Rhythm, thinks I should go along with that." Hibiki looked at the ceiling and continued. "I like music, I really do, but it's not what I wanna do for a living. I'm still sixteen so I have some time before I decide what I'll do after graduating."

"I decided long ago that I'd take over the dojo. I thought about it again after I became a Cure but... in the end, I do like martial arts, even as a woman. I thought about a career as model, like Marine's sister does, but just hearing about how stressed she is sometimes, I think I'd rather stick to the dojo." Itsuki watched Hibiki.

"Marine's sister is a model? That sounds really interesting. Tell me more!" Hibiki loved to hear about such things.

"Hm, let's see. There was one time when I visited Marine's home, she's called Kurumi Erika, and found total chaos. Their rooms are on the upper floor of a fashion shop called 'Fairy Drop'. I first thought I'd walked into an alternate dimension. Momoka, Erika's sister, was standing in the middle of the room while Erika was fidgeting around her, doing probably a dozen things at once. There were sewing materials, accessories and clothes all over the place." Itsuki smiled briefly.

"Erika had a dozen needles in her mouth. I found Tsubomi, Cure Blossom, covered in almost a mountain of things. The room looked like it exploded. Tsubomi was constantly saying, 'Need to hurry, need to hurry.', Erika was mumbling in some kind of unintelligible language and Momoka looked pretty desperate." Hibiki was already laughing and holding her sides.

"It got even worse when Momoka's manager came over to look after things. Her manager is Yuri, Moonlight. She and Erika got into an argument right away and Tsubomi fainted halfway. The whole thing exploded when Erika accidentally kicked over a tiny container with sticky beads and they were all over the place." Itsuki finished her story.

Hibiki was laughing so hard that Itsuki feared she too, would explode any second. "Just... just imagining it! I can't... I can't hold on!" Hibiki rolled over the bed and fell to the ground, still laughing, holding her stomach. She had a vivid imagination. Itsuki scratched her cheek, a little embarrassed.

After more than a minute, Hibiki finally calmed down. "Okay, it's my turn to tell you something funny now. Rhythm, her name's Minamino Kanade, works in a bakery shop that's owned by her family. I usually test all her new creations because I love sweets. There was one time when their whole kitchen malfunctioned. I was there, waiting for the cup cakes to finish baking when suddenly the oven started to give off black smoke. Kanade was right on it, thinking the cup cakes were burnt. When she pulled the oven door open, a huge black smoke cloud came out and filling the room. It was like someone had thrown a can of black paint. I heard Kanade shriek and tried to get to her, stumbled over something, fell, hit the table and pulled basically everything on it with me." Hibiki could hardly contain herself.

"When the smoke thinned out, I was right on top of Kanade. The both of us were smeared with cream, chocolate and other stuff. We looked like we had just had a cake fight. Ellen, Cure Beat, came in at right that moment, and found us there, on the floor, me on top of Kanade. I still remember how quickly her face went from normal to a scarlet red. She must have thought I was trying to seduce Kanade or something. It only got worse from there." Hibiki watched Itsuki already smile pretty wide.

"Kanade's parents came and Ellen tried to hide us from their eyes, which made the whole misunderstanding ten times worse. When we got up and showed up, panting from not being able to breathe through the black cloud before, it looked like we had just done something outrageous."

"Oh god, what did her parents say?" Itsuki looked at Hibiki who seemed very amused herself.

"That was the funniest part. Her dad walked out and called for me. I still remember it. 'Hojo Hibiki, come with me for a second.' I was so nervous, despite it being a misunderstanding, that I didn't get a word out and he talked for twenty minutes about how he was okay if I wanted to date Kanade and everything. At some point, we came back to the house and Kanade's mother was already there, waiting for us. Kanade had cleared up the misunderstanding. The expression on the face of Kanade's father was so priceless that I couldn't help but laugh. Ever since then, Kanade gets really shy whenever I mention this." Hibiki finished her story and this time it was Itsuki who was bending over, sitting on her bed, laughing.

"You really are two-of-a-kind. Did you end up going out?"

"Huh, why would we end up going out?" Hibiki seemed confused why Itsuki would come up with such an idea.

"The way you talk about her, I can't help but really get the impression you like her. It's not that uncommon among Cures I think. You can't tell anyone I told you this, but Yuri, Moonlight, is dating Marine's sister. Of course Blossom and Marine know this, but I probably shouldn't tell that to anyone else. I heard Black and White live together and have been dating for some time. And I'm pretty sure that from the look of it, Bloom and Egret have a thing for each other."

"That's a lot of relationships among Cures. It's really that common?" Hibiki thought about it as hard as she could. Was she really romantically interested in Kanade? What about Ellen?

"Personally I don't think it's bad. If they are happy like that, why not?" Itsuki was not too interested in romance herself. It was against her principles to flirt with her students and most of her free time was spent with the other Cures. There was little room for romance unless Erika or Tsubomi suddenly decided to pursue that.

"Is there someone you like?" Hibiki knew that it was a pretty personal question, but Itsuki didn't seem to mind.

"Not at this time."

"Is there anyone here you think is cute?" Hibiki stood up and posed a little, earning a giggle from Itsuki. It was quite obvious that she was joking about herself.

"I never really thought about it. What about you? What do you think about Beat? I wouldn't call her cute, she's not the type for that, but she is definitely attractive."

"I never really think about stuff like that. Should I?" Hibiki could be a bit dense sometimes but she usually tried to pay attention to her friends' feelings.

"It couldn't hurt to, just in case. What do you think, do you want to have a match against me some day?" Itsuki was obviously confident in her skills. Hibiki, not so much.

"That's a little unfair, isn't it? You teach your own style and I only work part-time." Hibiki wasn't so eager to get put on the mat by Itsuki. "Since your friends are all working in the fashion business, do you have an interest in it too?"

"Is there any girl who doesn't? I used to pretend I didn't care back before I became a Cure and became friends with Erika and Tsubomi. I still try on stuff for Erika and help her show off designs but I don't really design my own things anymore. Erika is going pro with this and I have my own work to think about."

Hibiki transformed into Melody and slowly turned once around. "What do you think of my Cure outfit? Of course I haven't designed it myself, but is it fashionable?"

"You care about the weirdest things, Hibiki. It matches your personality really well and it's cute. It wouldn't suit you to go for a sexy look, that's not your style." Itsuki commented with a critical eye, mimicking Erika.

"Now it's your turn." Hibiki grinned and could see Itsuki realized she fell straight for her trap. Transforming into Sunshine, she could feel Hibiki's stare on her waist, hips, breasts and back as the girl walked once around her.

"You **definitely** have the sexy look. I'm jealous of your body. What are those, C, D?" Hibiki was pretty blunt about what she thought.

"You remind me of Erika. She always goes around and tries to guess people's cup sizes. They're D." Sunshine sometimes cursed her big breasts. They got in the way during training and she bandaged them up before work.

"I wish I had nice breasts like you. Mine are just B."

"Want to hear another funny story about Erika?" Sunshine sat down, comfortable just sitting around as Cure.

"Sure!"

=== Dissonance ===

Mai and Saki had a special hobby to pass the time.

Saki was resting her head on Mai's lap and listening to her. Being an artist, and a good one at that, Mai had a wonderful imagination. She was sometimes commissioned to write lyrics or help out with a setting for other media. But only Saki had the pleasure to just listen to her with her eyes closed when she told her of fantasy lands, what they looked like and what kind of beings lived there.

"The land Faerule was rich of rivers, blue and clear as the sky, full of fish. They parted the land in four equally beautiful lands. The people were grateful to the rivers and lived with them, only taking what they needed. Some lived in the mighty forests to the east, where elves were supposedly hiding and watching, where wild animals were as friendly as a loyal dog one kept for years. They respected the forest and lived in synchronicity with it."

"Others lived in the wide, golden fields to the west, where cereal grew wild, without the help of farming and work. The rivers gave to the land what it needed, the land gave to the animals what they needed, and the animals gave to the people what they needed. And the humans praised and loved the river."

"To the south was the kingdom of birds, ruled by the phoenix, the source of the life in the world. A land forbidden to humans and none would think about breaking that rule. The phoenix sat atop his nest built on a waterfall at the end of the world where the river converged. His feathers shining in a golden and crimson light, his beak made of silver, his tail feathers shining in the colors of the four lands. He granted the rivers an end after their long journey and sent back their spirit to the spring from which all rivers came forth."

"And in the north was the ceiling of the world, a mountain so tall that none could climb it. Only one lived in this land, and he was Lord of the Mountain. A dragon so old that he had seen the birth of the world. Sitting atop the mountain and watching the world of the rivers below, he was the guardian that ensured peace and safety."

"Mai, what did the dragon look like? What was he called?" Saki often asked questions when Mai made a break to gather her thoughts.

"His true name only he himself could pronounce and speak. The people knew him as Shar'la'legh, master of the world. The birds praised him as Ista'fiel'vel, He who is the beginning. The animals of the forest respectfully called him Rash'vel, the creator. He was over thirty meters long from head to tail. He was heavy as gold, with four legs, six claws, each as hard as the bones of the earth, indestructible by any means. His head was adorned with a single horn, as he was the first of the three lords. His scales were as green as the deep, lush forests to the east, harder than diamond."

"Tell me about the three lords Mai."

"The first one was the Dragon. The lord of the birds was the second. Both showed themselves to the people only once a century, when the time for the renewal was upon them. But the lord of the forest was different. He lived with the humans more closely than even the beings of the forest. A tree so large that its very top dominated the sky, its furthest branches spanning over vast distances, covering all the forest in its cooling shadow on even the hottest days. His trunk was thicker than one could throw a stone far, his roots stretching to the very end of the world itself, the rivers' water his life. He let the humans live in his branches and his trunk, for he was immortal and greater than any other life in the world. All but the dragon and the phoenix called him Astalon."

"Did the western fields have no lord? The north had the dragon, the south had the phoenix, and the east had the tree."

"The lord of the west died upon the creation of the world. He was the strongest of the lords, but while the phoenix ruled the skies and life, the dragon ruled the origin and the rivers and the tree ruled the land and the earth, he had no domain to rule. As he looked upon what was a wasteland in the west, separated from the lively and full lands of the others, he was overcome with sadness and gave his life to the land itself. The west is its own ruler's flesh and life, and so nothing that grows on the land will ever wilt, nothing that eats from it will ever become sick."

"You tell wonderful stories Mai. It always reminds me of why I love you." Saki was usually a very energetic woman, but she could be calm and almost zen-like when Mai told her about her fantasies.

"I only tell them to you because I love you Saki."

"I still think you could become a writer. You have talent." Saki opened her eyes and looked at her partner.

"You just want me to be at home all the time so you can watch me. I know you don't like when I spend so much time at the workshop." Mai gently flicked Saki's forehead.

"I come to your workshop all the time and watch you. That's not it. I think you're wasting your talent." Saki didn't realize something important.

"Sometimes I wonder if your head is filled with cotton Saki." Mai leaned down and kissed her lover. "I don't write because I only want you to hear these. I only want to tell you what I dream of, what I imagine. I can draw what I want, but I can only open my heart fully to you and tell you what's inside."

"Mai..." Saki smiled, happy to hear those things.

"It's been a while since we just sat around and I told you a story. Usually I'm busy with work and so are you. Speaking of which, how is it going?"

"I sometimes wonder if all the trouble is worth it. I get good times running and swimming, but... it's so much training. I'm often so beat we barely see each other in a day."

"Saki, if you're really serious about switching to something else, I will support you. I want you to be happy, not struggle with your life because you feel like I am forcing you to do this."

"I really think I might to a sport. I just don't want to put this much time into training for triathlons if it means I can't spend my time with you. I was really good at softball in school, but I don't really want to go back to that."

"What about baseball? It's a pretty big sport Saki. You're a quick runner and you have good reflexes. You don't need glasses either."

"You think I'd make a good player?"

"I think you can be good at any sport if you want Saki. Well, except mind sports." Mai put out her tongue and closed one eye.

"So mean..." Saki still smiled and caressed Mai's hand.

=== Dissonance ===

"I'm..." "...bored." The two sisters were sitting together on Kaoru's bed, not knowing what to do with themselves.

"Should we go..." "...and explore?"

"I think I'll drop this for a while Kaoru. I'm getting a little tired of it. It's fun, but with just us, pretty redundant." Michiru stood up and transformed into Cure Bright.

"I don't mind. It's a nice little trick to throw off the others a little, but I don't think we'll have to keep it up. They're all Cures too, it'll probably only annoy them." Kaoru followed her sister and became Cure Windy.

Leaving their room, they found Passion and Beat talking to each other at the other end of the hallway. They didn't notice the two sisters leaving at all. Turning the corner, the two found that the place they were in was literally barren. A stairway led up to a room to another hallway to another room and another stair to just another room.

"This is boring." "Very boring."

They had walked for about ten minutes when they came across something new. It was a giant hall technically behind their rooms. "Who built something like this?" Bright wondered. "Why build something like this?" Windy wondered.

"I could be wrong but... doesn't this almost look like it's intended for... battle?" Windy looked around.

"I think you're right. What other purpose could it serve? I had this feeling ever since we got here too. That we're not here just to talk." Bright added.

"You think so too? But why only twelve of us? You think it picked the strongest?" Windy jumped up a few balconies. The room was over thirty meters high based on her first estimation.

"I think it's worse than that. If it brought all of us here, and only ten others are with us, that means there are thirteen others somewhere else. This whole place. This room. It all gives me the idea that..."

"...we will fight each other. That sounds horrible. I really hope we are wrong about this. I'm not going to find any enjoyment in finding other Cures. It was bad enough that we fought Bloom and Egret in the past."

"I'd like to forget about that entirely. But our past is what defines us, isn't it? We chose to switch sides and in the end, it was the right thing to do."

"Bright, we should get back. Even if there is only a small chance that we are right..."

"You're right Windy. I don't want to see the others hurt. If we really are right..."

"Then we'll fight. If we fight, the others won't have to." Bright waited for Windy to jump down and caught her, letting her down.

"Do you mind?" Windy asked and turned to her sister.

"There is nobody here." Bright answered.

Windy stepped close and grabbed her sister by her shoulders, giving her a quick kiss. They were not dating or regularly sleeping with each other, but they sometimes enjoyed the sensation of kissing each other. It was one of their secrets. Others would quickly get the wrong idea. There was nothing more than kissing between them.

"Let's go."

=== Dissonance ===

"We're both the only ones of our team present. It sucks. I wish at least Aqua was here." Kurumi complained, sitting on her bed next to Hikari. "This whole place is terrible. The bed is barely a bed and there is nothing else in this room or any other room."

"I don't think complaining is going to make it any better, Kurumi." Hikari tried to calm her friend down.

"I'm amazed you're so calm Hikari. You used to be much more shy without Nagisa and Honoka around. By the way, how are they doing?"

"They're both working a lot. Nagisa trains a lot to get into the national team and Honoka is working at the research institute. I really don't understand the things she researches. Nagisa and I always fall asleep when she tries to explain."

"They're so lucky. I wish I could decide what I want to do." Kurumi didn't want to just leech off Karen. But what could she really do? To begin with, she was not really human and, even though she seldom transformed back into her original self any more, sometimes she forgot that.

"Karen is becoming really famous, isn't she?" Hikari had seen a few fliers about her concerts. The beautiful Ice Queen of the violin world.

"She practices a lot lately and she's getting a lot of attention. I don't really like it but if it makes her happy I won't say anything. They call her the Ice Queen because Karen is a bit on the cool side and she doesn't flirt with any guys. But that's to be expected. Karen has me, so why would she flirt with anyone else." Kurumi sighed. "Sometimes I feel like I'm a burden to her. Karen is getting famous on her own power and skill while I work part-time at a different job every month."

"I don't think she thinks of you like that. I also only work part-time. Nagisa and Honoka pay me to keep their apartment neat too. They're both fairly busy so they don't want to clean themselves." Hikari blushed ferociously. "Sometimes I hear them when I'm cleaning."

"You hear them?" Kurumi was being dense for a few seconds, then she caught on. "Wow. Just wow." Kurumi went quiet and then looked away. "Who's the loud one?"

"Honoka." Hikari's face was completely crimson colored.

"I would've never guessed..." Kurumi tried to think about whether Karen or she made more noise but just imagining the sex with Karen made her horny and she quickly tried to change the topic. "And you're not interested in any romance?"

"I'm... you know. I don't know if I even should..." Hikari was not entirely human either, just like Milk. Their transformation would pass any physical and biological check, but deep down, they were something else.

"You're being silly. Look at me, I'm the same and I have been dating Karen for years now. If you're really so worried, you could always go for a Cure. It just sort of happened with Karen for me, but if it didn't I think I would have gone for her either way." Kurumi looked at Hikari who was a little nervous all of a sudden. "What, anyone among the Cures you like? Tell me."

"I... don't know. But I think Sunshine is really nice." Hikari remembered that Sunshine had been nice to her right away while Moonlight had almost attacked her.

"Sunshine... You have good taste Hikari." Kurumi patted her friend on the shoulder.

"How are the others in your group Kurumi?" Hikari was curious about what the six Cures were doing.

"I only really have contact with Dream and sometimes with Rouge when she is with Dream. Mint doesn't really show up anymore and none of us except Rouge have talked to Lemonade in ages. It's sad but we're not much of a group anymore." Kurumi remembered the days they had fought side by side.

"What happened?"

Kurumi sighed heavily. "A lot of things. We just sort of grew up and each of us had their own problems to deal with. I don't really want to go into detail about it. I hope you understand that. Say, don't you think Bloom and Egret have a thing for each other? I noticed how they look at each other."

"They are going out. They have been for four years. Didn't you know?" Hikari was surprised she never told her friend about Saki and Mai.

"No way! Really? I was just guessing there but hit bulls-eye." Kurumi let out a short, fake laugh. "I guess it runs in the business, huh? Being a Cure, loving another girl."

"What is wrong Kurumi? You have been acting weird for a while..."

"Is it that obvious? Hah... All right. I had a fight with Karen. A big fight. Dream wanted her help in getting everyone back together. Karen wanted me to help. I said it's none of my business before I really thought about it. I realized like five minutes later that it was incredibly stupid to say that. By that point, Karen had left for her concert. We didn't really talk it over after that. We just... sort of didn't talk." Kurumi was really depressed and stared at her feet. "I'm an idiot. It's not that I don't care about the others. I just think we shouldn't try to force people back together who grew away from each other."

"Does Karen know that?" Hikari moved closer to Kurumi and held her hand.

"No. We didn't really talk about it and then... well. We got brought here. What if she dumps me over this? I know Komachi still loves her. If Karen leaves me, I won't have anyone left." Kurumi's voice was shaking and she was about to cry. The fear of being alone was something nobody could handle.

"Karen is not that kinda person, isn't she? She won't just break up with you." Hikari hugged Kurumi.

"I hope so..."

=== Dissonance ===

Bright and Windy had just come back to find Beat and Passion on the edge. "Thank god you're here. That thing just popped up all of a sudden!" Beat pointed at the southern end of the hallway where a black orb of roughly basketball size floated very slowly toward them.

"Windy." Bright only needed to say her name once.

Windy put her fingers to her lips and an incredibly loud whistle caught the attention of every Cure in the rooms. Windy whistled again. It only took about a minute until everyone had joined together, transformed and ready to fight whatever was going to attack them.

"Should I take it out?" Milky Rose was standing right behind Bright.

"Wait. Let's not make the first move." Moonlight put her hand in front of Bright. "It doesn't seem to be attacking us. If it does, we're going to take it out all together. It can't possibly handle twelve Cures."

The orb floated ever so slowly through the hallway and finally stopped a few meters short of reaching them.

"Fear not, for we are not your enemy. This is far beyond your world. We have brought you here to avert the extermination of darkness. You, embodiments of light, have created an imbalance between the forces of light and darkness."

A message that bypassed the barriers of hearing, sight, language, age. A message directly into their consciousness. A message that they could not refute but only accept as true.

"Not just the planet you live on but the universe has come to face the threat of darkness being exterminated. To you, darkness might be evil, an existence despised. Yet without darkness you, too, could not be."

"To be here is to fix what was broken. You will serve as our avatars, creating balance where is none. You shall remain here until balance is restored. It may take a year or ten centuries. It all depends on your will."

"You shall know if you read. You shall read and understand. You will understand and act. You will act and protect." The orb vanished just as it had appeared.

The Cures were staggering and gritting teeth. They felt sick, violated and disturbed. They had learned of things humans were not supposed to know. Not then, not ever.

Moonlight walked to where the orb had been and picked up what looked like a thin booklet of some sort. She could hardly stand, and that was still more than the others managed to do. "It's filled by my own handwriting..." Moonlight talked to herself and read the few pages the book had.

Bright and Windy had joined Moonlight after being able to stand. They too found the book to be filled with their own handwriting. It was passed around and each Cure read the book and the horror it contained.

The most basic rule of storms was that they continued until they had fixed the imbalance that caused them in the first place. The Cures had gotten into the storm of the century.

"We were right..." Bright whispered to Windy.

"I stand by what I said." Windy replied and Bright nodded.

"We volunteer for the first fight. We already decided that if something like this happens, we would fight so others would not have to fight their friends. Who else will volunteer?" Windy looked in the round.

"I will fight. If this is our work, we will have to take responsibility for it and fight. I won't run away from what I caused in the first place." Moonlight walked away from the others towards the northern end of the hallway.

"I will fight too. I think the same way Moonlight does." Sunshine followed after the oldest Cure.

"That makes four. This is not a battle to kill each other but to fight and compete. We will come back with at worst some bruises and some headaches. You all read what the book said. I believe it. There is no reason not to." Windy had said what she wanted to say and left, followed by Bright.

They found the door exactly where they knew it would be. "We will win this."

=== Dissonance ===

Moonlight was the first one to wake up. Her back hurt and she knew why. Rouge. That last attack of hers had been brutal. She was a little numb but nothing was broken and the burns were not worse than heavy sunburn. Considering how hard they had fought, she had gotten off quite easily. As the book had said, she found a bowl with coins on her bed. Favor.

Leaving her room, she found the other Cures outside. "How did it go?" Milky Rose was the first to ask. "We could hear echoes of the fighting but not see anything. It sounded like a gruesome battle."

"We lost, I think. You'll need to ask Bright. We were up against Black, White, Marine and Rouge. They were quite a good combination. As you can see, the worst injury I have is some sunburn on my back. That is where Rouge stabbed me with her Claws of Fire. This place seems to protect us from taking permanent damage." Moonlight felt her skin itching. It was going to peel. Damn that Rouge.

Sunshine came out of her room looking fairly dizzy. "My head feels like a truck hit me. Moonlight, how did it go? I vaguely remember hearing Marine's voice..." Sunshine stepped next to the others who proceeded to examine her. A few bruises was the worst thing they could find.

"Marine hit you with Black's ability. You were knocked out. I was knocked out by Rouge."

"Black and White are fearsome opponents." Windy and Bright had come out of their room. Windy seemed to be mostly unhurt, having only two bruises but Bright had difficulty walking.

"I took out Marine a little too late. I'm sorry Sunshine." Windy apologized for her mistake.

"You did that? What kind of ability did you use?" Moonlight was curious. Marine seemed to have just dropped unconscious out of the blue.

"Stormflair. It shuts down your enemy's consciousness but it has a large drawback. I will lose consciousness as well." Windy explained briefly. "Are you sure you can stand?"

Bright leaned against the wall and sighed. "Don't look at me like that. I just pulled a muscle in my back. Considering what White hit me with, I am lucky to only have this. It hurts a bit but if I keep like this, I barely feel a thing." Bright moved up once to fix her walking and grit her teeth. "We lost. White took me out in the end. I think she got hit by her own recoil but I can't be sure."

"They were serious and so were we. Despite us all being on the same side, I don't think either of us pulled any punches. They knew the same thing we know. That these battles are necessary." Moonlight commented. "We lost, so I will take responsibility. I will donate my favor so we can all eat something."

"We will do the same. A bathroom is something we all need." Bright said and looked to Windy who showed a rare, kind smile.

"I don't need any personal things. It is more important we all have something to eat." Sunshine said and pitched in on Moonlight's idea.

Acts of charity were just as necessary in the beginning as the fights themselves. They all realized that. A bathroom. Food. Water. Basic needs would not come at a high price but it didn't hurt to have some reserve to raise morale.

"We need to decide who switches and who goes to negotiate the next fight." Windy said and looked at the others. One of them had to switch to the other team and someone from their side would join theirs.

"I want to switch." Milky Rose wanted to see Aqua and clear her misunderstanding with her. Hikari knew that so she didn't say anything.

Passion took a single look at Milky Rose and saw that she was desperate to go. She wanted to see the other three, but she could stay for one more battle and talk to Beat some more.

"No objections? Fine. I will go and negotiate the next battle. I want those who have not battled this time to think about fighting this time around." Moonlight closed the matter of who would switch and left the other eleven behind.

The door opened again and Moonlight stepped through the azure light. She was back in the big room which looked pretty devastated from their fight. She was facing a Cure she had only seen once before, yet she still remembered her name.

=== End of Event 2 ===


	3. Blood

**Dissonance**

_Event III_

**Blood**

Aqua and Moonlight stared at each other in silence. They were not there to battle. Not physically.

"The rules state there can be as many contestants as there were people waiting during the last fight. I propose a six-versus-six battle. We both need the favor, regardless of who wins. We both have people on our team who will have to learn the hard way that they won't be able to get around fighting." Moonlight opened negotiations.

"Do you really think they will just nod and agree? The last fight was four-versus-four. There are only eight on each team that waited during the last fight." Aqua knew that the chance to fight Milk was very high if she agreed to this. But could she really let personal feelings get in the way?

"If we cannot come to an agreement, you and I know that the next fight will include all of us," said Moonlight. "I want to avoid an all-out fight if possible. Not until everyone has accepted this." She took a few steps toward Aqua. There was a force field in the middle of the room, preventing them from getting close to each other. "Think with your head, not your heart. I dislike this as much as the others, but this isn't something we can just put down and hope it will solve itself. I ask you to agree to the six-versus-six battle."

The rules stated that no personal questions were to be asked at the negotiations and the fights. There was a penalty for breaking the rules. It existed to ensure that the fights were fair and nobody acted as spy.

"When do you propose this fight to start?" asked Aqua, figuring, correctly, that she would not get around accepting her proposal. It was the logical thing to do. If negotiations failed, then all of them had to fight. Twelve versus twelve.

"The sooner the better," replied Moonlight. "Giving those that are undecided or afraid of this more time to think about it will only hurt them. They need to experience it themselves. They need to learn first-hand that this is not a battle they have to fear. The earliest time we can battle is an hour after the exchange. The door won't open before then."

"I... very..." Aqua grit her teeth. "Very well. I accept." Moonlight was right. She too was one of the people that had to accept that sooner or later it she would fight Kurumi. It was a matter of statistic. Making a big deal out of it now wouldn't help anyone.

"Time, in one hour," said Moonlight, and Aqua repeated after her. "Time. In one hour."

Then it was Aqua's turn. "Participants, six." And Moonlight repeated after her. "Participants. Six."

Their respective doors opened behind them and Moonlight walked away from Aqua, who stood there, torn between personal feelings and duty. "I'm sorry, Kurumi."

=== Dissonance ===

"I hope you'll come back." said Mint as she saw Rhythm off. They all knew about the rules. That the earliest time someone could swap again was after six battles had passed. A maximum duration of twelve days, in case negotiations failed six times in a row.

"You should try to make up with Lemonade, Mint." replied the blonde-haired girl. "I think you two can get along." Her advice given, Rhythm stood in front of the open door. The light was different depending on where the door led. A crimson red for battle. A tranquil azure for negotiations. And a neutral white for exchange.

"Don't lose to the Exile." They knew well what the Exile was. A lonely existence, forced to live alone and wait for the exchange to happen without a soul to talk to. Only when the exchange happened could she approach one of the two in the exchange and take their place.

By force and battle. By pleading and sympathy. By bribery and deceit. By trickery and malice. By speed and cunning.

Rhythm waved Mint goodbye and stepped through the gate, finding herself in a small corridor. One that looked just like the countless others. She had to find the gate to the team of darkness before the Exile did.

Rhythm started to run, suddenly scared. It was hard to comprehend, but to find a single gate in a labyrinth was not all that difficult. It was in fact very easy. There were multiple ways to find the exit. But it became a fight for survival once someone else was looking for the same gate, and only one of them could pass.

The Exile was a pitiful one and nobody would want to be the one that was all alone. Yet there was no choice. One of them always would be the one. Rhythm didn't know who the other two Cures were but it didn't matter to her unless the Exile was someone from her team. Even kindness had its limits.

Taking a turn right, running up stairs, through rooms and down stairs again, Rhythm found it to be a terrifying place. If the Exile spent the time between battles there, she would know where one of the gates was. Rhythm started to have chills.

If the Exile knew their way around, would that not mean that one of the two in the exchange would always end up as the next Exile? She started to run as hard as she could, wind created by her sheer speed blowing in her face, whirling her hair up. She had to hurry!

Only Hikari had been there to see her off. Moonlight had come back and announced that the next battle would be six-versus-six. It would start right after the exchange, in roughly an hour. The exchange had to happen right after negotiations. Milky Rose was running as fast as she could but the place was a labyrinth.

Going right, going left, she went through rooms and hallways with complete disregard for what would happen if the Exile reached her door first. She could not become the Exile. Not with things being as they were between her and Karen.

She reached a large room that had no visible exists. A single bed was placed in the middle of the room. The room of the Exile. And she was not there. "Dead end..." She turned around and ran back the way she had come.

It was a wicked game. Three participants and only two could possibly join a team. One would always remain lonely and as the Exile. A horrible thought shot into her mind. What if Aqua was the Exile? What if Aqua was the one to change to come and see her?

Why hadn't she thought about that first? Why did she have to rush her decision and volunteer without seeing if Aqua was coming for her? But what if she had waited and Aqua would have lost to the Exile? "Enough with the what-if's. I'll just have to find that damn door."

But they were both slow. Running around in circles, into dead ends, they were outmaneuvered by someone that had been there for some time already. Blossom had herself hidden close to the dead end that was the furthest away from her room, hoping that the door would appear in an area close to that.

And luck was with her. After just a minute another Cure ran right past the room she hid in. Blossom had read the rules and realized that nobody would willingly give up their position to switch with her. Unless she got extremely lucky and maybe Sunshine or Marine showed up.

Blossom stood in front of the door and held out her hand. The game was over for her and she was not going to be the next Exile. It was a fate she didn't wish on anyone, but there was no alternative. "I'm really sorry..." whispered Blossom. She touched the door and the hallway behind her transformed into a dead end. She was locked in with the door now, waiting for the other Cure to reach the door on the opposite side.

Rhythm ran as fast as she could, having a bad feeling about the situation. There was no sign of the Exile yet. If it was someone that was at least moderately good at fighting she would try to take out one of the other Cures.

Rhythm jumped down a set of stairs, took a right turn and landed in a large room, several exists on each side. But that was not the worst of it. Just a second later, another Cure emerged from the other side. One clad in purple.

"Abbadon!" Milky Rose used her ability without regard for her opponent and created a huge storm of metal fragments in the room, forcing Rhythm to retreat to avoid getting cut to pieces. "The Exile..." Milky Rose feared that it would come to this. Her enemy was someone she didn't know. At least Aqua was not the Exile. She didn't even consider it possible that it was not the Exile but the Cure from the other team she had attacked.

Rhythm had decided that she wouldn't bother fighting anyone. She was quick and had good reflexes. Ignoring the raging metal storm, she headed for the upper levels of the big room and reached a balcony above the storm. "What a brutal, merciless ability..." Rhythm was shocked at the sudden display of violence. "And she didn't even hesitate to use it." Rhythm didn't want to become the Exile either, but that was going too far. She wouldn't lose to someone like that.

Milky Rose had other problems. Running from Rhythm, who she thought to be the Exile, she only found more stairs, hallways and rooms. There was no exit. Had she taken a wrong turn again? Or had she already lost?

Rhythm had found her door. Either the purple Cure had been the Exile or the member from the dark team. Whoever she was, it was no longer her business. Stretching out her hand, the hallway closed behind her.

Milky Rose was still running around, hopelessly lost and growing more desperate with every dead end she found. "Where is it? Where is the door?" Looking through every corner and nook, it was quite clear that the Cure she attacked had not been the Exile. Her door had likely vanished at that time already.

"Dammit!" shouted Milky Rose, punching a wall and literally pulverizing it. "I'll get out of here... after the next battle..." She only had to wait for about an hour. An hour in absolute loneliness with nothing to do. It was not even enough time to memorize her way around the labyrinth. Why was the place so needlessly big?

"Karen..."

=== Dissonance ===

All the Cures were present to see who the new member would be. Some were anxious, others plain curious. And finally, the door opened. It took longer than they expected. They only knew of the principle behind the Exile. Not the details.

"Blossom!" cried Marine, surprised and overjoyed to see her best friend come through the gate. The pink haired Cure was hugged by her friend right away. With Marine clinging to her, Blossom had difficulty standing.

"Marine?" said Blossom. "I'm so happy to see you! I missed you guys! Are Sunshine and Moonlight on this side too?" She asked the question while looking at the many unknown faces. She recognized a few of them from previous encounters, but not their names.

"Sunshine and Moonlight are kinda on the other side Blossom," said Marine, an awkward tone to her voice. "I already fought them, and I think I sort of knocked Sunshine out too." The girl scratched at her cheek. "Amazing, huh?"

"Marine..." said Blossom with a sigh, before she turned to the others. "Ah. I'm Cure Blossom. Hanasaki Tsubomi. Nice to meet you." She tried to politely bow but with Erika hanging on to her, it was an act of balance to just keep standing.

"Blossom," said Aqua. "Did you come over from the other side, or were you...?" She was curious about Milky Rose.

"I was the Exile," replied Tsubomi. "I was lucky and found this door really quickly. I only saw one Cure run past me. I wasn't able to see who it was, but if I came through this door, she must have been from this side." Tsubomi felt bad for whoever ended up the Exile but this time, she couldn't save them.

"That means the Cure from the dark team is the new Exile," said White. "Can you tell us about the part of this place that you were in?" she continued, curious about the details.

"It's a labyrinth. Even when I knew my way around, it took me a few minutes to get from one side to another. There is a huge room in the middle and another big room which serves as the place for the Exile to sleep."

But there was a more important matter at hand. There was enough time to learn about the Exile later. "The next fight is in one hour. We will decide who fights now, but don't worry; we won't force anyone that just swapped. Marine can show you where your room is, Blossom." White issued her orders and watched Marine almost forcefully drag Blossom away, all the time wearing a big smile on her face.

"She's like a walking mass of energy." White watched as Marine left with Blossom and smiled. That girl had her own way of getting into someone's heart.

"It's almost refreshing to watch," added Berry. "White, I want to talk about the composition of the team for the fight. Aqua, I want your opinion as well." The others, not about to interrupt the three, listened.

"Only two can remain this time. Four of us have fought the last time, which leaves us with eight. I think that Lemonade, Mint and Pine should fight in any case. Pine's ability will come in very handy during such a large fight." Berry first looked at White then at Aqua after she had finished talking.

"Lemonade and Mint seem like reasonable choices as well," said White. She turned to the girls who had been named. "Are you three okay with this?" Pine reluctantly nodded. She didn't want to fight her friends but, seeing how serious even Miki was, she would feel horrible refusing.

"Fine with me," said Lemonade. She knew that every single one of them had to fight sooner or later. It was easier to get used to it quickly.

"If you want me to fight, I will," said Mint. "I just hope I will not end up fighting Rhythm." The green-haired Cure was not happy about fighting against those she called comrades, but she shared Lemonade's opinion.

"For the other three, I volunteer, and I would like to have Peach and Dream fight with me. Is that fine with you, Aqua?" Berry could sense that Aqua was with her thoughts somewhere else. She was not mentally prepared to fight.

"No. I want to fight," said Aqua firmly, her expression changing. "I shouldn't let my feelings get the better of me." She was the Cure symbolizing intelligence. Not passion.

"I don't want to fight," said Dream, looking at the ground, still unable to accept the situation. "I say we all just talk to them and see if we can find-" She staggered back from the force of a slap to her cheek. It boomed with pain.

"Will you come to terms with reality already?" Aqua shouted at Dream after slapping her. "I don't want to fight either! Kurumi is probably on the other team and will be in this battle! Do you think it's easy for me to prioritize what my head says over my heart?" Aqua continued to shout at Dream, the pink-haired girl's eyes starting to fill with tears.

"But it's the right choice!" she continued. "Listen to yourself Dream! Where are the dreams and hope you always talk about?" The tirade over, Dream's composure collapsed and she ran off, crying The others watched her go.

"Rouge, please look after her," said Aqua quietly. She didn't regret what she had done, but she hated the fact that she had to do it.

"That settles it," said White. "Lemonade, Mint, Aqua, Berry, Pine and Peach are up for the next match. I wish you girls good luck." She looked at the six that were chosen to do battle. "Try to win. You will have to fight seriously, just like we did."

"We realize that," said Lemonade coldly. "None of us will ever like this, but at least we accepted it. Dream is the only one struggling so much." The girl seemed uncomfortably distant to the others.

"I suggest you try to make out some kind of strategy among yourselves," said White. "It was quite a failure on my part that we went into battle without even knowing about each others' abilities." She looked at Berry and Aqua and they both nodded.

==Dissonance===

On the other side of the battlefield was a similar conversation going on. Rhythm had been welcomed back by Melody, Beat and even Muse. At the same time, Moonlight, Sunshine, Windy and Egret debated among themselves to try and decide who was the next to fight. Bloom and Egret were volunteering, which left four slots open.

"Aren't those four one team?" asked Windy. "Should we not try to get them to participate as a whole?" She looked at the three Cures that were happily talking to Rhythm, who had briefly introduced herself when she came through the door.

"The youngest one is only thirteen," said Sunshine. "I don't think it is wise to let her fight just yet." The tall girl was being protective of Muse, who was by far the youngest of all.

"The other choice would be to have Shiny Luminous or Passion substitute for her," said Moonlight. She looked over at Luminous and Passion, both of whom stood behind Sunshine. "Are either of you two volunteering?"

"Black and White fought in the last battle, right?" asked Luminous, addressing the question to Moonlight.

"Yes. They were quite powerful," she replied. "I remember that you belong to their team?"

"I want to switch after this battle, so I want to at least help out once before I leave," said Luminous. She didn't want to be a burden to anyone. "I'm not very strong or fast, but I can give everyone a power up."

"Passion, you want to switch too, don't you? Do you want to fight?" Egret asked the pink haired Cure.

"I... no. I would like to skip," said Passion. "I will let Luminous switch. I have a feeling that the rest of my team will be in this battle." Passion didn't want to fight them if possible. Especially not Peach.

"Then that leaves three of those four," continued Windy. "I also think we shouldn't let Muse fight yet. Not until the others have some experience with this sort of thing." Her part said, she whistled, getting the attention of the four Cures. "Melody, Rhythm, Beat, come here please."

Melody was uncomfortably reminded of an old friend of hers. Muse followed them anyway, curious what they were doing. "What?"

"We are deciding the next match up," said Windy. "Passion and Muse will remain here while you three as well as Bloom, Egret and Luminous will fight. Do any of you three have any objections?" Windy was short and to the point, as always.

"I don't really like it," said Rhythm. "But two of us would have to fight anyway, right? At least this way I can fight with Melody and Beat." The blonde knew that sooner or later, her turn would come up anyway.

Muse spoke up, "Why am I being excluded?" and her stern eyes met Moonlight's.

"I won't lie to you," replied Moonlight, looking back at Muse and engaging in an impromptu staring contest. "You're by far the youngest of everyone here. I won't say you will get in the way, but you have the least experience and power. I want your teammates to have experience with this before you join them." Her words were harsh, but Muse knew it was the truth.

"Fine," said Muse, displeased. "You were honest so I can accept this. But I won't let you just exclude me because I am the youngest. I'm not weak." She walked off without another word.

"You six should organize a strategy of some kind," said Windy. "The first battle was extremely chaotic because neither side had time to properly think of a strategy." She looked at Egret and Rhythm. "I think you two are best suited to this task."

"Rhythm, can't you tell us about the other team?" asked Melody, curious about the Cures on the other team. It would be a great advantage to know about them beforehand.

"Melody, just how bad is your memory?" sighed Rhythm. "Those who switch are not allowed to talk about the other side. Just think of the chaos if everyone did that; no-one would trust anyone else." In truth, Rhythm was not very surprised that Melody had forgotten that specific rule. She herself only recalled it when she had been welcomed by her teammates.

"Regardless, we should know about each other. Luminous, why don't you start?"

===Dissonance===

Watching each other, twelve Cures were about to battle for superiority. Lemonade was at the front together with Peach and Berry. Mint was in the back together with Aqua. Pine stood in-between Mint and Lemonade.

Luminous was guarded by both Melody and Rhythm, Beat had already taken position on a higher balcony and Bloom and Egret were matching Peach and Berry.

And the fight started. A multitude of abilities were all unleashed at once. Lemonade was the fastest in execution and her special took effect first. "Iron Maiden!" Lemonade pointed at the space above her. Countless golden chains broke out of the walls, connecting the room on both sides and creating a massive spider-web-like trap.

Next up was Luminous and the two Cures guarding her. "Queen of Light!" A line of golden light emerged from Shiny Luminous, growing larger with every passing second, the glow passing to her own team members. Luminous was standing entirely still and focusing on her ability. At the same time as receiving the glow, the four front cures rushed at each other.

"Battle of Titans!" "Oracle!" Melody and Rhythm used their abilities, modified by Luminous Queen of Light.

Bloom attacked Peach with a straight punch which Peach tried to block by crossing her arms in front of her chest. The impact was brutal; it took everything she had to just keep standing. Peach looked to her side and saw that Egret was keeping both Lemonade and Berry in check with her superior speed.

Bloom was right in front of Peach again but this time the punch did not connect. Using Bloom's own arm as a support, Peach jumped up above her and grabbed her by her hair, about to slam her into the ground. Bloom resisted with brute force and Peach was suddenly locked into a stalemate with her.

Egret was switching targets in the blink of an eye, surpassing both Lemonade and Berry in speed easily thanks to Luminous's buff. Berry was skilled and kept on defending herself against Egret. The white Cure mainly focused on kicks, in contrast to Bloom who worked more with her arms..

Executing a triple kick from mid-air against Berry, Egret unwittingly left an opening. Lemonade took immediate advantage, her golden chain wrapping completely around Egret and sealing off her movement. Berry immediately left to intercept Beat, who was now trying to join the close combat fight to help Egret.

Lemonade was completely merciless, just like her friend Rouge. Using her whip like an extension of her own arm, she repeatedly smashed Egret into the ground. Egret coughed up blood after the fifth impact, but was then suddenly freed. Melody had left her position as Luminous's guard and delivered a punch to Lemonade's face, sending her flying and sliding over the ground.

Bloom and Peach were still locked into a contest of skill versus raw strength and, slowly but surely, Peach was losing her ground. The situation suddenly reversed when Aqua left her own position as well, leaving only Pine behind with Mint. Bloom was hit by a full strength kick from the Cure of Intelligence and driven back.

Peach tried to make use of the situation and joined forces with Aqua, both of them attacking Bloom with a series of varied kicks and punches. It proved impossible for Bloom to block them all, and she saw that it would just be a waste of her stamina to try, while slowly sucking up damage. Instead, Bloom jumped right into one of Peach's punches, endured it, grabbed her face and drove her straight into the ground with all her strength, cracking the floor.

Her attack had worked, but at a price. Aqua drew her water rapier and stabbed Bloom's right leg, blood running from the thin hole. The attack left Aqua wide open, but instead of retaliating Bloom jumped away, ignoring the pain. Aqua could smell that something was wrong and helped Peach up. The entire enemy team was retreating next to Luminous. But one was missing.

Beat was in the middle of the room. Creating a blue guitar from nothingness, she hit a power chord that made the air itself vibrate. "Loki's Veil!" Beat started playing a series of heavy power chords. Berry, Lemonade, Peach and Aqua all found themselves paralyzed and unable to move.

But the worst was yet to come. Egret and Bloom had taken position in the back of the room as the upper parts were entirely locked down by Lemonade's chains. "Twin Stream..."

But Pine had waited for a moment like that. Making eye contact with Beat, the cure stopped playing, turned around and jumped right in front of Bloom and Egret. "Loki's Veil!" she shouted again.

"Passionato..." Melody and Rhythm had joined hands and were aiming right at Mint and Pine. They knew it was their doing

"I didn't want to use it yet..." sighed Berry. She stood up, clicked her fingers twice, pointed at the enemy cures and announced, "It's showtime!" A third snap and the entire atmosphere turned blue. Melody and Rhythm's attack was stopped, all of them watching as Berry slowly and gracefully walked over to them. Beat had stopped playing as well and Luminous too, had her eyes glued to Berry.

Her special ability, "My World". She was right in front of Luminous and smiled sweetly just before she smashed Luminous's face into the ground with a full-force heel drop. Her ability's effect broke and Berry was suddenly surrounded by half-a-dozen enemy Cures. Beat spun once and kicked Melody back several meters, away from Rhythm.

Berry continued by attacking Rhythm but quickly found herself outnumbered. Rhythm was joined by Bloom and Egret, the three of them landing a simultaneous hit on Berry, knocking her back and leaving her staggering for a second. Egret followed up on the hit straight away, joined by Rhythm.

Beat was locked into a duel with Melody, the two of them equal in power and skill, using the exact same moves, parrying each other's attacks, trying to find an opening. The odds had changed to seven versus four now.

"Mint..." Pine was about to hit her limit. They could not risk falling prey to Beat's ability again, so it was Mint's job to stop them from using their abilities.

Peach, finally recovered, had joined up with Lemonade and the pair attacked Bloom. Peach was inferior to Bloom in terms of raw force, but she was equal in skill. The orange-haired Cure took a blow to the face and countered with a punch herself, knocking Peach back. Before she could continue she found her legs suddenly bound by Lemonade's golden chain which wrapped around her ankles.

But Bloom was much more difficult to swing around than Egret. The strong Cure literally buried her fingers into the ground and held fast, preventing Lemonade from lifting her up as she had done Egret.

Peach used the opening to jump in and deliver a brutal kick to Bloom, but the girl stayed firm even with that. Another kick followed, and yet another, a series of kicks to her face, Bloom took it all. Peach felt like she had no effect on her at all.

With a sudden movement, Bloom grabbed Peach by her throat and grinned. If she had to take so much from that one woman, she would pay her back twice over. "Blooming Strike!" Bloom rammed her fist against Peach's stomach, unleashing an energy burst. Peach coughed up blood as she was thrown backwards from the impact and tumbled across the floor. She finally came to a stop, her eyes white and unfocused. Peach was down.

Melody kept Beat in a stalemate deliberately. She could overpower her but she held back; whatever the other team was doing to control Beat, they couldn't possibly keep it up forever. Almost on cue, the effect wore off. Beat blinked a few times and found herself fighting her own ally.

They were hit out of the blue by a low kick, both of them losing their balance. The devilishly fast Pine was upon them, faster than even Egret. She was joined by the calculating Berry. Melody and Rhythm jumped back, restoring some distance between themselves and their current opponents.

And then it happened. "Clear Zone!" Mint reached up into the air with her right hand and a green butterfly emblem appeared right above her. The room was suddenly filled with a green, shimmering light. Lemonade's chains persisted but every Cure could feel that something was different.

Melody and Rhythm lost their songs, and Beat found herself unable to play. Bloom and Egret felt the effects vanish as well. "Break!" Berry shouted and the entire light team retreated, vanishing into the hallways on their side.

The dark team was left debilitated and one member short. Peach of the light team was also down, bringing their total to five versus five. Even with the most meticulous planning and strategy, nothing went just as planned.

Egret and Bloom went straight after the five, followed by Beat, Rhythm and Melody. They faced three stairways leading up, one leading down, and a hallway that led straight further away from the main room. "Separate."

Egret took the hallway, Rhythm went up, Melody down. Beat and Bloom went up as well.

The first one to reach their destination was Rhythm. At the end of the room, leaning against the wall and as calm as a lake during a sunny day, Cure Berry waited. "Seems you drew the short straw."

"Do you really think splitting us up will make much of a difference?" said Rhythm with disdain. She was confident that she was the least skilled in hand-to-hand combat, but even if she went down, there was no way the others could beat Bloom, Egret or Melody in a one–on-one.

Berry did not fall for the taunt and rushed straight at Rhythm. A powerful heel drop, Rhythm was forced to her knees blocking it with her arms. Putting all her strength into her arms she pushed the blue Cure back, closed the space that opened up with a quick jump and struck a series of punches against Berry, who blocked each of them with her forearms.

Rhythm jumped back and they faced off again. Berry snapped her fingers twice, pointed at her enemy and grinned. Rhythm had seen that attack before and closed her eyes to avoid the attack. But instead of the expected attack, Rhythm was suddenly hit by a savage kick to her stomach, followed by a horizontal kick to her face. A second horizontal kick dropped her to the ground.

Berry didn't let off and followed up by jumping slightly and landing a brutal hit on Rhythm's back, making the younger Cure gasp in pain as air was forced from her lungs. Not taking any chances, Berry grabbed Rhythm by her legs and started to spin her around, about to drive her into the wall. But Rhythm was craftier than Berry gave her credit for.

Just as Berry was about to let go, Rhythm buried her hands deep into the long hair of her opponent. The force of Rhythm being thrown unable to escape, it went right back to Berry and lifted her off the ground. The tall Cure was thrown through the air like a stick, Rhythm dropping to the ground and only slightly sliding across the room. Rhythm kept a trophy of that act, a thick strand of Berry's hair in both of her hands.

Not giving her opponent time to regain balance, Rhythm unleashed a series of punches against Berry who had no defence. "Rhythmic Blast!" Jumping back, she concentrated her energy into her right fist and hit Berry with full power. The punch itself was no different from any other but the energy blast drove the senior Cure right through the wall into the next room.

Rhythm jumped after her over the rubble, looking to finish her off. Berry grabbed Rhythm's left ankle, pulled her off balance, swung her up and down and smashed her against the wall face first. Letting go of her ankle and jumping up, Berry grabbed the back of her opponent's head, driving her into the wall thrice before the stone broke and Rhythm no longer moved.

Berry dropped the Cure and sighed. But she had been relieved too early. Rhythm, only pretending to be knocked out, kicked at Berry's ankles, making her stumble over the blonde. Without getting up, the blond Cure used both her legs to kick Berry right up at the ceiling. Dust and debris fell down from the impact.

Berry fell down and didn't move. Rhythm didn't take the chance of falling for her own trick and rushed straight for Berry, who was waiting for her to do just that. Rolling to the side, she evaded the white-clad Cure's attack, grabbed her by her blond ponytail and used it to whirl Rhythm around like a lasso. "Spade..." Berry thrashed Rhythm into the floor, stomped on her stomach with her heels to create her spade seal and jumped into the air. "...Impact!" The seal exploded and the force went straight through Rhythm, denting the ground and finally crashing it to pieces. Throwing up blood, Rhythm fell down.

Not without retaliating. Turning in mid-air, the white Cure spawned two dozen notes around her, a skill she had copied from Beat. "Chaotic Rhythm!" The notes went straight up and destroyed the ceiling above Berry with an explosion. The dust from the destroyed ground and ceiling mixed together, reducing visibility to nothing.

Berry grabbed debris and rocks at random, throwing them wildly below where she thought Rhythm to be. She was definitely not above using the environment to her advantage. "Chaotic Rhythm!" The notes came flying again and Berry took a direct hit, each note burning her skin and hurting like being stabbed by a knife.

"Spade Shock!" Overcoming her pain and aiming straight at the centre of the origin of the attack, Berry fired a blue energy blast. A tiny bit of red mixed with the dust and she knew she had hit her.

Rhythm hit the ground and tried to get up but didn't manage it in time. Berry landed straight on top of her, pinning her down. "Spade Impact!" Berry held her hand right in front of Rhythm's face and the white Cure was again smashed into the ground by the energy blast.

Berry couldn't even stand after that and rolled over, lying down next to the white Cure. If that wasn't enough to take her out, she would give up. But Rhythm didn't move and this time it didn't seem to be a fake. Berry sat up and as the dust came down and vanished, she saw Rhythm's passed out face. She had done quite the number on her. She would at least keep a blue eye.

"But she's kinda cute like this," Berry said before she fell flat on her back, unable to lift even a single finger.

Shortly after Rhythm had started fighting Berry, the next two Cures met. Egret had run into a large room that was at best two meters high, leaving barely any room to jump. The length on the other hand almost dwarfed the large room from before.

Egret could barely see the yellow flash behind her before she was kicked in the back and slid over the ground from the impact but managed to remain standing.

Pine had stopped about a dozen meters away from Egret and taunted her. "Let's see if you can keep up with me." Pine had insane acceleration and reached her top speed in less than two seconds. Egret dodged to the side and watched Pine take a large curve, coming right back at her.

"Diamond Arms!" Pine clenched her left fist and four golden spikes formed in-between her fingers like a spiked glove. Egret jumped backwards to dodge the first blow, leant back to dodge a second and escaped a final kick with a quick backflip.

Pine went in too fast and couldn't see Egret's counter. The purple-haired Cure used her arms as support, kicking Pine in the face twice and sending her flying towards the entrance. Using the low ceiling as a stepping stone, Pine jumped at the ground, used her hands to jump back up and hit Egret, who had followed her at maximum speed, with her right hand.

Using the extra momentum from the impact to her advantage, Egret turned in mid-air and started running deeper inside the room. Pine caught up to her after a few seconds. Just running wouldn't get them anywhere.

Pine took the initiative. "Diamond Flash!" She completely vanished from Egret's field of vision for a split second. Egret was lifted by an invisible force and smashed into the ceiling face-first with such force that part of the rocky surface crumbled.

Egret couldn't see what was grabbing her but she felt something on the back of her head. "Sky Tremor!" Azure colored sky energy blasted away from Egret and the Cure fell to the ground, bouncing off the harsh surface several times. Her face was burnt by the friction of rubbing against the stone.

Egret turned around when someone crashed with full force into the wall at the end of the room. Speed so great that even the user couldn't even turn or slow down. Egret could only see something yellow flash for a second before she felt four spikes bury themselves into her stomach.

Egret couldn't trust her eyes. Relying entirely on her sense of hearing, she waited for the next attack, for the sound of someone running at incredible speed. The sound of the steps almost merging with each other, that was how far their speed surpassed her own.

Egret stepped aside, put her left leg in the way, clenched her fists and slammed down on Pine's back with all of her might. With a single blow, Egret stopped the godlike speed of the yellow Cure.

Rolling back and facing Egret, Pine bled from her nose and her eyes. Diamond Flash was not suited for continuous use after all. "Diamond Arms!" Pine created spikes in her left hand as well.

The two were in a stand-off. Pine had superior speed and Egret had superior technique. Starting to move in a circle, they looked for an opening. Egret was bleeding from the hit that Pine had landed before.

Pine got sick of the stand-off first and rushed at Egret who had to avoid her punch. A left-right combination, forcing Egret back, the purple haired Cure evading again with a quick back-flip but this time Pine was prepared. Jumping just slightly in Egret's direction, she landed a kick in the same spot she had hit before. Egret spit blood and landed hard on the ground, cushioning her fall with her legs and one arm. Her left hand went to the wound Pine had just opened further.

Pine was right in front of her, trying to keep up the attacking pressure. Egret took the punch with her shoulder, grabbed Pine's arm, wrapped her legs around Pine's neck and brutally smashed Pine into the ground. "Azure Sky Supreme Thunder!" Egret put her open hand on Pine's left hand and unleashed an energy blast right on it.

Pine cried out in pain, the attack slicing deep into her hand leaving a multitude of bleeding cuts. "Azure Sky Supreme.." Egret, still holding Pine in a headlock, was about to hit her again when Pine grit her teeth and started hitting Egret's hip with her free hand. The spikes buried themselves deep into the flesh of the white Cure, again and again.

"Thunder!" Egret switched her target in the last second and put her hand right on Pine's horrified face. Razor-sharp winds shredded over her face, cutting her at least a dozen times.

Letting Pine go, Egret rolled herself to the side. She was still bleeding. Putting her hand on the wound, she closed it with wind energy.

Pine was out cold. The last attack had far surpassed her pain threshold and she fainted. Egret was tougher and that had, in the end, enabled her to win. A short but extremely savage battle. Egret knew that if she had drawn out the battle, she would have eventually lost. The holes in her body from Pine's attack would have sapped her strength in no time.

Barely able to stand and walk, Egret tried to get to the exit of the room but only got a few meters further before her vision began to blur. She was losing a lot of blood from that last desperate attack of Pine. Unable to compensate any more, Egret fainted and fell down barely a dozen meters away from Pine.

At the same time as Pine going down, Melody found her opponent and she walked right into a trap. The room was a perfect square, about ten meters high and long. Lemonade was in the back of the room, swinging a long golden chain around.

"I wanted the purple one; you remind me too much of Dream," said Lemonade, grinning. "Why is everyone pink?" The blonde girl then beckoned to Melody. "Come. Let's get this over with."

Melody fell for the taunt and rushed straight at Lemonade, right into a trap. Swinging her chain, the pink Cure jumped over it, but the chain followed her, wrapping itself around her ankle. Melody was slammed into the floor like she was some sort of human fly swatter. Once, twice, thrice she hit the ground; Lemonade knew no mercy.

Melody grabbed the chain, enduring the pain of being repeatedly slammed into the ground, and pulled on it, Lemonade too surprised to counter. The yellow Cure barely in range, Melody took out the big guns. She couldn't win a fight like that with just her martial arts. "Brutal Melody!"

Lemonade saw herself surrounded by pink notes. Dissolving the chain around Melody's ankle, she shot another one from her left hand towards the back end of the room, pulling herself away like a spider. The notes unable to follow her exploded and did nothing at all. "Crafty. But you got a long way to go, pinky,," chided Lemonade, knowing well that taunting the enemy was an excellent way to make them lose their concentration.

"Was that supposed to be an attack?" she continued. "Should I show you what a _real_ attack is?" Lemonade held one hand above her own hand and the golden chain extending from it started to whirl around her like a tornado. "Come on, try to hit me, pinky." As it happened, one taunt was sufficient.

Melody rushed straight at the senior Cure and was instantly hit by a long slap from the chain. The first hit went right into her left side. The second hit at her right leg. The next four hits went for her arms and sides again. Melody couldn't get close without enduring the brutal whippings of the golden metal chain.

"What, is that all?" asked Lemonade, mock disappointment clearly audible. "Are you _sure_ you're really a Cure? Or are you just completely useless without your partner around?" The blonde stopped the whirl and grinned wide. "Watch out!" Lemonade shouted and, to her surprise, Melody jumped to the side. Lemonade started laughing. "What a wimp."

Melody clenched her fist hard, her knuckles turning white. She was far too easy to provoke and that yellow Cure had figured that out. She knew that she was just being taunted but she just couldn't resist. Again, Melody rushed at Lemonade.

"Tsk," said Lemonade, firing off the chain again. "You don't learn." This time it hit Melody's throat. Without pausing, she spawned a second chain from the ceiling to where Melody stood. The pink Cure found herself suddenly strangled, fighting to breathe.

"Don't... underestimate... me...!" Melody managed, barely able to speak with the chain tightening around her throat. Grabbing the chain around her neck, Melody pulled on it with all her strength and succeeded in ripping it out of the ceiling.

"What brute force..." Lemonade was amazed for a few seconds, which was enough of a window for Melody to recover and attack. This time Lemonade barely reacted in time, the chain wrapping itself around Melody's arm.

But she lacked the strength to swing her around at that close range. "Too bad." Melody grinned and dealt a punishing blow to Lemonade's stomach, followed by a drop kick. Stomping on her head, Melody got even with her for all the insults and taunts. A battle was a battle. She didn't have to hold back.

She realized too late that the chain had crawled up her leg and then quickly wrapped itself around her once more. She was locked down and couldn't move her arms. "Enough of this!" cried Melody, sick of the same old trick. "Brutal Melody! Brutal Melody! _Brutal Melody!_" The pink Cure summoned dozens of notes, so many that Lemonade was terrified their blast might obliterate them both. Lemonade dispelled the chain and put some distance between herself and her opponent.

But it wasn't that easy. In a flash, Melody was right behind her, grabbing her right arm and hurling her right back into the mass of notes. The explosion that followed completely destroyed the ground below, leaving only dust and a large hole. Melody stepped over to it. There was only an empty and seemingly bottomless shaft below.

Looking to make sure that her opponent had indeed fallen, Melody leaned forward and peeked into the hole. That was a fatal error; a single golden chain flew out of the darkness below and wrapped itself around her arm.

Melody couldn't get the chain loose and the pull on it increased with every second. It took all her power to not be dragged into the hole in front of her. Even so, her efforts shortly turned out to be in vain. More golden chains shot out of the ground and up into the ceiling right around her and she was slowly sucked into the ground.

The second she was completely submerged, Melody dropped into a pitch black room that was only illuminated slightly by a dozen golden chains spun through it.

"Golden Gate, Call," wheezed Lemonade, her breathing hard, blood running from her nose. No more taunts. No more playing around.

The yellow Cure jumped up, whirled around and spawned several golden chains from her arms, attacking Melody from all directions at once. "Brutal Melody!" Spawning the notes right on herself, Melody endured the blast and used the smoke to evade the golden chains. She found a weak spot. Lemonade was wide open whenever she was in the middle of an attack. It was near impossible to evade them unless it was clear where they were aimed at. Or in case Lemonade couldn't see her target.

"Explosion Tune!" Melody put but her hands together, the insides toward Lemonade and hit her. A pink energy blast went right through Lemonade, the yellow Cure throwing up blood and falling to her knees, unable to even breathe. Melody didn't stop, instead grabbing the head of her enemy and jumping into the air. She would end the fight right here.

Lemonade coughed and grit her teeth, a disastrous expression on her face. Several golden chains sprung out of the walls, wrapping themselves around Melody's ankles and wrists. Lemonade saved herself from falling by standing on two intervened chains.

"You're... good..." she grunted, "but this.. is it..." With a click of her fingers, the chains all pulled at once and Melody's scream of pain echoed through the shaft. Lemonade had no powerful finisher attacks. It was the best she could do to just break her opponent. If the pain made her faint, then all was good.

But it proved much harder to make Melody faint than Lemonade had thought. Her muscles were burning like acid was dripping on them, her scream getting louder the more the chains pulled. Her bones were about to break. But her will was iron. With a last desperate act of strength, Melody pulled the chains right out of the walls, shocking Lemonade with her tenacity.

"Explosion Tune!" Melody, unable to even think straight, just hit Lemonade right in the chest. The energy burst ran through the chain-user a second time and her body went limb. The golden chains vanished and they fell. Lemonade and Melody both hit the ground at the same time, neither of them moving.

A different kind of battle was playing out far above them. A room that consisted almost entirely of balconies and thin walkways between the two walls, the full length of the place was not even ten meters. It seemed more like a tiny tower than anything else.

Aqua was standing on one of the walkways far above, her rapier drawn. She had least expected to face her. Beat. Her songs would prove useless in a vertically designed battlefield such as the tower. Aqua already had the inherent advantage.

"Sonic Beat!" Beat swung her arm in front of her and created a circle of musical notes right above her. With a snap of her fingers, the notes flipped around and became sharp arrows aiming at Aqua. The dark blue Cure remained motionless, seeing no need to evade.

A second snap and the notes rushed at their target. Beat could barely believe her eyes when she saw every single note being parried with incredible skill and speed. But, special attacks were her thing, and she quickly summoned another. "Sonic Rock!"

More notes appeared, this time surrounding Aqua in an instant. Four circles of notes, pointed at her, ready to stab her. But the older Cure kept her cool and waited for the right moment to counter. "Encore!" Beat spawned another set of notes around herself, the symbols whirling like a barrier.

With a single flash cut, Aqua destroyed the walkway below her and fell right through the notes' center. Grabbing another walkway while falling, the blue-haired Cure swung herself on top of it. Using the walkways as stepping stones, she jumped further upwards, again and again, going higher with amazing speed.

"Come..." Aqua taunted her opponent. A heavy guitar riff shook the whole room and made Aqua curse. Her opponent was maybe not as unsuited to the area as she thought.

"Supreme Rock!" Beat had pulled out her guitar and was playing a series of heavy riffs, continuously spawning notes above her which immediately took aim and flew straight above, crashing into walkways and balconies, destroying them in the process.

Aqua had reached the top level of the room and could see the destruction further down. Beat could destroy the whole thing but it wouldn't help her. There was an exit on the last floor. But that was not all. It led _outside_. Aqua was the first Cure to realize what kind of place they were in.

A massive fortress with towers and walls, floating in what seemed to be a bubble of atmosphere. There was nothing beyond that. It couldn't even be called emptiness or darkness. It was just nothing. As if the world simply ended beyond the walls.

Aqua lost her concentration for a split second and didn't notice the massive note that pushed itself through the exit. If that thing exploded...! Aqua slashed the note in half and then into quarters with a lightning-quick cut.

Beat caught up to her. She too realized now where they were. But, that was only a secondary concern at this time. Aqua was right in front of her. "Hyper Beat Rock!" Beat played a different riff and a multitude of notes spawned all over the two Cures. Dozens, if not hundreds, of notes.

Aqua saw that her ability to evade in this space was heavily diminished and attacked Beat, forcing her back. A quick stabbing attack, a horizontal slash, another horizontal slash, a kick at her ankles; Beat was losing the battle of speed and skill.

"Tune Blast!" Another riff. Aqua was literally blown away by the air pressure the skill emitted, but when Beat looked up, her opponent was gone. She had only taken her eyes off Aqua for a split second.

"Above me?" Beat looked up but there was only her sea of notes. Where in the world was Aqua? The purple-haired Cure only realized where her opponent was when a thin trickle of blood ran from her right arm. Aqua appeared right in front of her. "Mirage Cut."

Aqua jumped back and returned to her position. She wasn't made to excel at brute force or plain speed. She was the Cure of Intelligence. Fighting with tricks and cunning was her forte. Taking a single step back, Aqua vanished again.

Beat couldn't see what kind of trick the water Cure was using at the time, but she had her own ways to protect herself. "Amp!" Beat stomped on the ground and created a huge guitar amplifier from nothing. It was kept in her signature colors, purple and blue. She couldn't use her strongest attacks without it, but it was a huge risk to be stationary. "Supreme Power Chord!" The air vibrated and the ground shook when Beat started playing. The sound was echoing off the walls, coming back and reinforcing her ability. It was stronger in small, closed places, but even here its effect was impressive.

Beat could see. The silhouette of Aqua, moving around, invisible. And she realized her trick. Water in the air. Aqua was using countless tiny reflections to hide herself. Unexpectedly for Aqua, Beat dropped her guitar and went straight for her opponent, landing a kick right into her stomach.

Aqua gasped for air, grabbed Beat's neck, kicked her free leg off the ground, flipped her into the air and propelled her in a carefully-aimed direction. Beat approached her own sea of notes at critical speed. "Cancel!" The notes vanished, but, like this, Aqua had back the freedom of the sky.

Beat managed to turn in mid-air and barely escape the stab of Aqua's rapier, grabbing the older Cure by her shoulder, ramming her knee against her arm to make her drop the weapon. Beat gasped when Aqua put her hand on her chest. "Aquatic Prison." The two of them were engulfed into a large floating water orb and they could no longer breathe. More than that, Aqua landed a straight punch right in Beat's stomach, causing her to inhale water, and she fell into a coughing fit.

Free from Beat's grasp, Aqua jumped out of the orb and landed on the ground, spawning her rapier anew. She wasn't going to underestimate Beat, but she knew it would be difficult for the musical Cure to free herself from the water prison orb.

Beat's face was starting to turn blue and purple. The lack of air was making her desperate. She never really used the attack because of the recoil, but she had little other choice. "Metal Burst!" Beat ignored the lack for air, desperately trying to get free. And it worked. The orb shattered with enormous force and Beat dropped to the ground, coughing and throwing up water.

Impressed as she was, Aqua didn't give her any chance to recover. Beat was on all fours and still throwing up water. With a single brutal kick, Beat was thrown on her back. "Aqua Crux." Aqua rammed her rapier into Beat's right arm, piercing through and literally pinning the limb to the ground, her victim screaming in pain. Spawning a second rapier, Aqua repeated the process with Beat's left arm, followed by each of her legs. Beat's face was distorted in pain but she was still conscious.

She needed space. Aqua jumped up into the air and charged up her only attack that was likely to knock out Beat with a single hit. Reaching with her right hand above her, she created a deep-blue butterfly floating above her. "Arrow of..." Beat could see and feel the danger but, pinned down on her back like this, she was helpless. Just trying to move an arm or leg resulted in incredible pain. The wounds were small, but the water blades were razor sharp.

"…Leviathan!" Aqua had formed a bow of ice with an arrow that resembled a snake's head. The second she released the arrow, Aqua herself was thrown high into the air from the recoil. The snake-head arrow roared and howled before it hit Beat. The musical Cure was swallowed by the water and the impact.

Aqua was annoyed that Beat, instead of passing out, had used the water to successfully break free of her prison. She was bleeding, coughing and staggering but Aqua was high into the air, unable to change her course. Picking up her guitar, Beat used her most fearsome attack. The recoil was even worse than Metal Burst but, at this stage, she would at least take Aqua down with her.

"Metal Sonic Blast!" The air was vibrating even before Beat hit the first riff. Aqua had no way of avoiding a direct hit as she was still falling. And the moment Beat hit her guitar, everything went to hell. She only heard the first second of sound before her hearing gave in. The ground Beat stood on shattered and most of the ground around her was shredded to pieces as well.

Aqua dropped to the ground and didn't get up. She had not sustained many injuries, but the delicate hearing she needed for her job proved to be a fatal weakness against Beat. But the latter had not exactly been victorious. Swaying, she stood for a few seconds before she, too, toppled over and crashed to the ground, face-down. She was not immune to the attack's blast, either.

The last battle of the five had become a stalemate before it even started. Mint was waiting in a perfectly spherical room. And the opponent that came waltzing in was Bloom.

Bloom walked around the barrier that Mint had created, annoyed and irritated. "Sun Strike!" The pink Cure hit the barrier with a full force punch but it didn't even make a dent. "Come out! This is no fight, this is a joke!" Bloom cursed but Mint remained unaffected.

She was one of the physically strongest Cures, according to her own observation, but Mint had the strongest defence. It was a bad match-up. Unless she could overcome her defences, the battle would never get anywhere. So, in that case...

Bloom turned around and attempted to leave the room. "Forest of Tranquility!" Mint unleashed a new 'attack' and Bloom found herself blocked off from the exit. The entire room was filled by one large barrier with several dozen smaller ones. Bloom was confined inside one herself.

"Exploding Sun Strike!" Bloom hit the small barrier encasing her and, surprisingly, it burst. But not without a price; Bloom felt a hit to her face, throwing her into the air and against the upper wall of the outer barrier.

Mint was standing inside a triple-layer barrier. In this state she no longer had any offensive capabilities, but her defence was absolutely flawless. "Growth!" Mint stretched out her right hand and the barriers inside the forest started to move and shuffled. Bloom dodged one from behind and another from the front but was caught by the next one. Prisoner again.

Hitting the barrier thrice, it shattered. Bloom took the blows to her stomach that time. She would just end up hurting herself until she collapsed if Mint kept this up. There had to be a way to get to her. She just had to try and go straight for her. Jumping off the ground before Mint could use her Growth command again, Bloom hit the outer most barrier with her full power, though she barely dented it. At first…

"Exploding Sun Strike!" The first barrier shattered but Mint didn't even flinch. Bloom was smashed into the ground by her own attack's force. Ignoring the damage she had done, Bloom hit the second barrier with the exact same attack, taking the blow to her back that time and going straight for the last barrier.

"Growth!" Mint commanded once more, jumping back and moving together with one of the smaller barriers, watching Bloom get encased into the one she had stood in before. "Enforce!" Mint created two additional barriers around herself.

The fight was going nowhere. Mint had the ultimate advantage against a physical fighter like Bloom. It would've been bad if Egret or one of the other three had attacked her. The barriers were not soundproof and Egret was simply too fast for Growth to be effective.

Bloom saw no other option than to try and take Mint out with a single attack, breaking all the barriers at once. The rebound after breaking more than three barriers at once with that attack was something she didn't even want to think about.

Bloom starred at Mint, who simply smiled. She was, despite first impressions, a fearsome opponent. If only Egret had been with her, then they could have used Twin Stream Splash. Unfortunately, Egret was otherwise occupied so she had to take her chance now, before she took any more damage.

Closing her eyes, the pink Cure carefully imagined the trajectory of the attack. Through her own barrier, through the first of Mint. Through the second and third. To hit Mint in the stomach. The rebound always took about a second to kick in so she had only a brief window to finish her off if the first attack did not.

A deep breath, calming herself, Bloom found it surprisingly difficult to focus. There was just something in her mind that told her to attack. And then she was ready.

With a single, sudden punch, the barrier in front of Bloom was shattered. But Mint had anticipated an attack like that; over a dozen barriers were all lined up perfectly between Mint and Bloom. To her surprise, the attack went straight through all of them, crushed Mint's main defensive barriers and hit the green Cure hard enough to fling her around like a pinball.

Mint hit the floor, spitting blood and panting. Her endurance was low. If that attack had hit her full power she would have- Not being able to finish her thought, Mint's face was smashed into the ground by a brutal drop kick.

Not a second too early. Bloom found herself smashed into the ground right next to her. They were both still conscious but had taken heavy damage. Bloom feared she had a couple of cracked ribs, taking her own attack like that. Mint's face was full of small cuts and dirt, her stomach feeling like it had been crushed.

"You're not getting away." Bloom grabbed Mint's arm before she could jump away. The only slightly older Cure hit the green Cure with full force right in the face and felt how the punch came straight back to her.

"Equality." Mint breathed heavy, unable to free herself from Bloom's grasp. Her personal shielding ability reflected any damage inflicted in close combat back to her assailant thrice over. It was her last resort to defend herself.

Bloom rammed her knee into Mint's stomach, enduring the damage of her own attack. A brawl at close range with Bloom causing damage to both of them at the same time. Another punch to the face, a kick in the stomach, Bloom finished by smashing Mint into the ground with her weight and force.

The green Cure didn't move anymore, but the fight wasn't over yet. Not for Bloom. The barriers persisted even after Mint was knocked out. "You gotta be kidding me..." Bloom cursed and found at least five barriers lined up in front of the exit. It was impossible to break through the outer most barrier with force so she had to take the only path there was.

After taking even more damage than before, Bloom had finally reached the exit, her body one zone of pain. She never knew just how much it hurt to be hit by her own attacks. Walking down the stairs, Bloom finally reached the crossroads. Nobody else was there. Was it possible that her team had won?

"Too bad for you." Bloom had no time to turn around. Her body was exhausted, at the very limit of her endurance, and her reflexes had dulled greatly after the fight with Mint. "Spade Impact!"

Berry had recovered enough to go and see who else had managed to win their fight. Hearing someone approach from the stairs, she had hidden herself and waited in the shadows for an opportunity to strike, should it be an enemy.

Bloom was thrown through mid-air by the energy burst and fell flat on the ground, back in the large room. She didn't move. "I... hope that was... the last of them." Berry sunk to her knees, also at her limit.

The fight was over. Berry found herself in her room, as exhausted as before. Most of her wounds were gone. Bruises and a few small cuts remained, but nothing that posed any danger to her health. But there was something that bothered her. She had to confirm it with the others before she could say for sure.

Ignoring the bowl filled with favor on her bed, Berry left her room. The only Cure in the hallway was White. "How did it go?" she asked.

Berry nodded and walked over to White very slowly. She was tired far beyond what one could explain. "We won," she replied. "But it was... hard. I didn't think the fight would be so brutal. It's like... once you go through the door, you forget they're your allies. You only see them as enemy."

"I noticed that as well," said White. "Once on the battle grounds, you find it difficult to think about them as your friends. It's not that you hate them. They just seem... to be your enemy." Berry's assumptions were confirmed.

Two doors opened, Peach and Aqua joining them. "How did it go?" Peach was the first to ask. Her face had several bruises and she was fighting a headache.

Aqua couldn't even walk straight and pointed at her ears, forming a cross with her arms in front of her. Her voice was unnaturally quiet when she said something. "I still can't hear."

The others nodded. So far, nobody had taken any permanent damage so it was reasonable to assume her hearing would recover.

They were joined by Mint, who had bruises all over the place. "Let's wait for Lemonade and Pine." The five just stood there and waited. It took a couple of minutes but the two yellow Cures came out of their rooms, checking if the others were still there.

Pine had several cuts in her hands. Every single move of her fingers hurt but nothing seemed to be broken. Lemonade was looking even worse than Mint, thick, purple bruises covering her.

"We won," Berry announced. "But, there is something I have to ask all of you." She looked at the five others. "Did it... feel to you like the other Cures were really your enemy and not just pretend? Did you feel like you really wanted to fight to the end with them?"

Lemonade and Pine looked at each other for a few seconds and then back to Berry. "How did you know?"

Peach and Mint looked impressed as well. "We're the same."

"I figured it was something like that," said Aqua. "It's the red light, don't you think?" The water Cure had formed her own conclusions.

"I think so too," agreed Berry. "The crimson red light seems to have an effect on our minds. It is probably set up in a way that it enforces our desire to battle to a degree where we forget that our enemies are actually our friends." White nodded her agreement as well.

"Where are the others anyway?" asked Peach, looking at White.

"Sleeping," she replied. "With the exception of Blossom and Dream, all of us fought today. You should get some rest too. We can discuss what we do with the favor tomorrow." White looked tired herself.

"I agree." "Same here." "Me too." I'm so tired..." Mint, Lemonade, Peach and Pine didn't even take time to wait for a reply before they headed off to their rooms. "Good night."

Aqua and Berry remained for a short moment with White. "I am going to vote for a shower and a kitchen," said Berry, looking down at herself. She was still dusty from her fight with Rhythm.

"Sounds like a good idea," said Aqua, nodding briefly. "See you tomorrow." The water Cure headed back to her room. Berry and White just nodded to each other and did the same.

=== Dissonance ===

Rhythm was the first to come to. She was hurting all over the place. Her entire body was sore, every single muscle pleading for rest.

Only Moonlight was in the hallway. Rhythm figured that the others had gone to sleep already. Those who had been fighting must have been tired.

Moonlight didn't even have to ask. She could tell by Rhythm's depressed face. The next ones to wake up were Bloom and Beat. While Bloom was covered in bruises from head to toe, Beat had several red marks that looked like she had been stung by mosquitoes. She was also fighting a heavy headache.

Shortly after those two were Egret and Luminous. Egret had several cuts and a single deep cut at her side, which was closed but still hurt her badly. Luminous had several bruises but was otherwise fine.

Melody was the last one to come to and she could barely walk. Her legs and arms didn't obey her. Every step was painful, like an electric current ran through her body.

"From the looks of it, we lost this round as well," said Moonlight, though her tone assured that she was not blaming anyone. There was something else she wanted to confirm. "That aside, did any of you notice something unusual when you fought?"

"Unusual?" asked Bloom. "Like what?" Egret and Rhythm both seemed to have a rough idea of what Moonlight meant.

"Now that you mention it, I didn't think I could fight like that against other Cures," said Rhythm. "Nor did I think they'd be so brutal."

"Same for me," said Egret. "I would've never thought I could do those things."

"I think the door that connects to the battlefield has some sort of mechanism to it to enforce our desire for battle." Moonlight was not too unhappy about it. It guaranteed that everyone was fighting seriously. "It's a setup that forces us to fight seriously. It would be painful if we continuously thought about them as our close friends while we attack them. This might result in much more brutal battles... but it's easier on our minds."

"I don't get all that... so... the red light makes us want to fight?" Melody just wanted to go back to bed.

"That's pretty much it," said Moonlight. The tall girl sighed. "We should all get some sleep. Negotiations and exchange are postponed until tomorrow." While the rules stated that an exchange could only happen after negotiations and it had to happen after a battle, it did not specify the exact time.

"Good night." The only words anyone managed to say, feeling more tired than they had ever been before.

=== End of Event III===


	4. Nightmare

**Dissonance**

_Event IV_

**Nightmare**

With the lack of a sun, and for that matter, even windows, there was not much difference between day and night. One could say that only the weariness of their bodies told them where it was time to sleep. And that time itself became night.

The twenty five warriors, embodiments of light itself, chosen of good, that had been taken from the world and brought to a place far beyond reality were sound asleep. They had done battle to correct what they had wronged. And they would continue to do so, until balance was restored.

Their bodies weary, their minds weary, all but a few had fallen into deep, dreamless sleep. And those few that still laid awake found themselves wandering about with worry.

Karen had tried to fall asleep for the longest time. Without any way to accurately tell how long it had been, she gave up when her stomach started to growl. Others were asleep. She still had personal favor from the battle and would get something to eat.

The process of, so to speak, wishing for things was easy. Focus on either your bowl or the team's barrel when there is favor in it and think of what you want. Karen had a mindset of restraint. They knew little, next to nothing even, about the cost of food and water. It could not be much, but it would be something.

Taking her bowl into her hands, Karen simply asked for some rice and water in her mind. There was no way to know how much favor it would consume without testing. In a way, it was humiliating. Karen was rich back in the real world, so to accept a very plain meal like that was a fight against her own pride.

When Karen opened her eyes, two coins had vanished. "Plain food is cheap it seems." Before her, on the ground, was a small wooden tablet. On it: a big bowl filled with rice, a can with clear water, a glass and chopsticks. At least the forces were not stingy or unfair.

Eating what she had wished for, Karen thought that their situation must be what people that had nothing or lived in poverty endured all the time. Rice and water. A meal that could not be more plain. But for someone as hungry as she had been, it was more than enough. Karen didn't complain or add unnecessary luxury to her meal.

Finishing up, her stomach filled, the tablet vanished, together with everything else that had appeared. Unable to go back to bed after eating, Karen decided to go for a walk. There was nothing to see or to discover in that god forsaken place, but at least it would clear her mind.

Opening her door, Karen found the hallway to be even more silent than before. They were all sleeping, exhausted. She worried about Nozomi and thought she would check on her but Karen changed her mind just as she stood before her door. What would she even say?

Turning about, Karen walked past her own room and left the hallway to the north. To one side was the door they all went through. Leading to the battlefield. Leading to the negotiations and the exchanges. It was a dreadful feeling to know that her instinct to battle was forced out by something as simple as red light. There had to be more to it.

Walking up to the door and touching it, there was no reaction. It opened only when it was time for one of them to step through. Karen had the feeling that there were more rules to the whole thing than what they knew. They had not been told of the effects the different colored lights had. Nor of what the limits of the favor was.

But it wasn't any of these things that disturbed Karen the most. Her unresolved fight with Kurumi was the real reason she couldn't sleep. What would she say when Kurumi came to her team? Their fight had been quite a big one...

"_I feel a little lonely without the others sometimes." Karen was frying vegetables for dinner._

"_I don't get why. I'm here, aren't I?" Kurumi was munching on potato chips on the couch, halfheartedly watching TV._

_Karen had a busy life. Between practice and concerts, she had barely any free time. Living with Kurumi was not making it any easier for her. The purple haired woman barely did anything in the house, spending most of her days in front of the TV or following Karen to practice and concerts._

"_I'm not talking about you. Don't you want to see Nozomi, Urara, Rin and Komachi sometimes?" Karen knew that Komachi and Kurumi barely got along as it was, but not the reason. They just seemed to always end up in a fight after being five minutes in the same room._

"_I don't really mind. I only want to be with you." Kurumi had found her passion for Karen lacking as of late. While she still loved her, their romance had grown stale over the years. That the blue haired woman was spending so much of her time with practice and work was not pleasing her either._

_Sometimes, Kurumi didn't get to see Karen for the whole day. Leaving the house in the morning and returning late at night, they only slept with each other when Karen was not tired from work. Which happened maybe once or twice a week._

"_I can't believe you. Aren't they your friends too?" Karen had noticed that change in Kurumi a long time ago. When she graduated and started working on her musical career, she had less and less time for the others, focusing her only free time on Kurumi, who seemed to be happy but made otherwise no effort to even stay in contact to the others._

"_Urara's gone off and is doing something stupid. You know I can't stand Komachi. Rin and Nozomi have their own stuff to do. I don't think it's all that bad we have our own lives now." Kurumi munched another potato chip and sighed. "I don't think any of the others would even know what to say or do together anymore. We're not middle school students anymore Karen."_

_Kurumi almost fell down the couch when Karen slammed the dishes on the table. "Are you seriously saying that? Did the whole fight against Eternal slip your mind? What we went through?"_

"_I'm just saying it's in the past. Look at us Karen. We're adults now. Did you really think we six were going to be friends forever?" Kurumi had a displeased look on her face. Why did Karen always have to bring up the others?_

"_...You're horrible. I can't believe you'd say something like that. I was planning on taking a break from work to try and get us six back together. I can't stand the way things are." Karen returned to the kitchen and continued making dinner._

"_What, you're going to waste your time doing that instead of spending time with me?" Kurumi didn't really think through what she was saying._

_Eerie silence covered the room. Karen had stopping moving her hands and stood still for a few seconds. Kurumi wanted to take it back but she was too stubborn to admit she said something stupid._

"_**Waste** my time? Not spending time with **you**? So you're saying you wouldn't even help me with this?" Karen turned around, tears of rage in her eyes. There was only so much arrogance she could take._

_Kurumi couldn't say anything. It had been years since she last made Karen cry and she always felt awful about it afterwards. Without a word, Karen turned off the stove and walked away, in direction of her room. Just short of leaving the room, Karen turned around._

"_Don't you dare come in here tonight." Her voice was cold and so full of anger that Kurumi dropped the bag with potato chips, her mouth wide open in fear. They slept together but Karen had never kicked her out of their bedroom before._

"_Wait, Karen, I-" Karen slammed the door to her bedroom shut and the bang was as long as an explosion._

_The violinist stood in her bedroom, the outside already dark. How could Kurumi be so heartless? Didn't the others mean anything to her? Did she really become like that? Karen sat down on the ground, leaned against the bed and fought back her tears for a few moments._

"_Everyone..." Karen cried many bitter tears that night. Kurumi never came to see her or apologize._

Just thinking about it made Karen sad again. Sitting down on a set of stairs not too far from the hallway, she sat down, Knee bent and her arms around her own legs, her head forehead touching the top of her knee.

Even now, she couldn't get her friends back together. Was Kurumi right? Had they really just grown apart with the years? Where they no longer friends at all?

Urara and Rin were still friends. Or so it seemed. Nozomi was friends with Rin and the only one to still have contact with Komachi. How long had it been that they all came together and smiled? Karen couldn't even remember.

"Can't sleep?" Someone unexpected showed up. Karen looked up and faced a woman she didn't know that well. "I couldn't sleep because I was hungry and Honoka kicked me out when I started eating in what she called the middle of the night. Why are you still up?"

Nagisa sat down next to Karen. She might have not been the smartest of the twelve, but she could see right away that Karen was depressed. "You're Cure Aqua, right?"

"Karen. Minazuki Karen."

"I'm sorry, I keep forgetting everyone's names. I'm a little bad with names in general. So why are you out here?"

"I couldn't sleep, got hungry and then couldn't sleep again. So I came out here to walk around a little."

"Almost the same as me." Nagisa smiled, took a deep breath and took a more serious approach. "If you want you can talk to me about what depresses you. I'm no genius when it comes to this, but I can see that something is really bothering you."

Karen wasn't sure what to think of the woman. Cure black aka Misumi Nagisa. Karen knew that she and Cure White were an item so she might have useful advice.

"My girlfriend is on the other team, I think. She might even be the exile. We had a big fight just before this happened. We used to be a team of six, but... things broke." Karen didn't even look at Nagisa, just sitting there. "I wanted the team to get back together. She didn't care. I was really hurt. It's just... deep down, I'm starting to think I'm a little sick of how egoistic she is."

"Egoistic?"

"She's basically freeloading off me. She doesn't do anything in the house. She doesn't care about our friends. Kurumi used to be such a nice girl but... she changed over the years. I am really busy with work and we don't have much time for each other. I was going to take a break and spend time with everyone in an attempt to get us back together as friends. All she said was that I was **wasting** my time."

"That's no way to treat your friends. I think she needs a hard wake-up call. I had a few big fights with Honoka too. She was invited to go overseas for work for a year but it would have meant leaving me and Hikari behind in Japan. We wouldn't have seen each other for a whole year. I was thinking that doing a job like that was her dream and told her to go. Honoka misunderstood it and we had a pretty big fight. In the end, she almost ended up going but Hikari stopped her, knowing that I couldn't live a whole year without her."

"So your friend saved your relationship?" Karen was aware that other people had problems too but sometimes it surprised her how they resolved their arguments.

"I realized that Hikari was right and apologized to Honoka, explaining that I didn't want to stand in the way of her dream. You know what she told me? That her job was only her second dream. I was so confused at the time that I asked what her first dream was then. She just smiled, looking at me for some time and I realized it."

"Sounds like an amazing story."

"That's the point. It only sounds like that. I was really, really sad when it happened and Honoka later told me that she was crying for hours after I told her to go. It's just... sometimes you have to put your love and your friends before other things. I think your girlfriend has her priorities backwards."

"You think so too, huh..." Karen was fighting an inner battle. "Do... do you think I should just end it? It's just... a few years ago, we were still happy but we just... sort of live next to each other now. Not with each other."

"Nobody can make that decision for you Karen. Nobody should give you advice on it either. This is something you have to decide alone." Nagisa thought it was time for her to go back and sneak into bed to Honoka. "I'll go back. Are you coming too?" Nagisa stood up and held out her hand.

"No... I'll just stay here for a little longer." Karen smiled. "But thanks for talking to me. Maybe we'll talk again." Nagisa smiled and walked away, waving, yawning hard the second she stepped around the corner.

Alone again, Karen leaned back and looked at the ceiling. Breaking up with Kurumi... she had thought about it a few times before but never seriously. For some time, Kurumi had been a really nice girl. But as soon as they moved in together, she reverted back to the spoiled princess she had been before. Karen had ignored it, knowing that some people just don't change easily, but after three years of ignoring it, she was at her limit.

It would hurt a lot to leave Kurumi but it was time for her to wake up. It didn't matter if Kurumi was not originally human. She had lived the past three years exclusively as human. If she wanted to be human, she had to fit into society.

The more she thought about it, the more confident Karen became in that she was making the right decision. Breaking up with Kurumi meant she was in for a world of emotional pain but if looked like the only way to get Kurumi to wake up.

A single long yawn escaped Karen. She was finally becoming tired. Walking back to her room, thoughts of her happier moments with Kurumi came up. They were almost all from when their group of friends had still been together. As soon as it was only Kurumi and herself, the purple haired woman had turned back to her spoiled self.

Opening the door, Karen first thought she had the wrong room. But it was undoubtedly hers. The bed was exactly like she left it. With one major difference. "Karen..." Komachi, or rather, Mint was there.

Karen didn't quite know what to say. "What are you doing here?" It was the only thing that came to mind.

"I want you back." Komachi was not going to just look and sit around anymore. If she just kept quiet about it, nothing would change. "I love you Karen. I have for years. I don't care if you're with Kurumi right now but I want you to be with me." Mint had stood up and grabbed Karen by her wrist, getting really close to her.

Coincidence was a scary thing. But was it really just coincidence? Was it something one of the others had said to her after what happened before? "What's wrong with you Komachi? This isn't like you." Karen didn't try to get free, too confused to think straight.

"I am sick of just being like me! You never noticed my feelings and you would never have if I didn't say it like this!" Komachi raised her voice and shook her head. "Rhythm was right. I shouldn't just sit around and wait for you to notice what I feel."

Pushing her oldest friend against the door, Mint pressed her lips on Karen's. It was her first kiss. She had saved it up for her love all these years. She had thought Karen would resist. Push her away, get angry or sad and cry. But nothing happened.

"Do you still feel nothing for me?" Mint had tears in her eyes when she broke off her kiss, saddened by Karen's reaction.

"You were in love with me all these years..." Karen looked at the ground, unable to face her friend. "And I never noticed anything. I can't even imagine what that must have been like for you. I... can't tell you how sorry I am."

"You're sorry? Karen... I... I don't care about whether you're sorry or not. I don't care if you feel guilty. I am not blaming you. I knew that you weren't going to figure it out on your own. It's my own fault... but I want to know what you feel. About me."

"Right now I don't know. You've always been there for me and when we no longer saw each other... I was really sad. I love...loved Kurumi. I decided to break up with her. I just can't be with her as she is now. So... I don't really know what to tell you."

Mint was silent until Karen caressed her cheek. "The kiss... I liked it, but I don't know what I feel for you right now. You've been my friend for such a long time... and then you were just gone from my life. I missed you often. And now... in this situation, I learn you loved me all this time."

Karen, free from Mint's grasp, walked to her bed and sat down on it, confused and perplexed. Why did Komachi have to come to her just minutes after she decided to break up with Kurumi? There couldn't have been a worse moment.

Mint only realized now what Karen had said before. "You... decided to break up with Kurumi?" It was joyous news for her. If Karen was not seeing Kurumi anymore, then Karen could be with her instead.

"It's just something I've thought about a few times in the past. It was the nice Kurumi I fell in love with. Not the spoiled woman who doesn't care about her friends she is now. I don't know if I'll ever get back with her, even if she changes. I'm just at my limit. I know I shouldn't tell you this, but I think you have a right to know after what I've put you through."

Mint knew that Karen was often holding back her emotions. She had done so in the past and she was still doing it. Regardless of how ripped her dress was, Mint transformed back into Komachi and sat down next to Karen.

A single move and Mint had pulled Karen on her chest, hugging her tightly. It must hurt a lot to break up a relationship that had been going for years. Yet she didn't look like she had cried even a little. "Komachi, what are you doing?"

The green haired woman didn't say anything. She just held Karen, hugged her, until she could finally hear quiet sobbing sounds from her old friend. Karen had difficultly just letting her emotions run free. Komachi was there for her to help her with that.

Karen laid both her hands around Komachi's back, crying rivers of tears, sad and devastated about her failed relationship. She had tried so hard to make it work. But Kurumi was just too much. She couldn't handle the disappointment anymore.

Komachi didn't say anything, letting Karen cry in peace. Patting her back and her head, she sometimes showed her affection, calming Karen down a little. But Karen had to let it all out.

Karen cried forever. Komachi's dress was stained with dark, wet marks when Karen finally fell asleep crying in the authors arms. She wanted to be with Karen. Touch her, kiss her, sleep with her. But doing any of these things would ruin what little they had now.

Laying down just as they were, Komachi kept Karen in her arms, going to sleep together with her. She was going to get Karen back. Be with her. Make her happy. And she would finally get happiness herself.

=== Dissonance ===

Melody laid passed out in someone else's room. Having taken the wrong door and just thrown herself on the bed, Melody transformed back and fell asleep without even noticing she was not in her own room.

Itsuki had been woken up quite violently by Hibiki's sudden appearance. Not knowing which room belonged to the younger girl, Itsuki took the uncomfortable route of just sharing her bed with the girl.

Hibiki was not a peaceful sleeper. Flailing around and turning over every so often, Hibiki kept Itsuki pretty much awake for the whole time. But that was not what disturbed Itsuki the most. At first, she had been too tired to even care that Hibiki was there. But the longer she was aware of her existence, the more impure thoughts she got.

A sudden hit to her stomach by Hibiki, Itsuki curled up in pain. By the time she recovered, Hibiki's face was so close that Itsuki could feel her heart almost jump up her throat. Having had fun with the girl before the fights, she liked her. Not even six hours ago, she told Melody that there was nobody she was interested in.

And that very statement was now gradually being taken apart. "I'll have to get her out of her before I'll do something I'll regret." Itsuki whispered to herself and tried to get up. With one huge leap, Hibiki grabbed Itsuki's waist, smiling.

"Cupcakes... so delicious... I can still eat more..." Hibiki was sleep talking while drooling on Itsuki's dojo uniform. They had no changes of clothes and sleeping naked had never been a choice.

Itsuki had never been sure if she was really interested in girls or not. There had been moments when she thought about Tsubomi like that and even imagined what it would be like to kiss her, but these feelings never went anywhere. Tsubomi was literally glued to Erika and from Itsuki's perspective, it was a matter of time until they would go out.

And now there was Hibiki, clinging to Itsuki in her sleep. She didn't dislike it. Not one bit. Hibiki was pretty cute, funny and she even had an interest in martial arts. It came as no real surprise that, Itsuki felt herself drawn to Hibiki. She was older than her, at least a year or two, but that didn't bother her.

It took a while but the orange haired girl finally let go of Itsuki and went back to sleeping normally, on her back. But the one other person in the room didn't even think about sleeping anymore. Just one kiss. One kiss to make sure her feelings weren't just something she felt out of sympathy.

Itsuki leaned over Hibiki, holding her own hair back and supporting herself with her arm on the bed. "Just one kiss... She won't even know..." Itsuki was trembling. It was much harder to go on than any match she had ever fought. She was nervous, sweating a little and her heart was beating like crazy. Did everyone feel like that when they were about to kiss someone?

Their lips touched and Itsuki trembled at the sensation. It was so different from anything she had ever experienced. Hibiki's lips tasted sweet, almost like sugar. Itsuki closed her eyes and pressed on, the kiss growing just a tiny bit more intense. She had difficulty supporting herself, her arms feeling like jelly.

When she finally let go and attempted to break off, Itsuki opened her eyes and found herself in a very peculiar situation. Hibiki had woken up from being kissed and was staring at Itsuki with wide open eyes, her expression shocked.

"You... just kissed me." Hibiki was a master of stating the obvious.

"I... how do I explain..." Itsuki's face was turning into a deep crimson and upon seeing that, Hibiki too, started to feel a little hot.

"When did you come into my room?" Itsuki was still leaned over Hibiki, unable to move either forward or back.

"I didn't. This is my room. You woke me up when you crashed on my bed." Itsuki needed to stall a little time to think of a reasonable explanation.

"So I came in here and you let me sleep in your bed?" Hibiki didn't quite know what to say beside making sure what just happened and how it happened.

"Yeah.. and.. well.. I just thought..." Itsuki was so nervous, she started to feel sick. That she hadn't eaten in a while was not helping.

The two went silent, not quite sure how to proceed. Hibiki had never been in a situation like that and the same was true for Itsuki. After what seemed like hours, Hibiki finally mustered the courage and asked. "What did they taste like?"

"What? Oh... they... were really sweet. Almost like candy." Itsuki answered honestly and was then confused. Was the girl mad or not? "Aren't you angry?"

"Just a little. I'm just shocked. Why did you want to kiss me?" Hibiki was denser than Itsuki thought.

"You can be pretty dense Hibiki. I wanted to kiss you because you're cute and attractive." Itsuki was taken so off-guard that she completely forgot how nervous she was. Hibiki had a talent to defuse such situations apparently.

Hibiki didn't say a word. Now that she thought about it, that answer had been pretty obvious. Itsuki, Sunshine, had told her before that she thought she found Hibiki attractive.

"Should I go back to my room?" Hibiki wasn't sure what to do now. Romance had always been a complete mystery to her and, now she was suddenly in the middle of it.

"Do you want to?" Itsuki finally moved back and sat up in bed, looking from the corner of her eyes to Hibiki. The part of the Gi the girl had drooled on stuck to her stomach and it was quite uncomfortable. A brief flash if yellow and Itsuki transformed into Sunshine.

"Did I drool on you?" Hibiki knew that she sometimes tended to do that when she dreamed of Kanade's sweets. "And... I don't know. Do you want me to stay?"

"...Yeah. Stay." Sunshine wasn't sure which way she felt about Hibiki for now, but she could say that much. She didn't want Hibiki to leave. The atmosphere grew very awkward after Sunshine said that, with Hibiki not sure what to do. She had never even dated anyone, never mind someone older than herself, and now she was suddenly sharing a bed with a woman that had just kissed her out of the blue.

"What that your first kiss?" Hibiki wanted to know.

"...Yeah." Sunshine laid back down, facing the ceiling. It felt a little weird to just lay down in bed while in Cure form, but sleeping in a drooled on Gi was not exactly a good choice either.

"Mine too." The conversation died again. "Want me to change too?" She wasn't really uncomfortable in her Gi but it felt awkward when just one of them was in Cure form.

"You can if you want. I think you're a little cuter like this." Itsuki was a natural smooth talker but didn't even realize it.

A pink flash and Hibiki became Melody. Getting up, she would at least get somewhat more comfortable. Taking off her shoes and gloves, letting her hair down, Melody felt a lot more comfortable.

"I never really thought about taking off parts of it..." Sunshine quickly followed Melody's example- Taking off hair ties, boots and gloves, she really felt more comfortable. "I'm surprised we can take it off just like clothes."

"Don't tell this anyone but I sometimes transform and then dress like a normal person and walk around town. It's nice when nobody recognizes you." Melody smiled but didn't really feel like going back to sleep now.

Sunshine grinned. "I won't tell anyone. I am pretty sure Marine has done something similar before too."

"This is weird." Melody grinned back and they both started laughing at the same time. "Are you sure I should stay? The bed is a little small for two people." Melody sat on the edge of the bed, her back towards Sunshine.

Feeling that she needed to make a point, Sunshine laid both her arms around a surprised Melody and pulled her back on the bed. "I'm sure." The one thing she wasn't sure of yet were her feelings towards Melody. Was it just a fluke? Something that would go away the next day? Or...

"I throw a lot." Melody tried to warn Sunshine.

"I know. You already hit me a few times. That's why we'll do this." Sunshine wrapped her arms around Melody and pulled her so close that the younger Cure could feel the breasts of the woman behind her on her back. It made her blush quite a bit.

Melody became aware quite intently of Sunshine's charms. The long, flowing yellow hair, her curves, her style. Melody didn't have to think about it much to realize that Sunshine was more than just attractive. She was beautiful.

"Do you think you'll be able to sleep like this?" Sunshine was not the calmness in person either. Her arms around Melody, the pink Cure took her hand and held it.

"Will you?" Melody asked back and let a long and loud yawn escape. The two of them started to laugh again. A few minutes of silence passed after their laughter until Melody said something again.

"I've never done something like this before. I'm sure I'm not even supposed to just agree to this just like that. I... don't think you're a bad person but we'll have to talk about this later." Even if they were under extreme conditions, Melody couldn't just continue as if everything was okay.

"I know." Sunshine just needed some time to sort out what she was really feeling and thinking.

It took only five minutes for the two of them to fall asleep after that, exhausted, no longer just physically, but now even mentally.

=== Dissonance ===

Yuri felt weird sleeping not in her own bed. Not that it was a rare occurrence. Even though she dated Momoka, they did not live together but Yuri often stayed at Momoka's house, much to Erika's annoyance. Being Momoka's manager had become much more stressful than Yuri had ever imagined. And Momoka herself was under enormous pressure too.

She missed her.. Yuri often remembered the way they got together.

_There had been an accident on the road and Momoka missed a photo shoot. Despite proof that it was not her fault, the company put pressure on her and acted like it was Momoka's error that had caused her to not show up._

_While she was hardworking and talented, Momoka was really fragile when it came to failure. Erika called Yuri late in the evening, telling her to come over. Momoka was devastated and had locked herself in her room._

_It was well after ten o clock when Yuri got to Erika's house. Tsubomi was there as well. Itsuki lived too far away and had her duties so she could not go out that late. Erika told her the whole story and let Yuri into Momoka's room with a spare key she promised only to use in emergencies._

"_Yuri...?" Momoka was sitting on the ground at the side of her bed. It was too dark to see but Yuri could tell that Momoka had been crying. Her voice was coarse. "How did..."_

"_Erika called me and let me in. I heard what happened." Yuri walked over to her best friend and while she usually kept her distance, she tightly hugged Momoka, who managed to keep her tears away for now._

"_They fired me..." She knew there was nothing Yuri could do but she wanted to tell her. "They just blamed me for being late and they used another model. When I told them why I couldn't make it, they just told me to leave. I was barely out of the door when my manager called and told me the agency called and that they wouldn't be needing me again." Momoka didn't even stop to breathe._

"_Calm down Momoka." Yuri wasn't exactly a professional when it came to comforting people but she tried her best. "You worked hard and you're popular. It'll be easy for you to find work."_

"_It's just... so unfair! I didn't do anything wrong and they fired me like it was my fault!" Momoka was past the stage of sadness. Next up was being bitter._

"_I know it is unfair. There's many unfair things in life. Especially in your business Momoka. Many people only care for themselves, for profit and money and drop people as soon as they are no longer useful. The world is full of people like these." Yuri made a short break._

"_But there are good people too. Nice, honest people that look out for you and won't lie to you. It's true that they're rare to find but you can't give up after this. We're all there for you."_

"_Yuri... will you be my manager? I trust you more than anyone else in the world. So... please?" Momoka looked at Yuri._

"_I do need a job but I don't know... what does a manager do?" Yuri could feel that there was more to Momoka's plea than just being her manager. But she couldn't tell what exactly._

"_You organize my jobs, speak with the companies representatives, introduce me, get me jobs. Essentially, you call a lot of people. And... most of all, you're there for me." Yuri had her eyes wide open when Momoka's face got close enough to feel the models breath._

"_Momoka... are you serious..." Yuri had sometimes thought that Momoka was a little too affectionate with her but she didn't expect Momoka to be in love with her. She could tell._

"_I'm sick of pretending to be all good Yuri... I have my flaws too... I can't show them to anyone. Not even to Erika and her friends. But you're different Yuri..." The model pushed her friend down on the ground, on all fours kneeling over her._

"_I want you to be more than just my friend Yuri. I like you. I don't care if we're both girls, I don't care even one bit. "_

"I wonder if she still remembers... I'll never forget that night." Yuri was beautiful but in a different way than Momoka. She had gotten over the fact that even her girlfriends little sister had bigger breasts than her now.

Yuri was lonely without Momoka. She loved her but sometimes she was also worried that it was not the right thing to do. Yuri knew what bugged her. Her relationship to Momoka was different than that of other people.

She was Cure Moonlight and she had to keep that a secret from Momoka. It had led to a few fights in the past but at some point Momoka seemed to have accepted the fact that there were some things Yuri could not tell her. A Cure and a normal woman. Of course it would lead to problems.

Two Cures seeing each other was a different thing. They didn't need to any keep secrets. No hiding. Not only that, but if a new villain would appear, a Cure could still defend herself. Momoka... could not.

Yuri was sometimes scared of what would happen if the enemy figured out who they were and took advantage of that. When she thought about Momoka being captured, Yuri felt sick and helpless.

And she could explain none of that to Momoka in the end. It was gnawing at her inside. She would never be able to tell Momoka for the rest of her life. And every time something happened, she had to lie to her, too. She loved Momoka, but it was a relationship built on uneven ground.

Yuri got up. The more she thought about it, the worse she felt. She loved Momoka, there were no buts about that. Yet... yet... but... but... Yuri couldn't stop her thoughts. She was full of contradictions.

She needed to take a walk. Clear her mind. It happened to her from time to time, but lately, it happened almost every week once. How long would she be able to hide her worries from Momoka? What should she do?

Leaving her room, Yuri almost crashed into someone else. She was apparently not the only one that couldn't sleep. But it surprised her who it was.

The black haired girl from the youngest team. Cure Beat. Yuri couldn't remember her real name. "Can't sleep?" She might as well talk to her. Get to another topic. Distract herself until her brain settled down.

"I... yeah. I just... thought I'd take a walk. I wasn't going to see any-" Ellen closed her mouth. It happened again. She had always been terrible at keeping secrets and to top it off, she was a terrible liar.

"I don't mind if you go and see someone. You're old enough to know what you're doing." Yuri smiled. That girl was an absolutely terrible liar. But it was almost cute just how terrible a liar she was. "But I think everyone else is sleeping. Aren't you tired too?"

"I am, but I thought of something and I just couldn't fall asleep..." Ellen felt a little uncomfortable in the presence of Yuri. The vocalist knew that she was Moonlight, the most experienced Cure of the group. It was a little odd to talk to her like she was her equal. There were a couple years separating them.

"Who were you going to see? I doubt it'll be one of the Bloom or Bright pairs. One of your friends? But their rooms are further down the hall, not up, so... ah, I see." Moonlight smiled. It was so easy to figure out Ellen. "Passion. That's right, I heard you two were talking quite a bit."

"You're really sharp..." Ellen let her head hang. She was always so easy to figure out.

"Sometimes I wish I wasn't." Yuri whispered to herself. "I am pretty sure she'll be sleeping. If you can't sleep, you can talk to me. Don't worry, I am not half as mean as I look." Yuri added the last bit from something that Momoka always told other people. That her manager is not half as mean as she looks.

"How long have you been a Cure?" Ellen was curious. It had barely been two years for her and even less for Muse. Looking at Cures who had been at it for more than half a decade was almost frightening.

"I think it's been about seven years now or almost eight. Although I was unable to become a Cure for some time in-between." Yuri saw no reason to make a secret out of her past. Not anymore.

"Seven years..." Ellen looked at Yuri with great eyes. "Can... can I see? I wanna see you transform."

"That's a really weird request for one Cure to ask of another." Yuri smiled. There were some unusual girls among the other teams. "But it's not much to ask. It'd be weird to do this here. Let's walk a bit." Yuri wasn't sure what she was doing, but at least her mind was occupied now.

"How long have you been with your team?" Yuri was curious about Ellen as well.

"I think it's been about two years. Melody and Rhythm have been at it for longer than me." Ellen didn't want to mention that she used to fight against those two before she switched sides.

"I didn't hear any complaints from the others about you performing badly in battle. I'm impressed. I didn't think you three had it in you." They left the hallway and headed in the opposite direction of the connecting door.

"And we still lost... I feel guilty about it. I'm pretty sure I took out Aqua but..." Ellen was still having a headache from the special riff she played. Although it was more of a sonic blast than a riff.

"And so did we. There are good and bad match-ups. You shouldn't blame yourself or hold a grudge. It'll only come back to haunt you." Yuri knew well what she was talking about. "I think this is far enough." Yuri put her hand in front of Ellen and walked a few steps away.

Yuri thought that she'd put on a little show. Closing her eyes, Yuri reached out with her hand above her head and clicked her fingers once, triggering her transformation with just her will at the same time. The second she finished, Moonlight announced herself. "The flower glistening in the light of the moon, Cure Moonlight!"

"Now you saw. Satisfied?" Moonlight smiled and walked past Ellen, who was more than a head smaller than her.

"Wait... can you... spar with me? Just a little bit. I want to know how strong you are." Ellen transformed quickly into Beat and summoned her guitar. "I'm ready anytime."

Moonlight really wasn't in the mood to start a fight. It took one quick move and she had Beat pinned down on the ground. It happened so fast that Beat didn't realize what was happening until she was on the ground. Moonlight had kicked her, grabbed her and pinned her down.

"It's one thing to do battle because we must. But I don't fight for my entertainment. I'm stronger than you. We both know that. You can't become me either. You have your own style of fighting. Think about how to get stronger yourself Beat." Moonlight had little tolerance for playing around.

Releasing Beat, Moonlight held out her hand and waited for the younger Cure to take it. "I am taller, stronger and faster, so you lose when I get close to you." Moonlight explained to Beat.

"I wish I was as tall as you... I think only one Cure on the other team was your height." Beat remembered the tall Cure with lavender colored hair. "Her hair was a little weird though..."

"Being tall has it's advantages. But sometimes it's a little uncomfortable to be taller than everyone around you." Moonlight sighed, thinking of school and work. She had always been tall, but now, she was taller than most men working in the business. They thought her intimidating.

"We should try and get some sleep. You know what's waiting for us tomorrow." Moonlight smiled and started walking back, switching back to Yuri. Ellen followed her.

"Are you going to fight?" Ellen didn't feel comfortable asking but it slipped out.

"Some of us will have to. And it's time we actually won a battle. I will talk to the others about this tomorrow. There's been no decision as to how many fight and who switches."

"Aren't you worried you might fight your friends on the other side?" Ellen couldn't possibly imagine fighting Hibiki, Kanade or Ako.

"You experienced yourself how it works. You don't hold back, no matter who your opponent is. Even knowing what the light does, you can't fight it. It's not a bad thing. Even if we're seriously fighting, we have enough control to not kill each other. And none of us kept any permanent damage." Yuri was always quick to analyze a situation calmly.

Ellen watched Yuri with big eyes. "Did anyone ever tell you that you're really cool?"

"Cool? Me?" Yuri seemed a bit surprised but also flattered. "You say some strange things. This reminds me. I didn't ask for your name. I'm Yuri. Tsukikage Yuri." The tall woman didn't stop walking and simply waited for Ellen to introduce herself.

"I'm Kurokawa Ellen. You can just call me Ellen." They went down the stairs and reached the hallway. To their surprise, there was someone just coming out of her room.

A half asleep Setsuna, almost staggering and yawning, slowly walking down the hallway in direction bathroom.

"Seems everyone has a hard time getting used to this place." Yuri smiled and stopped at her room. "It was nice talking to you Ellen. See you tomorrow." Yuri left the black haired girl behind and went back into her room.

Alone in the hallway, Ellen found herself suddenly yawning. She had fought, got tired and her headache was coming back. Setsuna looked pretty much half asleep already, so she would talk to her the next morning. It was a weird feeling to talk about days, mornings and nights.

There was no circle of daylight or stars. It was all one continuous dimly lit time period. It did seem to get a little darker at times but that might just be their imagination after becoming tired.

"Good Night..." Ellen said almost to herself and entered her room.

=== Dissonance ==

The absolute lack of sound and noise was driving her insane. There were no doors. No windows. No way out. No people. No life. Nothing around her. Nothing beside her. She was all alone. Abandoned. Forgotten.

She hid under the blanket of the bed. Unable to move it out of the big room, the ceiling she couldn't see in the dim light, the walls that threw faces and transformed into demons in her head. Illusions of steps she heard, a non-existent wind blowing through the hallways, screaming at her like a banshee.

Trembling under the cover of the blanket, the woman's eyes raced from one corner to another, below her, above her. A noise. What was it? Some kind of demon sent to rape her? Her heart was beating faster than she could count, ready to burst out of her throat. Another sound. Steps? Stomping? Howling? She couldn't tell.

"Save me... Karen... Help..." Milky Rose, unable to transform out of her Cure form because of fear dominating her mind, was whimpering under the blanket. Curled up, holding herself, her hair hanging in her face.

The shadows played tricks on her. Rattling on the ceiling. Would something fall on her? Smash her? Hit her? What if she was just imagining it? What if nothing about all of this was real? What if she had just lost her mind?

Her hands were cold, sweat ran down her forehead. Her lips moving, forming words, without a sound, talking to herself in silence. Was she really there? Was that bed really there? What if it was a trap? Was she getting paranoid? Was she just supposed to think that it was not real?

But what if it really wasn't and she was just supposed to wonder if it was real or not, maybe it was real, maybe it was all a dream, maybe she wasn't even there, maybe it was a all a trick, maybe- Kurumi shrieked when something touched her back. Jumping out of the bed, she ran, ran away, into the hallways, away from everything.

Shadows on the wall, drawing past her, grabbing her. Kurumi stumbled, hit the ground, hit her face. Dirt got into her eyes. Something tugged at her skirt, at her back, at her arms. Holding her back, grabbing her, dragging her.

Something was breathing on her neck. Someone. Some**thing**. She hit her knees, got up, ran, ran as fast as she could, took a corner, hit a dead end. "Help... help..." Milky Rose whispered, hearing the steps, hearing the scratching noise of something slithering over the cold stone behind her.

Her eyeballs moved back and forth at crazy speeds. Something was there. Waiting for her. Crawling up to her. A walking nightmare. "Food..." Milky Rose hit the wall with her full strength, fear driving her on. Her survival instinct driving her on.

The wall crumbled, Milky Rose jumped. And fell. The fall was endless, there was nothing around her. The ground was gone, the ceiling was gone, the walls were gone. Shadows tugging at her face, at her hair, pulling on her skin, licking her skin. They were going to eat her. Rape her. Kill her. Eat her. Torture her.

She struggled, caught in a web of nothing. She couldn't see. She didn't want to see. Were her eyes open? Were they closed? Where was her left arm? Where was her right leg? What was that feeling on her stomach? A claw? A hand? A tongue? Hair? Fur?

Something bound her, she couldn't move. Her legs bend, her arms bend, she could see nothing, her eyes rolling back. She was not allowed to pass out. Things pierced her skin. Pain running through her body. A million needles hurting her. Her voice failed her. A inhuman screeching sound escaped her throat.

Was she human? No she was not. What was she? "Failure..." That was right, she was a failure. Alone. Forgotten and left behind. Placed in a corner, left to rot. Nobody wanted her. Nobody came for her. No friends, no love, no partner, no ally.

Something licked her face. Milky Rose shrieked again. She sat upright in her bed, sweating badly, her eyes moving like crazy from a corner to the next. Had it been her imagination? Was it a dream? Was she sleeping? Where was she? The Exile? Alone?

A claw grabbed her throat. Cut into her flesh, robbed her off her breath. She couldn't think. Her lips blue, her arms like jelly, unable to move. A shadow before her eyes, a face, a wild mane, fangs, eyes shinning in the darkness. "Food... You..."

It licked her face. Wet, slimy, burning, acid. It hurt her. Scratching her face, she had no arms. She had legs. Her legs were arms. The thing had changed her into an atrocity of nature. A freak. "Always..." She had always been a freak. All the time. Not human. Just a pet. An alien in society. Unable to function.

"Who... are..." Her voice working only just barely, a growl into her ear. A head with horns, hot stinking breath, gas that made her delirious, she swayed. Was she sitting? Was she standing? Was she dead? Had she died? Was it all an illusion? Was she paranoid? Was she escaping fear by thinking it was an illusion?

"Help... help..." Milky Rose whimpered again, tears running down her cheeks, entering her mouth. The taste of iron. She cried liquid metal. Her hands had no skin, her face had no skin. Her hands laughed at her. "Weakling, weakling, weakling, weak-" She sat on her hands, shutting them up. She sat? The blanket was around her, the shadows outside. Was she safe?

The shadows tugged at the blanket. Her last barrier. Her only hope. Time, she needed time. When was the night gonna end? Was it going to last forever? Was there no way out? There was not. She had searched the area. All of it. No doors, no exit, no way out, no safe path, no-

Something touched her butt, scratched her, hurt her. Her hands danced in front of her eyes. They were no longer on the end of her arms. Her feet joined them. They looked at her. Faced her. No eyes, no mouth, no ears but she could hear them. Their whispers, endless, in her head, coming from her own mouth. Her body, not her own, not listening to her, whispering to herself. "Die. Die. Die. You're useless, alone, forgotten. Nobody wants you. The Truth. You know it. They all forgot you. They hate you. So useless. So arrogant. Spoiled Princess. They know it. You can't do anything. They abandoned you. Left you alone in the dark. Nobody comes to get you. Nobody wants you. You'll-"

Milky Rose put her fingers in her ears, clogging them as best as she could. Her own heartbeat. She could hear it. Thump. Thump. Thump. It stopped. Was she dead? Thump. It was still going. Thump. Thump. It was beating slowly. "You can't escape." A voice in her head. Something talking to her.

Closing her eyes, trying to escape. "There's nothing, there's nothing, there's nothing, there's nothing, there's no...th...ing..." Milky Rose slowly opened her eyes, looking in the face of a demon. Fur over it's face, black horns sprouting from it's head, a tongue as black as tar, eye sockets empty.

With a horrified scream, Milky Rose jumped away, got stuck, the beast holding her. "Food..." It would devour her, kill her, eat her, piece for piece, bit by bit. Rip off her skin. Skin. The blanket. She saw it. It was purple. It looked like fur. It was her hair.

She could see herself, floating in the air. Only her body. No head. Her eyes racing. Her head was cut off. Her tongue didn't work. Her mouth didn't work. She could feel her body. She could see her body move an arm thinking she would move an arm. Her body, bloody, fleshly, glistening in the dim light. Her skin, gone. The blanket, where was it? Was she dead? What was she? Where was the beast?

Her throat was a world of pain. Unable to scream, unable to shriek, unable to speak. Refusing her will, acting on it's own. Noises of demons escaping herself. Something grabbing her head. A claw. Lifting her up. Another body. Karen's body. Her head, gone. The body limb.

She screamed, the blanket around her. A dream. Only a dream. Just a dream. Nothing but a dream. Illusions. Nightmares. That must be it. That was the answer. Her chest was heavy. Her body hurt. She looked down. Her eyes wide, she was Karen. Her body was Karen. A voice to her right.

Karen's head, in her hand. "Why did you kill me?" Karen's voice in her head, she screamed. No blanket. No waking up. No nightmare. No illusion. It happened. Holding Karen, her own voice was that of the beast. "Food..." She was the beast. She would devour Karen. Take her. Eat her. Skin her.

Laughter inside her head. Things, dancing, she, dancing. Karen, sitting. Her teeth, fangs. Her eyes, empty. Her head, monstrous. Her horns. Horns? What was she? Where was she? What was she doing?

She fell. Deeper and deeper. Back into nothingness. She, the beast. Her prey, Karen. Devouring her love. Devouring all. She would kill. Kill what? Herself. All. Eat them. Eat what? Herself. Her skin.

Pain shot through her body. She was flat on the ground, unable to move. Was she dead? Shadows dancing in the distance. Creatures dancing, waiting for her, waiting for their lord, the beast. Her body, distorted. She couldn't see, couldn't feel. Her skin, reeking. Her eyes, moving. What was moving?

Laughter. More laughter. Growing louder. A carnival of shadows. A festival of death. Her laughter. Driving them on, dancing, slaughtering, ripping, tearing, creaking, tugging.

Laughing. More laughing. The shadows, sharp teeth, laughing. The beast, devouring her, tearing her apart, cutting her, ripping her. The shadows, the things, laughing ever louder. Their voices reaching her. Reaching her mind. Reaching the deepest depths. Laughter. Endless laughter. Continuing forever. A carnival.

=== Dissonance ===

Most of the Cures had gotten up. Melody, Sunshine and Beat were still asleep and nobody bothered to wake them up yet. Those who had fought before donated their favor to the team and all nine of them had a plain breakfast. Moonlight was the first to test the system and found that it was rather gracious in terms of food. Despite the plainness of the meal, they all felt satisfied.

"Who is going to hold the negotiations?" There was no specific rule as to who went. "If nobody has a specific reason to go, I shall go." Yuri wanted a win for the team, to raise morale. The favor of winning didn't matter as much as keeping people's spirits up.

"I don't mind." Mai and Saki were sitting at the table and leaning against each other. They were all inside a relatively big room. With the agreement of all, they had wished for a table and some chairs. Thirty coins went down for the table and five for each chair, a total of ninety coins.

The table was long and robust but plain wood. It was something one would expect to find in a mountain hut. It was more than enough for their circumstances, for now. The chairs, similar, were made of plain, thick wood but not too uncomfortable. They could always get better furniture later.

"We don't mind either." Michiru and Kaoru sat next to Mai and Saki, both of them leaned back, still sleepy.

There were no objections from Setsuna and Hikari either, the two at the south end of the right side of the table.

The left side was missing three people but neither Ako nor Kanade had any complaints about Yuri taking the negotiations.

The people sleeping in were finally waking up in their room. Melody was coming to, yawning and realizing her face was buried into someone else's breasts. Sunshine's breasts. Melody blushed and tried to move away but realized quickly that Sunshine was holding her with both arms. "Sunshine. Wake up." Melody reached over the arms of the yellow Cure and poked her cheek. "Wake up."

Sunshine came to, letting go of Melody automatically, yawning. She was still tired but not quite as badly as before. "Melody? What are... oh right." Sunshine's memory always needed a little kick start in the morning.

"I'll see if the air is clear." Melody got up and transformed back into Hibiki. The parts of her costume she had taken off vanished when she undid her transformation. She just didn't want Kanade, Ellen or Ako see her come out of someone else's room in the morning.

"I don't think they'll mind. You only slept here." Sunshine transformed back into Itsuki and found that the drooled upon part of her Gi had returned back to normal. There was no reason to mention to anyone that they had snuggled up and even kissed once.

Hibiki opened the door a little and spied out. There was nobody in sight. "I'll leave first. I'll see you later Itsuki." There was a weird feeling of camaraderie between the two. Hibiki smiled a last time and left.

"Maybe I shouldn't have done this..." Itsuki suddenly felt guilty. She waited a few minutes and then left her room, walking straight into Yuri. "Morning."

"The others are down the hallway in the right room. We got a table and some chairs. There's rice and water for breakfast." Yuri explained everything briefly to Sunshine before she headed north to the connecting door.

Sunshine felt her stomach growl and headed down the hall, running into a still half-asleep Ellen. Hibiki was already eating when they showed up.

=== Dissonance ===

Karen woke up in Mint's embrace. She remembered clearly everything that happened the night before. And she appreciated that all Mint did was to hold her. She couldn't have handled any romantic involvement with Mint right there. She needed a little time to get over Kurumi.

"Komachi." Karen easily freed herself from Mint's grasp, sat up on the bed and shook Mint gently. "Komachi. It's morning." It took a few more tries to get the green haired Cure to finally wake up. She had been really exhausted after all.

"Karen... morning." Komachi had usually no problems getting up early but there were exceptions.

"We should get up and see what everyone else is doing." Karen wasn't sure what the others would think if they both came out of her room, but she was past the point of being hung up on what people thought.

The two were unusually quiet until Karen was about to leave the room. "Thank you.. for last night. I'm sorry you had to see that."

"I'm not giving up Karen. I want to go out with you. I'm done just waiting." Mint took Karen's hand, refusing to let go. "It doesn't have to be now, but I will be with you until you have an answer for me." Mint could be strong willed if she needed to be.

The moment they left their room, they witnessed a rather comical scene. Nagisa, in nothing but her panties, was hammering on a door. "Come on Honoka, let me back in! I didn't mean to kick you out of the bed!"

Nagisa noticed the blushing Karen and Mint a little too late but transformed into Cure Black instantly the second she saw them. "Honoka!" Black shouted and the door finally opened, letting her in.

"Seems they have their issues too..." Karen couldn't keep her smile hidden.

"A different kind of issue though." Mint couldn't help but smile as well.

Most of the Cures had gathered around the barrel at the southern end of the hallway. Urara, Love, Miki and Inori were already there. "We are all throwing in our favor. We need at least a table and some chairs to eat together." Miki explained.

Karen and Mint saw no reason to be stubborn about it and agreed. The barrel was almost half full. They had gathered a lot of favor already. Nagisa and Honoka finally joined the group, bringing all twelve of them together.

"I don't like having to eat standing and we have quite a bit of favor collected after two battles. There is no use just sitting on it. I propose we get at least some chairs, a table and showers. A kitchen is probably overkill." Miki was the first one to propose that. The idea of having showers was well liked.

"All that agree lift their ha- okay, I see we all agree." Honoka smiled as everyone raised their hand even before she had finished talking. The scientist walked up to the barrel, laid her hands on the upper edges and concentrated. Almost half the coins vanished.

They all could feel something changed. As if the walls and the ground was moving somewhere. Erika was the first to run in the bathroom and come back, looking excited. "It's completely different. It's pretty nice now!"

The bathroom was completely overhauled. Western toilets, sinks and a door leading to another room with four separate showers. They were modeled like showers in a gym, simple cabins with a push door. But it increased the comfort of living in that god forsaken place drastically.

"I'll get something to eat after the negotiations. Are you okay with me going? Honoka, Karen?" It seemed only natural to Miki to ask the respectively smartest Cures for their opinions. It was not discriminating, but being clever and smart paid off quite well in such situations.

"I see no problem with this." Honoka nodded and watched Karen agree as well. None of them saw any purpose to going by Cure names only at that point.

Erika came running in again, babbling about a nice stone table and some comfy chair in another room. Miki took off to the connecting door. They were all still tired, so a battle of few would offer most the chance to recover. The best outcome would be a one versus one battle.

Miki took a deep breath and transformed before she opened the door. The azure blue light of negotiation greeted her. As Berry stepped through the gate, there was already someone waiting for her.

=== End of Event IV ===


	5. Astray

**Dissonance**

_Event V_

**Astray**

"People on both sides are exhausted. They cope pretty well, but I want them to rest." Moonlight stood close to the barrier, intrigued by the Cure on the other side. She was pretty tall and seemed not in the least surprised about her proposal.

"I agree. We need to let people rest. Shower." Berry smiled. "Of course we can't ignore the need for favor." Her expression was serious again. "But for the next battle I propose it to be in six hours. Enough time for an Exile to rest, eat and shower."

"Six hours sounds reasonable. I agree. What should we do about the number of combatants?" Moonlight didn't expect the other side to have such a realistic and levelheaded Cure.

"I'd like to have a one to one." Berry knew about the rule that no strategic info about the teams composition or tactics could be revealed. However, even such rules could be bend. She was going to fight. And she hoped that other Cure was clever enough to get her message.

"That way eleven others are able to fight in the next battle. Let me think." Moonlight stepped back, put her hand on her chin and walked up and down the room, thinking of the pro and cons of the argument.

Berry remained on the spot, following Moonlight with her eyes. There was something captivating about that woman. She wasn't particularly curvy or extremely beautiful but there was an almost otherworldly gracefulness about her. Something that caught her attention.

The lavender colored, long hair just like her own. The graceful but confident walk. Her costume. Everything about her was elegant and high class. In a way, it fit her to not have her figure disturbed by large breasts. Her whole form spelled efficiency.

"What is your name?" Berry needed to know. It didn't matter if it was just Love's brainwashing that did this to her, but that Cure piqued her interest more than she was willing to admit. She was interested in that woman.

"Moonlight. Yours?" Moonlight didn't stop to look at Berry yet she knew that the other Cure was eying her intently. There wasn't much she missed and certainly nothing as obvious as a grown woman starring at her.

"Berry. What about the participants?"

"It's a fair choice. I agree with your proposal." Moonlight walked back to the barrier, closer than before, looking at Berry. The woman was still following her every movement with her eyes.

"Time. In six hours." Berry said and waited for Moonlight to confirm it. "Time, in six hours."

"Combatants. One." Again. "Combatants, one."

Moonlight was about to turn around and leave when Berry changed into her human form. There were few things that surprised Moonlight as much as what she saw. The girl had a striking resemblance to Momoka. The color of her hair a little different, the color of her eyes different. But the woman seemed almost like a double of her girlfriend.

"I'll see you." Miki smiled and turned around, walking away, seeing that her human form had left quite the impression for some reason. Raising her hand, Miki waved Moonlight goodbye for now.

The second she stepped through the connecting door, Miki felt a headache creep up to her. Just staring at Moonlight like that, what was she doing? There had been quite a few people she had been intrigued by but she didn't stare at any of them like that. That damn Love and all her talk about relationships. Now she was acting all funny because of it.

And there was even more headache worthy stuff coming up. They had to select someone to switch over. And there would only be so many volunteers. Miki found Honoka, Karen, Komachi and Nagisa in what they would call the public room. They were playing a game of cards.

"Nobody seemed to mind ten favor, so we got us a set of cards to pass the time." Nagisa said when she saw Miki, keeping her hand closely hidden.

"The next fight is in six hours, one versus one." Miki sat down at the lower end of the table, eager to go and take a shower. But there was something they would have to do before that. "We need to take care of the exchange, now that the negotiations have finished."

"I know. I have already taken votes. Dream has received ten out of eleven possible votes. It doesn't surprise me. She refuses to fight or accept the situation. She's an emotional mess. None of us like this, but at least we have the guts to accept the situation." White wasn't one to beat around the bush. Her words hit home and Miki felt a little bad for Dream.

"Has anyone told her yet?" Miki didn't want to be the one to do it but she needed to know.

"Rouge told her. Dream was pretty upset but seems to have calmed down now." Karen said and put her cards on the table. "Flush."

The other three threw their cards down, not even bothering to bring them up. "Are the showers free?" Miki was a clean freak and couldn't stand not showering for a whole day. Her job didn't allow behavior like that anyway.

"I doubt it. Erika and Tsubomi went in a while ago and a few minutes before you came back, Peach and Pine went in. I heard someone shriek and then shouting to stop groping so if I were you I'd wait until they're done." Karen looked at Komachi after telling Miki about it. The two of them were at the table for that exact reason. Nagisa and Honoka seemed to share that notion.

"Where are the others?" Even counting the five of them at the table and four in the showers, that left three of them missing.

"Dream is in her room, Rouge and Lemonade went back to bed." Karen explained briefly before she gathered the cards and started shuffling them. "Playing?" She looked at Miki.

"I'm just waiting till the molester comes out of the showers. I can't stand being sweaty for even one more hour." Miki stretched on the chair. Usually, she didn't have the leisure to just sit around and wait to take a shower.

"If it's an one versus one, we should chose someone who doesn't rely on support or isn't support." Karen looked at Komachi. "I'd be most comfortable if either Miki or Honoka would fight." She had seen Miki's ability in action. It was guaranteed to let her land a fatal attack. Honoka was one of the few Cures who could use her ability repeatedly and she was quite skilled in close combat too.

"I'll fight." Miki said on a whim. She just had a feeling that Moonlight would be the one fighting and she wanted to see her in action. She did have confidence in her ability and her skills. Using "My World", Berry could force absolute attention from her opponents. It ate up quite a bit of her energy and she needed at least a few hours of rest before she could do it again.

"I am used to fighting with Nagisa at my side, but I could do it. Are you sure you're okay with fighting? You were in the second fight yesterday." Honoka got her cards dealt and looked at them. They were total crap.

"We were fighting too Honok-" Nagisa pulled a painful expression when Honoka stepped on her foot. Nagisa bent over, her face distorted. A single "Never mind." Escaped her lips.

"I'm fine. Let's just say I have an interest in taking this match." Miki said and showed a smile that lasted for all of five seconds. At that moment, slick, wet hair touched her neck and her shoulders.

"What's this, Miki found someone she's interested in? Who's the lucky girl?" Love was hugging Miki from behind, wrapped only in a thick, white towel, her hair loosely hanging over her face. The others could see Inori walk past the room, also in just a towel, quickly escaping to her room. She wasn't quite as shameless as Love.

"Ah, get away from me Love!" Miki jumped up, disgusted by the slick, wet hair of her friend. "God, why do you always do this Love?" Miki raised her hands to her shoulders, a shiver running through her whole body.

"I'm just curious about you Miki." Love stood there, smiling at her friend.

"Judging by the situation, her towel is going to slip any mom-" Honoka covered Nagisa's mouth with her hand, smiling herself. She wanted to see the situation unfold.

"I have my own private life Love. If I wanna tell you, I'll tell you." Miki liked Love, she was one of her best friends, but sometimes she could be really annoying. "And please, change into some clothes!"

Love looked down on herself, over her shoulder and transformed. Even as Cure, her hair was still silky slick and wet, hanging down over her back. She was about to continue asking Miki when Pine showed up in a hurry and dragged a moaning and complaining Peach away.

"You're so close. I'm jealous." Komachi said and sighed. They were the exact antithesis to how the six of them had separated from each other.

"Sometimes she's a bit nosy but Inori is pretty quick to drag her away, thankfully. It's not a problem if Setsuna is around but without her..." Miki sighed. "Back on topic. If you're okay with this, I'll take the fight." Miki was eager to get the discussion done and take a shower.

"Go ahead." Honoka smiled. Karen and Komachi gave their approval as well. "Flush." Honoka put open her cards and baffled the other three. It was easy to improve her hand a little while everyone else was distracted by towels and boobs.

=== Dissonance ===

Yuri was walking through the hallway, absentmindedly. There had been so much of a resemblance that she was caught completely off-guard. She looked so much like Momoka, Yuri couldn't get it out of her mind.

Mai, Kaoru and Kanade were already waiting for her in the public room. They just looked at her, waiting for her to spill the news. But nothing came. Yuri just sat down, put her arms on the table and rested her head on it.

"She's completely spaced out. Did the negotiations fails?" Kaoru was worried.

Mai stood up, walked over to Yuri and tapped her on the shoulder. The tall woman came back to reality and looked at the other women in surprise. "You were spacing out." Mai had a gentle smile on her face. "How did the negotiation go?"

"There will be a one versus one in six hours. The others did have the exact same idea." Yuri didn't want to elaborate on why she was spacing out and thankfully, they all had the decency to not ask her. "Where are the others?"

"Most of them went to play volleyball. They wished for a ball and a net We were just waiting for you to come back. We're going to join them. Want to come?" Kanade was not the athletic type, but she would be on the same team as Hibiki and it was always fun to play with her.

"We haven't decided yet who is going to switch and who will fight." Yuri was surprised at how relaxed people were despite their situation. It didn't help to be all hung up over being imprisoned after all. And they needed to pass the time with something.

"Hikari wants to switch and there are no objections. Setsuna decided to stay for the time being. She was talking with Ellen the whole time you were gone." Mai sensed a spark between the two.

"I would be relieved if you fought. You're the oldest of us. I saw you in action. You're quick, strong and most of all you seem to think through what to do before you do it." Kaoru thought of her friend Saki when she said that.

"I see no reason to decline. I should be fine in a one versus one." Yuri had experience fighting alone and she was confident in her skills.

"Then it's settled." Mai nodded and found herself relieved as well. Kanade said nothing but agreed with the other two. Yuri seemed extremely dependable. "We're going to the others now, want to join?"

"I'm fine. I'll take a shower and maybe join up with you girls later." Yuri needed to get a clear head. She couldn't lose that next fight. It would be poison for the moral of the team if they lost three times in a row. It was not that there was an unfair mix of powers spread over the two teams. From what Yuri could tell and heard, the fights had been close.

While she was left behind, Yuri walked into the shower room, She didn't quite know where hot water came from but it was not something she was too intrigued by. Not quite sure what to do with her clothes, Yuri simply left them in a pile next to the cabin she used.

There was someone else using the showers at the time, she could hear the water. The walls between each cabin prevented her from looking. Taking off her glasses and leaving them on top of her clothes, she entered the cabin and turned on the hot water.

That girl that looked like Momoka would most likely be her opponent. The way she talked, she looked at her. Yuri figured that they were both intrigued by each other. The more Yuri thought about it, the more she realized which subtle and less subtle differences between that girl and Momoka existed.

The way they talked. Momoka was less reserved when with Yuri and bold. She said what was on her mind, she didn't hide things. The way she acted. Momoka was not one to just stare and be silent. In a way, she was simply more energetic than Berry.

"Berry... a coincidence that she shows up now? Or something else..." Yuri's eyes, to distracted herself, analyzed the cabin she was in. Tiled floor, smooth and gray. The walls were a distinct white, made of a different material at first glance. The shower head was at two meters height and big, spraying water over anyone in the cabin. The cabin itself was three meters wide and four meters long, quite spacious. There was nothing else in the cabin.

The hot water ran over her skin, washing away exhaustion and anxiety. The sound of water hitting the ground, the wall, herself, calmed her. Rain was superior in terms of what it did for her mind but a shower worked just fine. She grabbed her long hair that stuck to her bare back and went through it with her fingers, trying to stop it from felting. No shampoo or hair care made the whole thing rather pointless but it served to further distract herself.

Her thoughts shifted to Momoka and the primary issue she had with being her lover. Her identify as Cure. Momoka would say she understands. Would just accept it as part of being with her. But Yuri couldn't do that. She couldn't stand knowing that an enemy might eventually appear and take her. And now that they were actively working to restore balance, the times of no enemies being around would soon end.

"You're sighing a lot. Depressed?" Someone talked to her. A voice she recognized but couldn't quite put on a person right away.

Yuri turned around and looked at the door of the cabin. She couldn't see who was outside and whoever was outside couldn't see who was inside. "Am I not allowed to?" Yuri's tone was sarcastic. She was clearly not in the mood to tell others about her problems.

"Nobody said that. But it is a problem for the team if you're depressed. They look up to you as their leader. Most of them anyway. If something bothers you, talk to someone. I know that not talking about your problems leads to disappointment. Then pain. Anguish."

The voice seemed very mature but Yuri could still not put it to a face. "They shouldn't depend on me. The way this system works, I won't be on this team forever. You talk like you know better than to just follow whatever I say."

"I fought on my own a long time. I made many mistakes. Learned what suffering is because of my own incompetence. I do know better than to just ignore someone I could help. If you feel like talking, I'll be in my room. In case you forgot, it's the last room before the public room." Several steps, sounding like high heels hitting the ground, filled the room and Yuri was left with her thoughts.

"Muse... she seems pretty mature for her age." Yuri hadn't even realized that she had sighed that much, far too absorbed into her thoughts. Turning the hot water up even further, steam rose from the ground and her skin. Looking down on herself, Yuri suddenly remembered the many times people had made snide remarks about her figure when she was with Momoka. It never bothered her much, but she never understood why Momoka was so attracted to her physically.

It was not that their love was solely based on physical attracting. That couldn't have been more wrong. But there was rarely a night when they were not tired that they skipped on sex. Momoka was not particularly horny by herself. Yuri had asked her once and the answer had been a vague one. Momoka claimed that it was her, as she called it, graceful look that did her in.

Her mind was a mess. Unable to focus on anything for more than five minutes, her thoughts shifted from Berry to Muse to Momoka to other things. Turning off the water and leaning against the wall, Yuri realized that every little thing needed to be specified in wishes. There was no towel. Putting on her old clothes was kind of gross, even if she had a towel to dry herself up.

Another sigh later, Moonlight stepped out of the cabin, her hair still wet and slick. Even Cure powers didn't mystically dry hair. Picking up her clothes, Moonlight returned to her room, still thinking about Muse's offer.

=== Dissonance ===

Hibiki let out a battle cry, jumped up into the air and slammed her right hand into the ball. The match had turned into a four versus four, with Hikari and Setsuna playing referee. One one side were the four fiends, Saki, Mai, Michiru and Kaoru. On the other, Hibiki, Kanade, Ellen and Itsuki.

"Saki!" Mai took position and waited for her partner to take the powerful serve from the other teams ace.

The ball came flying right at the brunette who took the ball, the impact hurting her wrists, and lifted it up into the air. Mai was right where she was supposed to be and hit the ball back towards the other side.

But they had been too slow. Itsuki was taller than her and could jump higher, blocking the ball with ease, scoring another hit. Setsuna put two fingers to her lips and a piercing whistle echoed through the big hall. "Match point, 24 to 26!"

Kanade and Ellen sat down on the ground, exhausted. "No more. End of the line." Kanade fell flat on her back, breathing hard. Sports heavy on stamina were not really her thing. Ellen didn't even talk and was just laying there, Setsuna kneeling next to her and smiling.

On the other side, the situation was similar, with only Saki still standing and coming up to the cheap net to shake Hibiki's hand. "You guys were awesome. Mai and I play this sometimes against Kaoru and Michiru and you still beat us four."

"Ah, that was nothing." Hibiki smiled wide and got a scolding look from Itsuki. "It was really close. That last one could have gone either way."

"I don't think we'll have a rematch." Saki looked at the three exhausted women behind her. Hibiki and Itsuki didn't even need to look to know what condition Ellen and Kanade were in.

"Not anytime soon. I don't think I could handle another bout either." Itsuki had a lot of stamina but that last match had been particularly taxing on the front people, namely Hibiki and herself. Saki and Mai were excellent players and had driven them to their limits.

"Just a tip from me, hit the showers before the others get up. I don't mind, I'll shower with Mai, but you'll have to wait if the others get ahead of you." Saki started to stretch, knowing that she'd feel sore later if she didn't.

Saki was not exactly a master of the subtle though, so everyone around her heard about her so-called tip. Setsuna was already gone when Itsuki realized and so was Ellen. They would have to race to the shower or they would have to wait until someone was done, sweaty and smelly.

Hibiki didn't have the energy left to really run. Walking quickly was the best she and Itsuki could bring to the battle of who could take a shower first. Saki was not a threat, despite being easily able to outrun them. Without Mai, she wasn't going anywhere.

The Kiryuu sisters were left behind as well but Itsuki and Hibiki found themselves still locked out of three of the four cabins. They couldn't exactly see who was inside but water was rushing out of the shower head in three cabins, leaving only one free. A quick glance.

"Rock-Paper-Scissors!" Itsuki won with Rock beating Scissors. Hibiki made a terrible face, as if she was forced to endure something horrible. Itsuki couldn't just go and leave her like that but she didn't want to remain sweaty either. Going to the door and looking out, nobody was in direct sight. The women in the shower would likely not notice if they kept quiet.

Itsuki grabbed Hibiki, covered her mouth with one hand and grabbed her shoulder with the other, dragging her into the last free cabin and closing the door. Itsuki leaned forward and lowered her voice. "Don't make a sound. Don't talk. It's one thing to sleep in the same bed, but we won't be able to talk our way out of **this**." Itsuki didn't point to any specific location and Hibiki was left a little confused.

"I never showered with someone else before." Hibiki was making big eyes when Itsuki took off her Gi, dropping it on the ground. She didn't seem the least ashamed to show herself naked to Hibiki. "I wonder what I'll have to eat to get them that big..." Hibiki could barely restrain herself from just reaching out and groping Itsuki.

"You're funny. Erika asked me the exact same thing." Turning on the water, Itsuki realized quickly that it'd be pretty hard to just be absolutely quiet. Neither of them was the silent type. At least the noise of the water masked their voices.

"Erika is the one that felt you up at the pool?" A story that had come up in conversation before.

"She does that to almost anyone. I already foresee a lot of problems if she does this to someone in a relationship." Itsuki liked Erika but not in a romantic way. Erika always seemed more interested in just having fun than any serious relationships.

Hibiki was still wearing her Gi and stood at the door, unsure if she was really fine showering with Itsuki. Her doubts were literally washed away when Itsuki let out a huge sigh of relief, standing in the refreshing wet.

Throwing her own Gi on top of Itsuki's, Hibiki took the space that Itsuki left free. For just about half a second. "Kyah!" Hibiki jumped out of the water, shivering and shocked. The water was ice cold.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I usually shower cold after a work out. I just sort of automatically..." Itsuki turned down the cold water and the hot water up. Hibiki quickly stepped below the now warming up water and recovered.

"But... Kyah? Did you really just go Kyah?" Itsuki grinned wide at Hibiki. She didn't expect her to make a girly sound like that. Not that she was unfeminine but she kind of left a tougher impression on people.

"It's not like I'm doing it on purpose." Hibiki pouted and averted her eyes. The conversation died for a few seconds during which the girl and the woman just sort of enjoyed washing away the sweat and dirt from fight and play.

"You didn't bring towels, did you?" Hibiki looked back at the door and the two Gi's on the ground. They had to be washed before they could be worn again. Which left them a little restricted in terms of what they had left to wear. Cure costumes didn't stay dirty or smelly so they would never run completely out of clothes but it was sort of tiring to be constantly in Cure form.

"I guess we have to wish for those separately... They're next on my list. Maybe after some clothes. I should have volunteered for that next battle." Itsuki sighed and tried to at least get her hair somewhat clean.

"I wish I had half as much style as you do." Hibiki nibbled on her thumb, looking jealously at the beautiful brunette.

"I think you're exaggerating too much Hibiki. You look really nice. It's just sort of hidden under that Gi. Your Cure costume does show off your figure quite a bit. You have a smaller waist than Kanade and Ellen, pretty sure." Itsuki was a good judge of those things. The sad part about that ability was that it came from being around Erika too much.

"Kanade would be angry if she heard that." Hibiki smiled as wide as the sun. "She's always angry that I don't gain any weight despite eating so many of her cupcakes."

"You two are really close friends, aren't you? Wow, you got a ball print on your back Hibiki." Itsuki looked over the shoulder of the orange haired girl.

"What, where? Dammit I can't see!" Hibiki tried to turn and look over her own shoulder but with abysmal results. Nobody was that flexible. After giving up on seeing the ball print, Hibiki turned the conversation around. "Kanade and I go everywhere together. Ellen is with us most of the time. Ako sometimes does her own thing and she has her duties as princess too."

"Tsubomi and Erika are like that too. I'm shriveling up. Want to get out?" Itsuki turned to the door and being as tall as she was, she could see just a tiny bit over it. Taking a few steps back, Itsuki crashed into Hibiki, covered her mouth, grabbed and picked her up, carrying her princess style. "Quiet!"

Itsuki made sure that if someone looked through the gap between door and ground, they could only see her feet. Kanade was out there and she had the distinct feeling that it was better to hide them showering together.

Standing there in the hot shower, Hibiki was starting to feel a little weird, getting carried around like that. She was the strong one, the wild one, the impulsive one. But Itsuki seemed to be all of that too and then even more so than her.

A whole minute passed, both of them awfully quiet, Itsuki clearly focused on something. Hibiki just couldn't take it anymore then. "What are we doing?" She was pretty confused as to what was happening.

The brunette was whispering, making sure nobody but Hibiki could hear her. "Kanade was out there. Kanade, Mai and Saki. I didn't want them to catch on to the funny idea that we're showering together. They might get the wrong idea."

"About what?" Hibiki was hitting the limit of how dense a person could be before they started having their own orbit and moons.

"Never... mind I guess." Itsuki didn't think she'd get anywhere trying to explain the exact implications of them showering together. Naked.

"Can you let me down? This is mega embarrassing." Hibiki's face was a deep crimson when Itsuki finally let her down. "Thanks. I'm feeling like a dried plum... well, actually the opposite now. But... what do we do about towels and clothes?"

"Honestly, I'm not that eager to run around in my Cure outfit the entire day and night. But we don't exactly have a lot of choice right now." Turning the water off and a brief yellow flash later, Sunshine took off her boots, her gloves and let her hair down. "This isn't exactly super comfortable but a lot better than **that**." Sunshine pointed at the dirty Gi. With a quick change of concentration, the parts of her costume she took off simply disappeared. A little trick she had come up with before the volleyball game.

Hibiki copied the older Cure. Both in transforming and in taking off most of her costume. It served protective purposes, mostly, enhanced her reactions and combat abilities but none of that mattered outside a battle. Comfort was far more important.

Sunshine peeked out the door, trying to determine if the air was clear. "Good. You go, I'll come after you in five minutes." Sunshine let out a short laugh. "This is sort of amusing."

"I'll see what the others are up to in the main room." Melody quickly left, leaving Sunshine behind in the showers. She was barely two steps out the door when she slipped and hit the ground hard enough to make the other girls taking a shower take a peek.

Sunshine slowly closed her door, putting her hand over her eyes. "That girl..."

=== Dissonance ===

Rouge was breathing hard and glaring at everyone. "Where is she? Where is that little walking molesting monster?" Rouge was wearing her claws of fire and looked angry enough to literally burst into flames herself any second. The four sitting on the main table were all quiet, shaking their heads.

With a grunt, Rouge took off, screaming top of her lungs for Marine. "Come on out!"

"What did you _do_?" Nagisa looked at Marine as she came out of hiding from under a chair.

"I just closely estimated the exact measurements of her upper torso area." Marine said without a hint of shame. Nagisa looked at her slightly confused and then pleadingly at her partner.

"She groped her. In the showers." Honoka sighed and gave Marine a warning glare. "Don't try that with Nagisa or me. I can guarantee you that you'll regret that." Honoka had a fake smile on her face, with murderous intent leaking through so clearly that Marine unintentionally took a step back, hastily nodding.

"Maaaariiiiinnneeee!" They could hear Rouge screaming from far away. Honoka, and now even Karen and Komachi, looked at Marine.

"Okay, maybe I fondled them a little bit." After five more seconds of continuous glaring from the three women, she added. "A lot? Maybe?"

"Just avoid her until her rage has gone down. And stay away from the showers. Where is Tsubomi any... way...?" Karen stopped talking when Marine suddenly dashed off like lightning.

The room was entirely silent for a minute before they saw Marine carrying out a blissfully passed out Tsubomi out of the shower room. "Poor girl." "She never had a chance." "Scarred for life." "Erika must have some amazing technique." The women commented among themselves, Nagisa getting a glare from Honoka for the last comment.

The showers were much more popular than the four assumed. The main issue with them were the initially limited amount of towels. As soon as Miki noticed there were no more towels after the first four women had showered, she promptly solved the issue by spending forty favor on eight more towels.

"Think it's safe to go and shower?" Karen looked at Honoka who thought about it for a second.

"Marine knows she'll be roast if Rouge finds her and is gonna stay away from the showers so I guess it's safe. Who's in there right now anyway?"

"Erika and Tsubomi came out just now, Rouge a few minutes ago. Love, Inori and Miki are all done. Lemonade should be the only one in there." Komachi quickly went over the people that had gone in and come out.

"We'll wait until everyone else is done." Honoka had restrained herself from sleeping with Nagisa earlier but couldn't go on much longer.

"I see." Karen got the hint and blushed a little. Well, they were adults and living together. As far as unofficial things went, they were pretty much married. Still, she was a little jealous of their relationship.

"Honoka, what do you suppose we do about clothes?" Karen had already realized the issue that normal clothes got dirty, smelly and washing them in the showers with just water was kind of impossible.

"I think it's best if we save up a little and invest in further expanding the bathroom. A washing machine would at least solve the problem we have now. Just getting more clothes would only results in the same problem over and over." The scientist had already thought about that problem.

"Sounds reasonable. It's bad that the next battle is one versus one in that regard, but we can all use a break." Karen nodded while saying so and watched Rouge step into the room, completely out of breath and sweating heavily. "You can just go back into the showers like that Rin..."

"I'll get her back for this..." Rin turned around and walked towards the showers, taking a sharp turn and going to her room. Each of them had their own towel and they had to take care of it.

"We'll go before someone else decides to go on a wild chase and take another shower." Karen took Komachi's hand and put down her cards. "I'll see you two later."

"They're cute together, aren't they?" Nagisa leaned on the table as soon as the blue-green combo had left.

"I was thinking Karen had something going on with Milky Rose but I guess that's no longer relevant. She did seem a bit down though." Honoka was always quick to notice such things.

"Wonder what happened to them." Nagisa was often curious about other people but rarely pried too deep.

"If you really want to know, you can ask them. I'm more worried about Marine actually. Sure, she might think it's just fun and fooling around but what if someone takes her seriously? That girl should keep that in mind. Just basing this on my theory, but everyone here is probably interested in girls."

"Are you serious Honoka? Every Cure here a lesbian?"

"Doesn't it seem likely? There's us, Saki and Mai, Love and Setsuna, Karen and Komachi or Milky Rose. There's probably more on the other team. With that many of us already in relationships with each other, doesn't it seem likely that it's just sort of a Cure thing? The whole interested in girls part." Honoka made a short break. "That's actually quite a scary thought. What if it's not our personal preference but rather something subconscious that's taken hold in us because of who we are."

"Honoka, stop." Nagisa grabbed her lovers right shoulder. "You're over thinking things. Way too much. So what if we're all interested in girls? We fight together, we survive together and go through all kinds of situations. Sounds like more than one reason to become interested in our partners."

"Ha, look at you, beating me in my own game." Honoka smiled with her eyes closed. "I supposed you're right. It's not worth fretting over anyway. Even if it was true, it wouldn't mean my love for you was fake." Honoka watched Nagisa fidget a little. The athlete was bad at dealing with comments like that.

A few rooms away, someone else was dealing with something they were quite bad at.

"I can see why you'd want to grope others. You're a bit lacking, aren't you?" Marine was tied up by golden chains, hanging slightly above the ground, unable to move even a finger. Not only that but Lemonade was standing behind her, fondling her breasts. Marine gasped and moaned when Lemonade put some strength into it. "But really, you should watch who you sneak up to."

It wasn't that the chains were pulling or hurting her. She was supported by at least a dozen chains, wrapped around her arms, legs and waist. "Ah, I'm sorry, let me go. Please?" Marine's plead was answered by Lemonade slipping both her hands under Marine's costume from behind. Having the backside cut like that was a deadly error in that situation.

"You're my toy now. No escape. And this is just me paying you back for earlier." Lemonade licked over her lips. Sliding her fingers over Marine's soft skin, she could feel the blue haired Cure tense up when she got closer to her breasts. "So you're bad at taking punishment, huh?"

Lemonade stepped closer, pressing her own breasts against Marine's back. She wasn't as big as Karen or Komachi, maybe a little bigger than Marine herself. "Feel good?" The blond Cure's hands moved further to the front under the tight cloth of the outfit. Erika couldn't undo the transformation. She'd be completely naked.

Blowing air behind Erika's ear, Urara got the girl to moan again. She had slept with several of her fans on occasion, she knew some tricks. And Marine didn't seem to be very experienced at all. Cupping her breasts and fondling them, Lemonade startled nibbling on Marine's ear. She wasn't usually in bondage stuff like tying her partner up, but Marine really deserved it.

"Please... lemme go... ah..." Marine almost lost it when the older woman pinched her nipples. She was getting incredibly horny and couldn't tell how much longer she would be able to resist. Lemonade wasn't bad looking, and she wasn't particularly picky about her first time.

But luck was on Marine's side. "Wh-wh-wh-wh-what are you doing?" It was Tsubomi's voice, who had come looking for her friend. She was a few meters behind Lemonade and was rather shocked at what she saw.

"Your friend went a little astray after she had fun with you in the shower. I'm just doing some payback." Lemonade didn't even look behind her. Golden chains erupted from the ground and the ceiling, taking Blossom the same way as Marine. "Relax, I won't do anything to **you**." Looking over her shoulder. "Or would you like me to continue where she left off earlier?" Lemonade had a lustful grin on her lips.

"I don't really mind if you do this to me but if you touch Blossom against her will, I will blast you to kingdom come." Marine tensed up, pulling on the chains.

"I said I won't do anything to her. But you got what you had coming." Lemonade made her chains turn and pull Marine around, facing her now. "But I guess we're about done. I don't like having an audience."

Lemonade leaned in close but stopped, barely centimeters away from Marine's lips. "Kiss me and I'll chew your tongue off." Marine took really badly to people who did bad things to Blossom.

"Aren't you a feisty one." Lemonade's expression went hard and cold. "Don't pull this on me again. The next time, you'll spend a whole night like this. In my room. Naked."

With a click of her fingers, the chains vanished and let the two Cures down. "Nice body by the way. Too bad I didn't get to find out what your kissing technique is like." Lemonade walked away pretty quickly, wearing an annoyed expression. That was not over yet.

=== Dissonance ===

Dream was staggering when she stood in front of the portal. That her own team had betrayed her and voted her out hurt. She only wanted to protect them! Fighting each other was insane, why couldn't they see that?

White and Black were with her, ensuring that she left. Neither of them seemed particularly sad that she was going to switch teams. Nobody understood her. They had all already given in to the crazy idea that just going through with this was the right course of action. Did they have no empathy at all for each other?

The gate opened and the cold, white light greeted her. Neither of the two with her said anything. They didn't like her. They didn't agree with her views. They were so calm about fighting each other, she couldn't understand them at all. Were they really Cures?

Dream stepped through the gate after looking back to the hallway in dire hope that some of her team members came to see her off. There had been nobody there.

The gate closed and Dream found herself on top of a tower and many more of those before her. There were no hallways, no corridors, no bridges. Just towers and ground, hundreds of meters below them.

Jumping to the next tower, the pink Cure had no idea where to go. Every tower looked different. She had heard the rules but didn't quite remember them.

The other two participants were not quite as helpless. Luminous was jumping hastily from tower to tower, using her powers to boost her own speed and power. There were three of them out there and only two could join a team. She didn't want to end up all alone.

The blond woman was quick but not quick enough. With almost lightning speed, something hit her so hard that she had trouble breathing, losing her balance and falling, barely getting a grip on one of the tower edges.

Luminous looked down, then up. She had to pull herself together. But what paralyzed her was not the pain but fear. Fear of what she was seeing.

A purple Cure stood above her, with an insane look in her eyes. One, she had not seen in a human being ever before. Luminous was looking straight into her eyes and it terrified her. Something horrible had to have happened to that woman to make her like that.

"I'm going to get out of here.. out of here.. out of this god forsaken place.. and you won't stop me... won't stop me..." Her voice was coarse and low, like she was talking to herself. "Fall." Milky Rose stepped on Luminous hand, trying to make her fall down.

"Kurumi, stop!" The purple Cure stopped for a second, looking at the source of the voice. A pink Cure was coming closer at high speed, jumping from tower to tower. It had been pure coincidence that she noticed her.

"Stay out of this Dream! Get lost! You don't know what it's like to be out here all alone!" Milky Rose yelled and stomped on Luminous hand, who was barely able to hang on.

"I said stop it!" The leader of the six Cures jumped right at Milky Rose grabbed her, holding her. "Are you crazy? What do you think you're doing?"

But there was no answer. The exile forcefully broke free from Dream and kicked her in the face with the end of her boot, sending her flying into the ground a few meters away. "Don't stand in my way Dream. I don't care who I have to beat to get out of here. I will demolish you if you don't leave right now."

"I can't just let you hurt other Cures. What happened to you?" Dream got on her legs, a large red mark on her right cheek. She couldn't believe Kurumi would actually attack her.

"Are you really this oblivious and naive Dream? Look around you! We're fighting to not be the one that's left behind out here. Do you know what it's like to be all alone in this hell? No, how could you. You're always the one that relies on their friends and tries to find away around painful things. But that's not going to work here." Milky Rose shook her head and laughed. "I can almost hear you thinking. This is wrong! We can't do this! We shouldn't fight! We should all work together to find a way out!" Her eyes were cold as ice when she looked at her team mate. "But guess what, that won't work this time. There is no way out. There is no great solution to make everyone happy. Life doesn't work like that. And now, step out of my way Dream. If you don't I will beat you and step over you like it's nothing. Because that's how much of a hell it is to be out here. Maybe you'll get it if you stay a night or two out here."

Dream could barely believe her ears. Was that really Kurumi? She was like a completely different person. True, she hadn't seen her much in the last two or so years, but still, for a person to change that much...

"What would you do if it was Karen standing here? Would you still fight her?"

Dream got her answer delivered to her stomach the next second. Jumping forward and rushing at her former team mate, Milky Rose sent Dream flying away. "Talk's over."

Luminous could see the impact Dream made on another building even from the distance. Falling down and traveling from wall to wall, even though it was difficult to do, it allowed her to escape and bring quite the distance between her and the two crazy women. One of them was clearly crazy from being the exile, the other one for being in enough denial to still think that not fighting was an option.

Dream coughed up blood and spit it out, shocked at what happened and scared how much it hurt. Fighting monsters was one thing but she couldn't fight her friend. She still hadn't stood up when Milky Rose lunged at her again, almost smashing the ground they stood on with her heel-drop, barely missing Dream's head.

"Stop! Kurumi, stop this! We don't need to fight each other!" Her words bounced off Milky Rose. She was not going to listen. Dream barely escaped the next heel-drop and jumped back, starting to run from her friend. She couldn't fight her. She just couldn't!

Dream fled, panicking, not knowing what to do. Jumping from tower to tower, the crazed Milky Rose was hot on her track. "Abbadon!" An aimed blast of metal shards literally obliterated the tower left of Dream.

There were no words she could say that would get through to her at this point. She was completely taken over by the madness that had also taken a hold of the others. She had to do something. It was crazy to fight each other.

Dream landed on a dead end. A single tower at the very edge, the only other routes behind her. Milky Rose stood on the next tower and looked at Dream like a beast eyes it's prey. But luck was not on her side. Milky Rose's eyes widened in terror when walls appeared around Dream, locking her in. It couldn't be!

She looked to the other side and there was a spark of golden in the distance. No! That meek woman had made it all the way to the exit? Impossible! She would not stay another day as the exile. She wouldn't last. Even if she was risking killing Dream... "Abbadon!" Milky Rose destroyed the box of stone on top of the tower but there was nobody inside. "No... damn you... damn you... Dream!"

=== Dissonance ===

Miki had showered and taken a nap before her battle. And it was finally time. Despite the complete lack of clocks or alarms, she just knew when it was time for the next battle. There was no real explanation for it. Maybe the place itself told them when it was time to wake and leave.

Love, Inori as well as Komachi and Karen were there to wish her luck. Honoka and Nagisa were busy looking after their friend that had reportedly shown up after the exile run.

"I expected you." Berry could feel the influence of the red light, driving her aggression levels in the sky. She wanted to punch, kick, smash, grab, throw, beat the other Cure. Berry stood about twenty meters across Moonlight, the two of them barely resisting their urges to jump at each others throat right away.

"So did I. Let's see what you're capable of." Moonlight didn't know what kind of ability Berry had. Passion didn't know and even if she did, it would be awkward for her to rat her friend out.

They each took a step left. Another step. They closely eyed each other, waiting for an opening, a drop in concentration. Two more steps. Slowly circling through the room, they both had flawless defense. They were evenly matched in just their position and concentration. "Spade...!" Berry would attack first, raising her hand above her head and a huge blue spade symbol appearing. Moonlight rushed in to beat her down before the attack finished.

Berry dropped flat to the ground, barely dodging Moonlight's horizontal kick aimed for her sides. "...Lariat!" Three dozen magically created spades connected to each other, like tiny parts of a sword-whip.

"Crescent Cut!" Moonlight, still on one leg from her kick, dropped to the ground, using her hand as pillar to support herself and used her right leg, the same she used to try and kick Berry, to create a powerful magic burst in the shape of a crescent moon. The attacks collided, both of them evaporating, equal in power.

Berry, still on the ground, attempted to grab Moonlight but missed barely, the older Cure putting some strength in her arm and pushing herself off the ground. Using her trained legs to pull even with Moonlight, the blue Cure catapulted herself into the air, both of them face to face.

A single kick from Berry forced Moonlight to block with both of her arms. But Berry had too much strength in her legs. The purple Cure got pushed back and landed on the ground, sliding away. Berry landed a second later, both of them back to facing off.

A lightning fast skirmish to test the waters. Berry knew now she had the advantage in power. But she didn't let it go to her head. Moonlight was a formidable foe, avoiding all her attacks. Her skill was superb and so was her technique.

Moonlight took a few steps back, Berry moving the same amount of steps forward. She didn't anticipate that Berry would have so much strength behind her kicks. And there was no doubt that her special ability was still hidden from her. Her own special was very powerful but hard to use against a single opponent.

Two steps to the right, Moonlight used her agility to jump right up to a balcony, not waiting for Berry to catch up. Up another balcony and another, Moonlight saw Berry on the other side from the corner of her eyes. As expected, she had no problem following her up there.

Both of them having their eyes fixated on their enemy, they stood completely still. The huge gap of space between them meant that any attack would result in a mid-air battle. Moonlight was more than confident in her aerial skills. Taking one step forward, they both jumped at the same time. Abandoning all defense, Berry rushed in and hit Moonlight with a punch right in the face. But that hit came not without payback. Moonlight grabbed Berry's arm with her own, pulling her in closer, ramming her knee up right into the stomach of the blue Cure with full force three times, twisting Berry's arm behind her own back and wrapping her other arm around Berry's throat, almost suffocating her.

Moonlight was using Berry as a shield and cushion. "Heaven Spade..." Berry unleashed one of her most powerful attacks with herself at the center. Five dozen spades spawned spherically around her and Moonlight. "...Crush!" Moonlight avoided the attack in the last moment by letting go, stepping on Berry's back and using her to jump out of the way. The spades converged below Moonlight and above Berry.

Moonlight could feel she was not out of danger yet. The magic spades were not exceptionally sharp but would definitely cause heavy damage if they hit. Berry clapped her hands together. "Fall!" The spades changed direction and pointed up, right at Moonlight.

"Crescent Reflection!" Moonlight used all of her power to create a huge crescent shaped silver energy mass right between herself and the spades. Both of the energy attacks colliding, they shared the same fate as the previous attacks.

Moonlight could feel something hit her hard in the back. Pain ran through her body like she'd been hit by an electric current. Berry was right above her, a thin trickle of blood running from her mouth. A kick straight against her backbone, Moonlight tried to turn away from Berry to recover from the pain, but it was not that easy.

Grabbing Moonlight's long hair to disrupt her concentration, Berry landed another brutal kick right into Moonlight's stomach. Letting go to avoid being pulled with her, the two of them hit the ground hard, both of them barely able to stand.

They were closely matched. Berry saw no better chance to use her ability than now. Standing straight up, masking her pain, Berry clicked with her fingers, pointed at Moonlight. "It's Showtime!"

Slowly walking up to the unresponsive Moonlight, she had difficulty keeping up the appearance. Concentrating was everything for that technique and if she messed it up, her chance to land a finishing hit were gone.

Standing right in front of Moonlight, Berry did a quick spin as if she was turning at the end of a catwalk, aiming for Moonlight's stomach, and kicked with all of her power. But it didn't go through. Moonlight had barely managed to put her own leg in-between, raising her knee just high enough to deflect Berry's blow.

How could someone have such an iron will? Berry jumped back, mortified at Moonlight's endurance and willpower. Nobody, ever, had resisted her special ability "My World" before. Coughing up blood, Berry could clearly feel the damage Moonlight had done to her. The muscles in her left arm hurt like they were on fire and she couldn't move her fingers quite as well as before. Her stomach was in a whole different league of pain compared to her arms.

Moonlight was not faring much better. If she had taken that blow right then, that would've been it for her. Was a terrifying ability Berry had. She could only watch her, almost in trance and hypnotized, and not do anything. Her years of combat experience and natural gift for fighting had saved her. Her body, moving almost on it's own, Moonlight had barely resisted total bedazzlement by the blue Cure.

But not without taking still possibly fatal damage. She lost most of her feel in her left leg from blocking Berry's attack with it. Using her own ability like that had moved from improbable to impossible. Regardless of that, her opponent looked quite exhausted. They fight had only lasted a couple minutes so far but they had went at each other with all of their power.

Moonlight took a few steps back, Berry closely matching her. They eyed each other, trying to determine how much more their opponent could take. Four more steps, Moonlight stood exactly on the spot Berry had stood in the beginning. She was surprised to find someone that could keep up with her that well.

Without any warning, the two of them simultaneously decided to end the fight and rushed at each other. Berry attacked first, a vertical kick, barely dodged by Moonlight, followed by a heel-drop which bruised Moonlight's left shoulder. The older Cure counter attacked by aiming for Berry's whole support of balance, her left leg and tried to knock her off her feet with a low kick, using both her arms to support herself.

Berry jumped over the low kick, followed by a back flip to bring some distance between herself and Moonlight. But the purple Cure didn't give her that much space. Berry had barely landed on the ground when Moonlight was right next to her, smashing her left arm into Berry's throat, lifting the younger Cure off her feet. Grabbing the blue Cure on the lower end of her boots, Moonlight whirled her around, moving her further up until she literally whirled the enemy above her head, jumped and smashed Berry into the ground.

Moonlight jumped away from her enemy and tried to catch her breath. The battle dragged on because they could both take quite a beating. Berry stood up, breathing hard and looking quite devastated. Moonlight was not in a much better condition.

Moonlight took a peculiar stance. Both of her legs spread, to increase support from the ground, Moonlight put her hands together and closed her eyes, as if she was praying. One way or another, that attack would decide the battle. If she hit, it would knock Berry out. If she missed, Berry would knock her out.

"Dark Savior Crescent..." Moonlight started to glow in a dark silver light. It was an attack created in honor of her 'little sister' that had died years ago. Dark Precure.

Moonlight's concentrating was disrupted by a strange sound. Opening her eyes, Moonlight saw Berry had hit the ground face first. She had gotten up only to lose consciousness.

The scenery around them changed rapidly and Moonlight found herself back in her bed. Her whole body was aching and she had a couple of blue spots but that was the worst she had endured. Now that the influence of the red light was gone, Moonlight went back to being Yuri, thinking about the battle.

An even match. Yuri was amazed by how strong Berry had been, despite the fact that she lost consciousness at the end. As Moonlight, she was the strongest of her team and also one of the most experienced Cures all around. For Berry to give her such trouble... outstanding.

Leaving her room, Yuri was passed by Melody, who was running as fast as she could. A second passed and Sunshine passed by as well, her hair turned into one long braid, giving her a ridiculous look.

Finding Mai and Kaoru in the living room but without a trace of Michiru and Saki. "How did it go?" Mai was the first one to ask.

"We won. It was a close fight, I would be lying if I said it was easy." Yuri sat down and felt her left leg act up. It hurt like it was on fire.

"Oh, Yuri you're back." Setsuna and Ellen joined the group of three. "How did it go?"

"We won. I believe I fought someone from your team Setsuna. Cure Berry." Yuri smiled when she told the other two that she won the battle.

"I can imagine Miki giving anyone a hard time. She's pretty good." Setsuna hadn't seen her friend in action for almost a year but she held no doubt that Miki had improved even beyond what she knew.

Ellen seemed amazed that Yuri was still walking around and talking like that even after a match. After her own match, she had been completely exhausted.

"Yuri, we need to talk to you about Dream. The Cure who joined us after the exile race. She's been holed up in her room the whole time. I don't think she'll be much use. There is nobody from her team on this side, so that must mean her own team voted her out." Mai was as sharp as ever. She had discussed the matter with Kaoru during Yuri's absence.

"There was bound to be one or more people like that. Leave her alone. She'll eventually have to accept this. I fought Berry but I don't hold a grudge against her for fighting with everything she got. People like her don't see that this is not a fight we want or like because we hate each other but because we need to do it. It's our mission." Yuri had grown to be quite a dutiful woman.

"Who is gonna do the next set of negotiations?" Setsuna was curious. It was pretty obvious that one of three women on the table would do it. They were just the type to do that kind of work.

"I will. I'll try to get a large scale battle going the next day. We only need to have one battle a day, and with today's battle over, we're done. After everyone has rested up, we should focus on collecting more favor quickly." Kaoru looked at Yuri and Mai, the two of them giving an approving nod.

"I think we should call everyone for dinner. I am starving and we should at least eat together." Setsuna's argument was emphasized by Ellen's stomach, who started to growl just at the right moment, making the black haired girl look away, embarrassed to the point where her face was a deep crimson red.

=== Dissonance ===

"I can't believe Miki lost. What kind of monster did they send?" Love was stuffing her face with omelet rice.

"Would you stop exaggerating Love? I told you twice already, I fought Moonlight. Blossom, you're on her team, aren't you?" Miki sighed deep and looked at Tsubomi.

"Yuri is really strong and experienced. If I had to say, she's easily the strongest of our team. But she's also a gentle and careful person." Tsubomi sat next to Erika and Inori. Erika was at the lower end of the table while Rin was sitting at the upper end. Honoka and Nagisa figured as safety switch between the two.

The other side of the table, from north to south, was Urara, Hikari, Komachi, Karen, Miki and Love. Tsubomi was only half done with talking about Moonlight when Erika interrupted her. "She's also really strict, studies too much, is overprotective and-" Erika was stopped by Tsubomi, who covered the mouth of the blue haired woman with her hand.

"We won the last two battles, so maybe this was for the best all things considered." Honoka was not too fond of omelet rice so she gave her leftovers to Nagisa, who happily devoured it as one of her favorite foods.

"You might be right. In the end, even if we lose, we still get favor for participating. While we're on the topic, who should take the next negotiations? I am not really looking forward to doing it again." Miki felt tired. She was going to take another shower and go to bed after having eaten.

"I will. I haven't decided what the best course of action is from here on, so I'll see what the others offer us." Karen interrupted her meal and looked at Honoka for approval. The scientist still acted as leader of sorts for the team.

"I was going to volunteer myself but you can go first if you'd like." Honoka leaned back and watched her partner obliterate the last of the omelet rice she had left.

"Thanks." Karen went back to her food while Komachi had already finished hers and enjoyed watching Tsubomi and Erika quarrel over what was left of Tsubomi's food. Erika seemed to be quite the glutton.

With the shared meal over with, the group broke up into smaller parts of three, two or less. Quite a few went to bed early, namely Hikari, Rin and Inori. Honoka and Nagisa retreated to their own room for some private time. Erika found herself kidnapped by Tsubomi and locked down in her own room as Miki was taking another shower and she was not going to let Erika get murdered.

Love found herself interested in Urara's work and even managed to make Karen and Komachi join the two. Karen was aware that she would simply 'know' when it was time to start negotiations. It seemed to be a subconscious process limited to whoever was decided upon as the one taking the next set.

Their stay had only just begun.

**End of Event V**


	6. Passion

**Dissonance**

_Event VI_

**Passion**

The voting had been postponed until the morning. There were no volunteers on the light team. Sunshine, in Cure mode still because of her lack of clothes, was watching the sleeping Melody next to her. The bed was still quite small so she could smell and hear the girl's breath as she laid there, quiet and cute.

Not that Hibiki was not cute when she was awake but... there was just something special about her when she was sleeping. A stark contrast to her personality, the wild and loud girl, a real tomboy. The little escapade in the shower confirmed what she had thought the whole time. She wanted Hibiki. Not just to let her sleep in the same bed. More than that.

To share a passionate kiss, to touch her skin, lick her breasts and fondle them. To sink her fingers into Hibiki's precious place. Itsuki wanted to have sex with Hibiki, but she was pretty sure that the girl was a little on the dense side of things. Unless she spelled it right out for her, she would never get it. Any subtle undertakings or hints would just bounce off her aura of obliviousness.

Kneeling on the bed and moving over Melody, Sunshine's long hair tickled the bare skin of the girl below her, waking her up. "Itsuki? What..." Melody didn't get to say more than that. The sweet lips of the woman above her descended on hers, the sensation making her shiver. It was different from before. There was something special about the way Sunshine kissed her.

The moment passed as quickly as it had come. "You still can't tell, right?" Itsuki was still smiling at the girl that looked back with big eyes. Melody had never been kissed like that. Her heart was beating faster than it had ever even when she went jogging. Her arms and legs felt weak, worse than when she had just fought a negatone and got beaten badly. Her mind was fuzzy, unable to think of anything but the woman above her. She was suddenly aware of just how scantily she was clad and how much of her skin was exposed for Sunshine to see and touch. It confused her. Not that she would be like that. But that she felt embarrassed over it, that she could feel her face flush from thinking about it.

"I want to sleep with you Hibiki. And I don't mean just next to each other." Itsuki blushed a little herself. She wasn't exactly used to all of this either but at least she realized her own desires and wishes. "I want to have sex with you. Make love to you." There was no way that Hibiki would not understand that.

Hibiki opened her mouth but no words came out. Her mind was on a total standstill. She didn't expect Itsuki to say that to her. She didn't expect anyone to say it. She wasn't really the cutest or most beautiful girl and she always thought of herself to be just a little bit on the dense side.

"It doesn't have to be right now. You're surprised, I can see that. But let me tell you something Hibiki." Sunshine leaned down and whispered in Hibiki's ear. "You're beautiful. You're strong willed and funny. No matter what you think of yourself, you look stunning to me." To put emphasis on her words, Itsuki moved her left hand over Melody's legs, over her hips and stomach to her breasts where she gently caressed the girls breasts, one at a time. "You don't need to have breasts as big as someone else. They're just right for you."

Hibiki let out a moan and gasped in surprise when she heard her own voice make a girly sound like that. She only thought about relationships very rarely, but she had always expected to be the stronger partner. But with Itsuki, she was the 'girl'. No trace of strength remained in her bearing. Her eyes were half closed as Sunshine touched her and her breathing was becoming irregular and fast.

"Even down here..." Itsuki slid her hand under Melody's skirt and closed her own eyes, still whispering in the ear of the girl. Just moving her fingers between the girls legs made her moan. Hibiki was as excited as Itsuki was.

She couldn't move. Itsuki was having total control over her. Only just responding to her touch, Hibiki finally got a break to calm down when Sunshine withdrew her hand and moved back up, still kneeling over her. "I can tell you've never done it before."

"What... what about you? You did it with someone?"

"No. You'd be the first one." Itsuki looked right in Hibiki's eyes, their gazes meeting, both unable to look away. Itsuki didn't mind if Hibiki was the first one she ever slept with. She really liked her and was sure that Hibiki liked her just as much. She just didn't quite realize it yet.

"I... don't really know what to do." Hibiki broke away and averted her face, looking to the door. She wasn't uncomfortable there, below Sunshine. In fact, her heart was still beating fast and she shivered a little. She knew what it felt like to be excited very well. But not this kind.

"I kinda expected that." Sunshine smiled, leaned down and started to kiss Melody's neck. "Follow your instinct. There's no right or wrong way." Getting a little tired of just kneeling, Itsuki touched down on the bed, laying half on Melody. She didn't even try to hide how horny she was. Her nipples were poking through her top, her breathing was as haphazard as Melody's, her skin was burning hot.

Her breasts pushing against Hibiki's, Sunshine laid a single finger on the girls chin, lifting her face up just a little to kiss her again. Sliding her tongue between Melody's lips, the pink Cure almost pulled away in surprise but then responded to Itsuki's advances, no longer thinking, following her instinct as the yellow Cure had said.

A tender french kiss, their tongues intervening and separating, their hot breath shared with each other. Sunshine moved away just a little, not far enough to break the kiss yet enough to have a little space between them. Sliding her hand under Melody's top, she fondled her breasts. A gentle grab, another with a little more strength, Sunshine touched Hibiki's nipples with her thumb, slowly rubbing them. They were as hard and erect as her own but hidden below the fabric. There was not a shred of doubt that the girl was as excited as she was.

And finally, Itsuki could feel that Melody was trying to caress her as well. Although her moves were a little awkward, Sunshine didn't mind. One of her hands hesitantly moving up and down Itsuki's hips, the other slowly sliding below her top, Hibiki felt like her heart was about to jump out her throat any second now. Sunshine was quite busty and her large breasts felt in her hand like nothing she had ever touched before.

Just squeezing them lightly made Sunshine moan into the kiss, opening her eyes and giving Hibiki an approving and lustful look. Feeling Melody's other hand on her butt, she started to feel uncomfortable still wearing clothes. Moving up on the girl again, Sunshine almost sat on her stomach, pulling off her own top, her voluptuous breasts hanging in plain sight for Hibiki now.

Almost like in trance, Melody put up her arms at the same time as Itsuki started to pull up her top. Despite having seen each other naked in the showers just a few hours ago, Hibiki was suddenly embarrassed to have Itsuki look at her and looked slightly to the side.

Sunshine left Hibiki on the bed and stood up, sliding down her skirt and dropped it on the ground. Hibiki barely noticed that she instinctively got rid of her own skirt, the two of them completely naked now. A brief shiver ran over Sunshine's skin when she took the blanket and crawled back on the bed, covering herself and Hibiki in the white cloth as she kissed her again, kneeling over her again.

Her fingers moving over Melody's bare skin, each touch for Hibiki like a tiny, weak electric shock. Her own hands groping and squeezing Sunshine's breasts, the blond Cure gasped each time the girl as much as grazed her nipples.

Itsuki was starting to sweat under the blanket, and she could feel that Hibiki too was feeling more than just a little hot. "Itsuki... how big..." Hibiki's voice was much sweeter and softer than usual.

"You're a little breast obsessed you imp." Itsuki smiled and leaned down far enough to blow a little hot air in Hibiki's ear. "D Cup." She was feeling a little proud of her big chest the way Hibiki treated her.

"I'm only a C..." Hibiki looked a little depressed but that expression vanished as quickly as it had come. Sunshine had vanished under the blanket, her lips and tongue caressing Melody's nipples. She had never felt that good before. Itsuki had never done something like that before but that didn't stop her from trying. Sucking her breasts, licking her nipples and skin, groping and squeezing the other breast with her hand, Sunshine could both hear and feel how much more excited Hibiki got.

Stopping and crawling back out, Sunshine let herself down on Hibiki, knowing she could support her weight easily. Her own breasts firmly pressed against Hibiki's, she moved just a little, their nipples rubbing together. "It's not all about size."

"Itsuki..." Hibiki wrapped her arms around the blond woman's neck, diving into another kiss. One of the many that they would share that night.

=== Dissonance ===

"Want to hear a stupid story?" Karen was walking with Komachi, both of them wearing their Cure outfits for lack of better alternatives.

"I didn't think you'd have any stupid stories to tell Karen." Komachi was giving the blue haired woman a curious look. "But do tell. I'm curious."

"Way before we got to be Cures, I actually had a crush on you. I didn't really get it at the time. We were twelve and I was a little confused by how I felt about you. I remember how I got that crush really well though. I was a little isolated from others at the time, the very start of the year, and you were my only friend. It was one particular afternoon where you went to study without me because I had cleaning duty with someone else. When I came to the library, I saw you there, sitting next to the large windows. It was late May and a warm breeze was blowing through the rooms. The light was shining right on you and the wind made your hair flutter. That moment, you seemed like the most beautiful thing in the world. I just stood there for god knows how long, watching you read that book, unable to destroy the scene before me." Karen smiled and looked on the ground. "Even now, almost a decade later, I often think of that moment and what I felt like then."

"That's not a stupid story." Komachi didn't know what else to say. Karen made her blush with her words but she was really happy. "Why did you never say anything?"

"Oh come on Komachi. You were my only real friend until we met Nozomi and the others. Even if I had known what those feelings were back then, I couldn't risk losing my best friend over it. I always thought it would completely weird you out if I came out to you. And with the years, I just sort of accepted that it would never go anywhere. By the time Milky Rose joined our team, I had all abandoned all hope. In retrospect I must have been really blind to not realize what you felt."

"You're too hard on yourself Karen." Komachi took the hand of the woman next to her. "I was not saying anything for the same reasons. I don't remember when I started liking you but I always thought it would really alienate you if I said anything. I loved you so much, I was happier with being friends than risking becoming lovers and ending up losing you completely."

"We're both screwed up, aren't we?" Karen smiled and earned a hurtful glare from the green haired woman. "Ouch. If looks could kill." Aqua had not joked around with anyone for weeks, months even. It was so incredibly relaxing to be able to just say what she was thinking without fearing consequences.

"But you know... even now... I think you're beautiful. Everyone has a different style that suits him, but out of us six, you were always the beautiful one Komachi. I was always jealous of your body and looks." Taking a short break and looking down on herself, Aqua smiled. "I'm not jealous anymore, but what I think about you hasn't changed a bit."

"You're such a smooth talker. You must have a whole harem of girls in your home." Komachi's face was getting redder with the minute.

"Oh yes, hundreds of them. I keep them hidden from Milk in my secret space closet." Karen joked and Komachi exaggerated rolling eyes. "She gets jealous so easily, it's annoying. I can't even talk to a woman on the street without her making some kind of drama."

"I never understood how you and Kurumi hit it off. I know you took care of her when she was sick but..."

"I don't really know either. We just kind of got close and Kurumi started pulling me along. Before I knew, we were going out and a few weeks later, sleeping with each other." Karen closed her mouth quickly, looking at Komachi. "Sorry, you probably didn't want to hear that."

"Karen, I'm twenty years old. I know you've been living with Kurumi. We all know. I'd have to be completely stupid to not realize you've been sleeping with her. I would lie if I said I don't care that you slept with her but just mentioning it won't make me throw a fit. I'm not dictating you what you can say and what not." Komachi proved to be quite the understanding woman.

"I'm glad you take it that way... maybe... maybe deep down I somehow always knew that we'd make a great couple. We understand each other, we complement each other. I just... never realized that until recently. I loved Milk but... she never changed. She just sits around and does whatever she wants and expects me to follow her every whim. It was okay when we were students but for an adult to act like that... I can't stand it."

"I'm not exactly a role model either Karen. I have my flaws, just like you have yours." Komachi grinned. "You're often too stuffy and serious, you work too hard, you like really weird food and drinks and god forbid someone insults your violin playing. You'd bite off their head."

"And you're stubborn, easy to scare, you don't have enough self-esteem, your fashion sense when it comes to hairstyle is horrible and most of all, if someone criticizes your writing, you'd ship them off to kingdom come." Karen looked completely serious when she said all of that. They both stopped and looked at each other, the tension in the air rising dramatically.

Then it plummeted all the way to hell when they started giggling and then bursting out in laughter. "Weird food? Really? Says the person who could eat a hundred daifuku and still more!" Karen could barely talk, so hard was she laughing.

"Mean! I bet you're still secretly having those pasta days! Nobody would ever guess with your figure but you're one hell of a glutton, aren't you!" Komachi fired back.

"How the heck do you know that? Help, I'm getting stalked!" Karen put her hands to her mouth, pretending to shout for help.

"Haha, I know all your dirty secrets!" Komachi was already bending over, holding her sides.

Their banter ceased as they both gasped for air and leaned against the nearby wall, slowly sliding down and sitting there, catching their breath. They looked at the other side of the hallway, painfully aware of each others existence and feelings. Mint made the first move, taking Aqua's hand. "Do you love me Karen? If... you can't answer that right now, I understand. I can wait. But even if you can't-"

Aqua put a seal on Mint's lips. Holding Komachi's hand, Karen supported herself with her other hand against the wall, kissing her oldest and most precious friend. Tears ran down her face and made Komachi force her away. "Karen, you didn't have-"

"Idiot... I'm crying because I'm so happy to have you. I treated you so badly, went with another woman and even lived with her for years. And then you still come to me and tell me you love me. You weren't even angry with me. I don't deserve such a good friend. That's why I'm crying." Karen was sniffing and sobbing, her words clear but her voice distorted. Her blue eyes meeting the turquoise eyes of the woman in front of her.

Mint didn't say anything. Slowly sitting straight up, she embraced the love of her life, happy that she was feeling such remorse. "I love you Karen. No matter what you do, I'll always love you."

Karen cried for a few more minutes while Komachi kept her tightly in her arms, happy that her loved one was able to show her emotions openly like that. Karen had never been one to freely admit that she was sad or disappointed.

"Komachi... I'm sorry but.. this might seem a little weird to you... I don't think I can handle sleeping with you yet. It's just... we've been friends for so long and even though I want to be with you now..." Karen was still hurt from ending her relationship with Kurumi.

"I didn't really expect you to just come on to me and make a move if that's what you mean. I wouldn't mind but I'd rather you get over Kurumi first. I don't want a broken Karen as my partner." Mint smiled and kissed the blue Cure on the forehead. "You're cute when you're being honest by the way."

"Oh shut up." Karen blushed and looked away, pouting.

=== Dissonance ===

"You're going to leave with the next exchange, right?" Ellen was playing a few cords on her guitar. She and Setsuna sat on a pair of stairs quite a distance away from their rooms.

Setsuna nodded, listening to Ellen play. It was a calming and mellow acoustic guitar track. She had gotten pretty close to her and was a little sad that they were going to be on different teams for probably quite a while.

"You know... I'm thinking about switching with the exchange after. You told me so much about your partner, Love, that I'm really curious to meet her. And..." Ellen didn't say anything else. There was no need to. Setsuna liked to be with Ellen as well.

"But your whole team is here. Won't they be mad at you? Aren't you friends with Hibiki and Kanade?" Setsuna thought about her own friends. Miki and Inori. They were both with Love and she really longed to see them again.

"I'm sure they'll understand. It's not like we'll be enemies for the whole time." Ellen sat a bit higher than Setsuna and continued her performance.

"I never heard you sing. You told me you were a songstress in major land. I really wanna hear you sing before I leave tomorrow." Setsuna looked over her shoulder as Ellen stopped playing. She sung all the time with her band, but that was her job. Singing for just a friend was completely different. "Pretty please?" Setsuna smiled and won. Ellen responded with a smile of her own.

"Okay, but don't tell anyone about this song." It was something Ellen had written in long nights when she couldn't sleep.

Clearing her throat and taking a deep breath, Ellen started a few very slow and calming cords. "_In lands yet unknown, I live, I am. Above me sky so blue, below me lands of green. A house made of dreams and happiness I share with my friends. One of them as wild and energetic as the sun. One of them calm and graceful like a river. One of them like pride and winds, two faces to her_." Ellen continued the song for about a minute without any vocals. "_Days spent in happiness, days spent in tranquility and days spent however we like. Cakes of clouds, songs and whistles of our souls, we live to our hearts desire. No bounds to chain us, no sadness ever around us, as we lay there in the grass, we find what we long for forever. Our hands holding each other, our hearts connected, we're one and always will be._"

The whole song took more than five minutes for Ellen to sing. Setsuna listened intently, with her eyes closed, her knees pulled to her chest, her chin resting on them. "What a beautiful song. It's about your friends, isn't it? Melody, Rhythm and Muse."

"The song isn't complete yet. That's only the second half. I have yet to write the first part." Ellen was embarrassed to have played that song for someone.

"Hummy, right? The friend from major land you told me about. She seems like a total airhead. Reminds me a little of Love." Setsuna smiled and stood up, walking up to Ellen and sitting down next to her. They were both in their Cure outfits simply because they had no other clothes to wear.

"Hummy returned to major land while I remained with Hibiki and Kanade. Ako goes and comes, acting like a representative of Major land on earth. I miss her quite a bit sometimes, but I decided to live my life as human."

"Sounds like a story I know." Setsuna leaned against Ellen's shoulder, careful not to be a hindrance for her playing. "Can you play another song? I love your music." Passion was feeling so very comfortable with Beat that she found it hard to explain with words alone.

Ellen started a faster song that had a bit of sadness to it. "This is a cover from a popular song I know. It's called 'To the End of the Wilderness'. It's from a band called Wild Arms."

Playing for a few seconds, Ellen started to whistle a melody with the song. Setsuna was amazed that she recognized the song. She had once heard it during her travels with Love. She loved the guitar and the whistling, the mood the song created.

Ellen kept whistling until she came to a purely acoustic part where she suddenly stopped. Setsuna, right next to her, was quietly sobbing. Ellen panicked and thought about all kinds of things she might have done or said to upset her.

"You know Ellen... I really am a terrible woman. I have Love, I am so happy with her. But when I'm with you, I find myself thinking..." Setsuna grabbed Ellen's hand, still leaned against her. "Don't you like her? Don't you want to be with her?" Setsuna used a voice different from her own. "That's what the voice in my heart tells me. I have someone that loves me so much. And I love her just as much. And yet I find myself thinking about you that way."

"Setsuna... I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-" Ellen thought it was her fault.

"Don't apologize. You didn't do anything wrong. It's just... me. I can't decide what I should do. Should I listen to my heart or my mind..."

Ellen started to play the song again, this time slower and the whistle sounding sadder than before. She continued to play until her lips were too dry to go on, her fingers sore from playing too much at once. The silence that followed was quite awkward until Ellen decided to just say what she was thinking.

"I lied to my own heart so often... I did many horrible things because of it. I... think you should just follow your heart." Beat wished that she was saying it only because she cared for Passion. But deep down, in her heart, she wished for Setsuna to like her.

Ellen's guitar hit the stairs, making haphazard sounds every time it slid down another. Beat's eyes were wide open, her hands grasping at air. She was sharing her first kiss with a girl that was two years older than her. A kiss mixed with tears.

Setsuna pulling back after a few seconds, she shook her head violently. "No... I shouldn't do this... I'm sorry Ellen. I'm so sorry." Without another word, Passion jumped up and ran away, down the stairs, past the dropped guitar, out of Beat's sight.

Beat sat on the stairs, looking at the ground, a single tear running down her cheek. Love was painful. Ellen could be pretty dense and lacked common sense but she was pretty clear on what she felt for Setsuna now. She liked her. Not as a friend, but as a girl. As a woman.

=== Dissonance ===

Miki was unable to sleep, restlessly throwing around in her bed. She couldn't get Moonlight out of her head. The match had only confirmed it. She wanted that woman. Ironic or not that it happened while they were stuck in that god forsaken place, Miki didn't care.

Growing tired of the walls in her room, Miki got up, left her room and went for a walk. The place was quiet, almost everyone was asleep. Once, she thought to have seen Aqua and Mint but didn't pay them any mind.

Moonlight. That power and skill. Her movements, her grace. She was perfect. Stern and determined. Tall and beautiful. Serious and mature. She wanted to see her, learn more about her, touch her, caress her, sleep with her. Despite all, Miki had quite the sex drive. She just never met anyone to satisfy it.

In their fight, she got quite the view of the silver Cure. Her long legs, slim waist, noble face and clear eyes. And to top it all off, she was so strong, so smart. She had to get to know her! Miki felt her heart ache. So that was what it felt like to be in love. No wonder that Peach and Passion liked it so much. A melancholic feeling yet, one of incredibly warmth.

She couldn't settle down and started to walk, every step her thoughts wandering about, thinking of the woman that had stolen her heart by accident. Miki realized only how far her steps had taken her when she reached a grand room with a deep abyss in it's middle. A chasm so deep that it was pitch black. In the middle of it was a wall, half see-through, half of golden light.

Miki sighed and sat down at the chasm, her legs above the dark nothing. "Below the Moon's crescent grace – A ray of love descends, a sky of black – A heart, bellowing in the night, a scream for you – My kiss flowing, eternally, from me to you – I hunt after you, to claim you, my hope." Miki wasn't a poet or literary talented but she liked poems just a little bit. It didn't change that she was quite horrible at creating them.

"Very..." "...classy." Two voices and applause caught Berry's attention. A red haired and a blue haired Cure were sitting on a small balcony in the other side of the room. "Didn't think that someone else..." "...would come out here." They had a very peculiar way of talking, one of them completing the sentence of the other.

"I guess you're members of the dark team. I'm amazed we can meet like this. I thought we were forbidden to do so outside battle and exile runs." Miki had been questioning the rules from the beginning. Some of them seemed strangely conflicting or without purpose.

"Indeed, we are..." "...members of team dark." The two Kiryuu sisters replied, jumped down from the balcony and came closer to the barrier. "We found this place..." "...by accident. I don't think..." "... it is always here. It is probably..." "... depending on the exile area."

"A secret meeting point." Miki interpreted from their words. Their way of talking annoyed the hell out of her already. "I'm Cure Berry. And you two are?"

"Cure Bright." Michiru replied and looked to her sister. "Cure Windy." Kaoru replied and looked to her sister. They held hands and smiled at each other. "Part of Splash Star." They had assigned names like that to almost everyone else. After all, teams did introduce themselves as such, so it seemed only proper to label them with that.

"So you're in love..." "...with Cure Moonlight, pretty one?" The sisters were more than just sharp. "You picked a really..." "...tough nut to crack." They walked up close to Berry. Only about five meters were between them, the width of the chasm. If not for the barrier they could have easily jumped over that little gap.

"You two are pretty sharp. Yes, I like Moonlight. Are you going to try and make fun of me? Don't even bother with such a pointless activity." Berry was not quite familiar with how many Cures actually were in relationships with each other.

"We're not..." "... that kinda people. You seem honest..." "...and smart enough. Want us..." "... to help you? We could call..." "...Moonlight to this place for you."The Kiryuu sisters were easy prey for the predator called boredom. With their sharp minds and their ability to quickly pick up anything they did, they had become extremely versatile jacks of all trades in the last few years.

"Why would you want to help me? You don't even know me." Despite being Cures, Berry didn't really trust them all that much.

"Because it would..." "...be interesting," The Kiryuu sisters replied and smiled. "We're really..." "...bored here. Saki and Mai are busy..." "...with each other. You seem..." "...interesting."

"I got nothing to lose. I'll wait here for a bit. I need to get a clear head anyway." Miki wasn't sure what to make of the sisters and when she looked up again, they were already gone.

=== Dissonance ===

"Surprised?" Muse had just come out of her room. A minute ago, Yuri had knocked on her door, having decided to at least listen to her. But Muse looked very different from usual. She was Yuri's height and her body was clearly that of an adult. Her bright and frilly yellow costume had changed into a dark bodysuit and cape. Her hair was still the same if only a bit longer. "This is a type of magic I can use. This is what I will look like in five years. It's a special type of magic that allows me to alter my body to what it will be five years in the future. I assumed that it would be easier for you to talk to me if I looked like this. And quite honestly, I much prefer this to what I usually look like. No matter how serious and mature you are, people are always going to treat me like a child if I look like one. Simple action and reaction to alter my own image then."

"I see. Part of your reasoning is right. Shallow people will always treat you like a kid, regardless of what your character is like. But that is where a fault lies in your reasoning. People who actually care will always judge you by who you are and not your appearance or age."

"If we add to that equation that I am more comfortable in this form, there really is no sense to staying a kid. I don't want to have to look up to see your face, too." Muse closed the door and stepped past Yuri. "Shall we get going? I'd assume you'd prefer to not have this conversation where we can be overhead."

"Let's go." The unlikely pair quickly left the hallway behind them, delving deeper into the complex. Walking in complete silence, Moonlight found herself staring at Muse's butt once or twice. As far as figure went, she was quite breathtaking. But not her type at all.

They went deep into the unknown parts of the castle, into an empty room. Closing the door behind herself, Muse looked at Moonlight. "The way you were acting, I assume this is not just about your work or the situation here. It sounded much more serious."

"I have a partner. She's a model and I basically work as her agent. But she's a civilian and I cannot stop worrying about what happens if a new enemy appears and targets her because of me." Yuri felt, oddly enough, not uncomfortable about spilling her guts to Muse. The black Cure listened intently with a serious face.

"I can already see where the moral dilemma for this goes. You want to protect her, but the best way of doing so would be to not be with her. Well, that is true, but even if you aren't with her, she could always get wrapped up in an attack. Hibiki and Kanade are sometimes worried about their families too. They were lucky that nothing much happened to them, but I understand your worry. We are fighting to restore the balance of light and darkness. It's foolish to say that just this will bring about a new enemy but the chances are there. And this is just a feeling I have but I believe that evil itself will be not as easily destroyed as it was until now."

"So you see things the same way I do. I too, believe that any new enemy would likely aim for our weakness. The people we hold dear. I'd do anything for Momoka, walk into any trap. Even give my life. I know that nobody would be saved by doing so, but I'd still do it if there was even the slightest chance to save her."

"There is no right or wrong solution to this Moonlight. To protect her, you'd best do so from the shadows. Telling her you're a Cure would not help at all. If she loves you, she'd try to understand but it would only put her in greater danger. If your whole and biggest concern is her safety, you should not be with her. But this is something you have to decide for yourself."

"Have you ever been in a situation like this?" Moonlight bit her lip. So there really was no obvious, easy way out of it.

"My father was possessed by an evil force that plagued the lands once. My grandfather banished it, but it came back and took over my father. He fought Hibiki, Kanade and Ellen, even tried to kill them, tried to throw the world into infinite sadness and sorrow. It took me a long time and the words of the others to realize that truly protecting him was not to step into their fight and stop them. Even if it hurt me and him, I had to stop him. Because the real him would never do what he did. If he was released from the evil and the world was a ruin of sadness, he'd never be able to forgive himself. That would be worse than any other fate."

"So you swallowed your feelings of not wanting to hurt him and fought." Moonlight was quite amazed at the determination the girl had. It was extremely easy to forget that Muse was actually only around thirteen.

"I did. It was a hard decision to make. Even harder so because at the time, I was still thinking of myself as a Cure on my own. I didn't really believe to be part of the team." Muse's face was grim. She did not have any happy memories of those times.

"Muse. What would you do if you were in my place?" Moonlight was interested in what the young girl would do. Someone that had not yet experienced the desire of sex.

"From the little you told me, I would leave her and protect her from the shadows. I have noticed that quite a few Cures are interested in each other, so if I was hoping for a relationship, I'd look there. Moonlight, I know these decisions are painful. But I can't make this one for you. You love her, I can clearly see that."

"It's just not fair. These worries have been gnawing at me ever since I fell in love with her, ever since she kissed me for the first time. I love her but I can't stand the endless worrying anymore."

"I think, deep down, you already knew what to do. Talking to me was only a pretext to confirm your decision with yourself by letting someone else assess the situation as a whole." Muse walked up to Moonlight and looked right in her eyes. "It's your decision. Make the one you can live with Yuri. Sometimes, we have to break our own heart to save what we really love."

Muse turned around and walked to the door. "Should we get back? I'm sure you're exhausted after your fight."

Moonlight suddenly remembered. The fight, Berry. She had been so preoccupied with worrying about Momoka that she had managed to completely forget about her. "Muse, wait. There is something else I want to talk about." Yuri waited until the black Cure looked at her, not in the slightest disappointed or annoyed. In fact, Ako quite enjoyed being able to have a conversation on such a level with an adult. There were about eight years difference between the two, but that didn't seem to bother Moonlight at all.

"The Cure I fought today, Berry, is extremely similar to Momoka. I couldn't get her out of my mind for quite a while. I... do you think it would be awful of me to pursue this? I feel awful just thinking about throwing Momoka aside, just like that, and jumping on the next chance to-" Moonlight was interrupted.

"I never really experienced romance so I can't advise you on this. But you should know this much. Feelings of remorse, feelings of regret will stay with you for the rest of your life. I'd rather regret doing something that might not have been for the best than spending the rest of my life wondering if I chose the right thing to do."

"I can't believe you're only thirteen." Moonlight was quite literally unable to believe it.

"I was brought up as a princess, the future ruler of Major Land, for over ten years before I went to earth. I still continue my education at the royal palace. A regent can not be poorly educated. But I understand your doubt Yuri."

"I'm looking forward to meeting you when you're actually grown up." Yuri smiled.

"You'll have to take an audience then. I will be queen of Major Land by then." Ako smiled back and opened the door. "Let's get back."

The two of them were barely out the door when they met two familiar faces. "Moonlight, we've been..." "... looking for you. You have..." "... a visitor."

"Night, Moonlight." Muse waved and left without the Silver Cure. She was not getting involved in any business with the Kiryuu sisters.

"A visitor? What do you mean? Wait, Muse." Moonlight took a step forward, trying to go after Muse but the two sisters stopped her.

"A secret room..." "...not too far from here. She is waiting for you..." "...so we'll lead the way." Kaoru grabbed Yuri's right hand, Michiru her left, the two of them pulling Moonlight with them. They were bored out of their minds with nothing to do so they would not let that chance slip by.

"A secret room? What are you two talking about? Where are we going?" Moonlight pulled free from their grip. "I'll walk by myself." Those two women were pretty pushy.

"It's there and..." "...then it's not. A meeting site..." "...of chance!" They seemed oddly happy about something but Yuri couldn't quite tell what exactly. "Chance or destiny?" "Which one is it?" "Even we don't know." "It's a mystery." Their way of talking had changed again. It was quite annoying.

It took Yuri only a few minutes to realize who it was that was waiting for her. There was really only one person on the other side that would urge the Kiryuu's to bring her there. Blossom and Marine were not the type to meet up secretly like that.

"We have arrived." "Enjoy your stay." "We will leave." "See you again." Kaoru and Michiru grinned, took turn and left Moonlight at the entrance to a big room which had a chasm in the center. And there she was, sitting at the edge of the rift, looking at her in surprise.

"I didn't think you'd really come." Berry was both surprised that the two Cures had found her and that Moonlight had just agreed to come.

"They pretty much dragged me here." Yuri took a few steps towards the chasm. The barrier was emitting a dim light, giving the room an odd feel. "You fought well earlier. I was close to losing in the end."

"You flatter me. In the end, I still lost. But I didn't call you here to talk about the fight Yuri." Berry knew her real name because she had asked Blossom about it earlier. "Although if you prefer to talk about that first, I don't mind."

"No, I'd rather not waste our time. We both know what we are capable of and we quite clearly felt what what the other one is too during the match." Yuri took another step forward. There were only a few meters separating them.

"I believe you have already figured out what I want to talk about. But I think you're the type that likes if the other one spells it out for you. I don't mind. When I want something, I aim for it and do not take any detours. Go out with me Yuri. When I first saw you, I was taken. Your grace, your elegance. You're beautiful, perfect. Not only that, you're strong, mature, clever. You may think I'm just flattering you, but this is what I truly believe and think."

Berry launched an overwhelming preemptive strike against Moonlight. "I didn't quite assume that much." Yuri tried hard to keep her composure. Just minutes after talking about Momoka with Muse, Berry declared herself to aim for her as lover. It was a little much to take in. "You barely know me, so you are assuming quite a bit."

"I was not intending to pry into things that I should not know about, but I asked Blossom and Marine about you. What I assume is no mere assumption. It's a fact, proven to me by the words of your friends. Now, I know there's two sides to every story and that there are many things I don't know about you yet. But that is exactly why I want to know you better. Share your time with me. Be by my side. I long to know about you."

Yuri averted her face. Few, very few, people could be as open and clear about their desires as that. Most would crumble in embarrassment and shame, but Berry was almost staring at her, not a trace of nerviness on her face. She might look a lot like Momoka, but her character was clearly different.

"I have a lot to think about right now Berry. I can't really give you any kind of answer right now." Yuri couldn't just give her an answer like that. She still hadn't made her final decision about Momoka. And even if she decided to leave Momoka, she would need time to get over it. Just throwing herself from one relationship into another was not healthy.

"We're both not teenagers anymore. I won't just decide that I like someone else in a weeks time. I can wait. I want to be with you. It doesn't matter to me how much time you need to accept me." Miki stood up and looked at Moonlight. "I wanted you to know this, that's all. I didn't really expect for things to just go my way. This is life, not a kids cartoon. I'd love to know more about you Yuri. But I'll ask you another time."

Miki could see that Moonlight was fighting to keep her composure. She decided to let her save face and leave, even though she had finally the chance to be alone with her outside the battlefield. Walking away, Berry stopped and looked back just once before leaving Moonlight behind.

That didn't go as well as she hoped, but she was not the type to indulge into endless subtle hints and beating around the bush like Love and Setsuna did. Neither seemed Moonlight to be the type to respond well to these things. They were serious, hard working adults.

On the other side of the chasm, Moonlight was letting out the heaviest sigh ever. Why was her life so complicated? Not just that she had trouble with her relationship with Momoka, but now there was Miki declaring her love for her. Things only got ever more complicated for her.

Muse's words were still resounding in her head. Did she really already make her decision? Was it the right one? She loved Momoka a lot, but her worry was making her paranoid sometimes. Whenever Momoka was late and didn't call, whenever she was unexpectedly not at home. Yuri was sick of worrying that their relationship could be a cause of pain for Momoka someday. Was it really better to break Momoka's heart, and her own, to ensure she would not become wrapped up in new battles?

If only there was an easy way out of it. A way that would not break Momoka's heart or her own and still protected her. But life didn't offer easy cop-out methods like that. Or did it?

Yuri looked around herself. The place she was in... it had a special system in place that could grant wishes. What if she wished that Momoka would forget they had ever been together? All that would change was that she was no longer going out with her. It still left her to bear the pain, but the thought of forgetting all about the time she spent with Momoka was even harder to bear than the one of erasing Momoka's memory of their time together.

No matter what, it was a difficult decision to make.

"You think they'll get together?" Kaoru looked at her sister, the two of them hidden away on one of the upper most balconies.

"Who knows. They seem to suit each other but Moonlight seems to have a lot of issues." Michiru didn't even need to look at the silver Cure to tell that much.

"If Berry wants to date her, she's in for a lot of work." Kaoru leaned back against the wall, resting her head on Michiru's shoulder. "But it could be interesting, don't you think?"

"I didn't expect Berry to be this straight forward. Although, speaking of straight-" Michiru was interrupted rudely by her sister.

"Don't even try to make a joke out of her liking women and straight sis. Your sense of humor is still horrible." Kaoru sighed. "Should we go to bed? I don't think we'll be lucky enough to find something interesting again tonight."

"Let's go to bed then. Watching Moonlight be depressed and sighing is not interesting at all." The two left the same way they had come, through small and hidden passageways. Moonlight was left behind alone, with just her thoughts to occupy her.

=== Dissonance ===

Mai was laying halfway on Saki, drawing circles over her collar bones. She found it difficult to fall asleep right after they had sex. Thankfully, the same was true for Saki.

"Do you remember when we first slept with each other?" Mai often brought up topics from the past. She loved to keep a vivid memory of all the silly, stupid and funny things they had done in the past.

"How could I ever forget that? It was a total disaster. And I'm not even talking about the part where we slept with each other." Saki rolled eyes, thinking back on that nightmare of a day;

_Saki was sleeping in a futon on the floor while Mai was sleeping in her bed. Saki had declined her offer to actually join her in the bed._

"_Did you see the way Honoka looked at Nagisa the whole time? I bet she's in love with Nagisa. The poor girl is totally oblivious to it though." Mai grinned widely and giggled into her blanket. "Like a certain someone that had no clue either until I kissed her."_

"_Yes, yes, rub it in. It hurts, oh, it hurts so much." Saki was making an exaggerated dull voice, looking up at Mai. "You're never going to forgive me for being a little dense, are you? You succubus!" Saki fired back, laughing the contrived shocked face Mai was making._

"_How long do you think it's gonna take before Honoka ravishes Nagisa? I was so tempted to tell her today." Mai sat up in her bed and looked to the window. They didn't live too far away and they saw them quite often, but neither of the two really thought about telling Nagisa that Honoka was madly in love with her._

"_Honoka is sixteen already and Nagisa is turning sixteen in two months. It's amazing how we're all just about a month apart from each other, Honoka being the oldest and Nagisa the youngest. I think at the latest when Nagisa turns sixteen is Honoka gonna make her move. I think they'll make a really cute couple." The purple haired girl leaned to her side and reached down to Saki, poking her cheek._

"_I think Nagisa loves her too but she doesn't even realize it. Or maybe she thinks nothing can come of it. I was sure you were just my friend too before you took me to the big tree last summer and kissed me there. I'll never forget how happy I felt that moment." Saki sat up as well and leaned against the side of Mai's bed, looking straight up into her lovers face._

"_Say Saki... don't you want to at least spend the night in the same bed as me?" Mai was not asking her to sleep with her. Only sleep next to her._

"_What if your parents try to wake you up and find us sleeping in the same bed? We're a little too old to just tell them we were playing around." Saki was quite aware that it wasn't really all that acceptable to be a lesbian where they lived. Mai's parents were pretty accepting so there was a good chance they wouldn't mind too much but she still didn't really trust that chance._

"_I don't want to hide this all my life Saki. If they find out, they'll find out. It's as good as any other means of telling them. It's not like I'm secretly sleeping with a guy. They know you, they like you. If they'll accept anyone as my partner, then it's you." Mai laid her arms around the girl she loved, leaning her forehead against the back of Saki's head. That was enough to get rid of the last of Saki's reluctance._

"You always had that way with words I couldn't resist. We still ended up sleeping with each other. And the next morning, your mom found us sleeping together naked. I won't ever forget the fuss they made. My parents were really mad too, although it was more about me hiding it from them." Saki was playing with Mai's hair just a little. They both slept together naked, without their Cure forms. It was more comfortable that way and they were used to sleeping like that anyway.

"I'll never forget the face of your mom. She looked like her soul had left her body." Mai covered her mouth but could not completely suppress her laughter.

"It's funny for you. Your parents only lectured you but my mom was going on and on, asking me for a thousand details about our relationship. You have no idea how terrible it is to explain what kind of kisser your girlfriend is to your mother."

"At least you weren't stuck with Honoka when she and Nagisa got word of us dating. She wanted the exact story of how I told you from me. It was really embarrassing to answer some of her questions, you know!" Mai complained and crawled up a little, resting her head on Saki's shoulder.

"In exchange, I was stuck with Nagisa. It was so hard not to tell her that she and Honoka were in the exact same situation. I knew you'd kill me if I slipped up so I had to try really hard. That was the most painful conversation I've ever had with Nagisa."

"This reminds me... Saki, remember when we all went for karaoke on Nagisa's eighteenth birthday?" Mai knew that nobody but Kaoru remembered that day. She only knew what went down due to Kaoru telling her.

"It's... kind of fuzzy. Now that I think about it... I can't remember anything. We went to karaoke, I had the first song and then... it's all a blur." Saki wasn't exactly known for her memory but to completely forget a memorable day like that wasn't like her.

"I heard the story from Kaoru, the sole 'survivor' of that night. I'm pretty sure she didn't lie to me but that made all of it even worse." Mai didn't mind doing silly and sometimes stupid things. They made for great stories to tell their friends.

"Apparently it went down like this..." Mai gathered her thoughts for a moment.

_Kaoru knew right away that something was wrong from the second that Michiru picked a speedy rock song and messed up every second line and still earned cheering and applause from the other four. Having not touched her drink yet, she took just a little sip. Her mouth felt like she had just eaten a couple dried plums. Her throat was on fire. There was alcohol in that drink, and not too little._

_The song finished and Michiru came crashing down next to her sister, leaning against her and emptying the last bit of her drink before anyone could interfere. It all went downhill from there. Mai and Honoka were fighting over who got to sing next, very unlike them, and finally emerged singing together, both of them clearly drunk. Yet nobody but her seemed to notice._

_In a combined attempt of the two women sitting down, Saki leaving for the bathroom and Nagisa ordering more drinks, total chaos came about. By the time Saki returned, Mai and Honoka had started to play with each others hairstyles, the two of them effectively switching._

_For a drunk Saki, telling the difference between Honoka and Mai was apparently too much. Kaoru watched in confusion when Saki sat down next to Honoka and laid her arms around the woman, pulling Nagisa's partner on her lap._

_In the mean time, Nagisa had somehow managed to pick out a song and was failing the lyrics left and right but having a lot of fun. She didn't seem to notice at all that it was Honoka who was on Saki's lap and not Mai. The situation got even worse still when the real Mai joined Nagisa on stage and started to slowly pull off her shirt._

_Kaoru swore to herself to never touch the vile brew that was alcohol. Ever. It turned perfectly sane and intelligent people into primitive sex crazed teenagers. At least that was her interpretation of it. Kaoru's attempt to clear up the situation and prevent it from getting any worse were successfully hindered by her own sister, who had slid both her hands under Kaoru's shirt, now just as successfully groping her._

_As Nagisa returned to the couch, Honoka, looking very much like a deep blue haired Mai, ascended to the stage next, singing the next song. Their singing barely resembled the original lyrics anymore and Kaoru had given up on saving the situation. Surviving it had become much more important. Mai was laying half on the cushioned bench while Nagisa and Saki had started a contest who could mess up the others hair more._

_Kaoru was slowly losing perspective on who was doing what as she got more horny. Trying her best to stop her sister, all her attention was focused on not getting caught up in their mess._

_The catastrophe finally came to an end when the clerk noticed his mistake, checked on the group of six and found them to be out of control. As they were promptly kicked out of the karaoke bar, the six headed to the next best, or rather worst, place available. A love hotel right around the corner. Even Kaoru's memory became fuzzy around that time but she was the only one to remember the morning after._

"I'm not sure I want to hear the rest of this." Saki was hiding her face behind her hands and Mai was just as embarrassed.

"Kaoru said she doesn't know what happened after that except we all woke up with... well, very little on us. I usually just assume we didn't actually mess up so badly that we slept with someone else. Although you and Nagisa would look pretty hot together..." Mai said the last few words to herself but Saki could still hear.

"Honoka and you would make a much hotter couple." Saki countered.

"Maybe I'll ask her when we get to be on the same team. I don't mind switching you for Honoka for a night." Mai never really lost a battle of teasing each other. Saki just looked at her like a lost puppy. "Oh come on, you know I wouldn't do that." Mai pulled herself up just a little and kissed Saki briefly.

"I'm not sure we should ever tell Honoka and Nagisa about this..." Saki didn't really want to even think about it.

"You're right. Honoka might actually try to snatch you." Mai joked and made her partner roll eyes again.

=== Dissonance ===

"Kurumi..." The voice was back. She couldn't keep it out. The bed was not safe. Nowhere was safe. She had been running for hours, her clothes soaked in cold sweat. Her hair wild and roughed up.

Her 'friends' were showing up in front of her. Images, illusions, yet so real. They were there, she could touch them, they reacted, laughed, smiled, mocked her, taunted her. And they were all the same. All the same.

Karen was there with someone else, sleeping with them. And it got worse. She couldn't run anymore and there was another illusion. Another image. Karen was there, arm in arm with Nozomi, kissing her, grabbing her ass. And then Karen looked at her over Nozomi's shoulder. Her eyes were so full of contempt, Kurumi instinctively backed off a few steps. But that was not enough. Karen came after her, Nozomi at her side.

"Nozomi at least tries her best. She can't do anything and yet she tries her hardest. She believes in people, in us being friends. But you don't. You're an egoistical prick, a horrible leech that is stuck to me. A parasite. Why would I want to be with you? What madness took me that I would want to be with you? You don't do anything! You don't care about your friends."

"Did you really think I wouldn't fight you? You're so stupid Milk. You had Karen doing everything for you and you blew it. Is there anyone that could screw up a relationship so badly? Karen is mine now. You won't get her back. Your chance is over. And don't think you'll get out of that exile. You'll be there stuck forever. When it's time to leave, nobody will even remember you."

"Shut up, shut up, shut up! Go away!" Milky Rose unleashed a metal storm at the illusions, shredding them to pieces. But did illusions really bleed? Did they scream in terror? Did they lament and curse? Looking at the dying Nozomi and Karen, their faces of contempt and pure distilled hatred for her act of violence, Milky Rose fled.

"They're not real, they're not real, they're not real, they're not real..." She kept telling herself, over and over and over again. Her voice was but a whisper.

"You never really had a chance. Or did you really believe Karen would pick you over someone else? Don't be silly." This time it was Rin. She was holding a half-stripped Karen in her arms, the blue haired woman's face full of ecstasy and bliss. "You really believed in our little act of fighting, didn't you? Water and Fire, oh how could they possibly get along. Now guess what, that's exactly why we want each other. There's nothing like the the attraction of opposites. But what have you? What's attractive about you? Nothing, that's what. You look pretty but you can't do shit. That's all you're good for. But Karen doesn't want to date a puppet. She wants someone that can hold her own against her. Someone that actually gets things done, has their own mind, their own wishes. Someone like me. Just think about all the times her and I fought. What do you think followed after? Hot make-up sex, that's what. Oh, she's crazy in bed when she's angry, let me tell you that." Rin and Karen were shredded to pieces. Their blood soaked the ground, their faces and eyes were looking at her.

"It's not true, it's not true..." Kurumi was shaking, trembling, unable to walk. Sinking to the ground, tears ran down her cheeks.

"Still acting like the spoiled princess I see. Seriously, will you cut that shit out?" Now it was Urara, standing above her." You aren't goddamn fourteen. Even I gave up that cutesy act. Oh wait, you really believe Karen fell for that act of yours? Hey, look at me, I'm so cute and willful and you all have to do whatever the hell I want. That's your whole damn character in a nutshell. Nobody is attracted to that. Karen only let you jump her because she was fucking horny. Do you know how many times even I slept with her when you weren't around?" The illusion kicked Milk right in the stomach. The pain was real, the impact was real. Milk curled up in pain.

"Dozens of times. You think you were the only one good enough to sleep with her? Well think again. All of us slept with her, that's how shitty you are in bed. Did you ever get her to say she loves you? Yeah, thought so. How about you just get lost? Nobody really cared about you back then and nobody gives a shit about you right now. You know what? It's even better than that. Rin, Komachi and I wish you'd just up and vanish. Go back to your damn fairy land. Karen is fed up with your bullshit. She's gonna leave you. Maybe I'll take her. Used goods ain't really my thing but-" Lemonade was interrupted, dodging Milk's badly aimed attacks. "Ha, was that supposed to hit me? Can't see a thing from crying too many tears of rage, can you?" But the next attack hit and Lemonade was literally a head shorter. Her blood was covering Milky Rose's face, her clothes. It stuck to her hair. She could taste it, smell it.

"You still don't realize it, do you?" Now it was Mint's turn and Milk feared her the most. She knew oh so well that she snatched Karen away from Komachi just barely. "Karen was mine all along. You were only an excuse to keep appearances. I grew up with her, I know her every little secret, her desires, her feelings. Did you ever stop to even think about what Karen wants? What she likes? What she feels? I would be honestly surprised if you did. But in the end, Karen didn't care what you want either. Isn't that right, my beloved?"

Another Karen appeared right next to Komachi, embracing her tightly, kissing her, the two of them standing right before the curled up Milk on the ground. "Let me show you what I really think of you Milk." Karen's voice was bitter and deep. A blue flash and Karen became Aqua. Milk flinched in pain when Aqua started to kick and stomp on her. "Liking you? Are you insane? Komachi was the only one to ever understand me! You always just demanded, demanded and when it didn't go your way you threw a tantrum! I felt like I was living with a child! No, worse. A child would at least be cute when they do something silly but all you did was cost me money and waste my time. You're a horrible person. The worst person I ever knew. To hell with your princess act. No wonder nobody objected when you said you wanted to stay on Earth. They were all sick of you. And so am I. I'm so goddamn sick of you, I don't want to see your face ever again. Get lost. Kill yourself. I don't even care anymore."

"You bring out the worst in people Milk. Do you know how many times we were all laughing about you? Your little princess act got old really quickly. Always 'I want this' and 'I want that' and 'Do this' and 'Do that'. Did you really think someone respected you after all of that? And then you got all that power and even tried to become the leader of the team. I still remember that day I saw Nozomi's angry face. Just go away Milk. Go away and come never back. Stay out here, alone, because that is what you deserve. That is what you got on yourself."

Kurumi didn't even have the energy to attack anymore. The two of them were laughing, kissing, fondling each other right in front of her. She was like paralyzed. Their words struck her heart. Everything they said was true. It was all true. The horrible laughter of Komachi and Karen dominated the air as Milky Rose passed out, hurt and laying in a mess of gore.

=== End of Event VI ===


	7. Realization

**Dissonance**

_Event VII_

**Realization**

"...Itsuki?" Hibiki woke up, still sleepy and feeling pretty sore. She was laying on her side, her forehead touching the blond woman's collarbone. Both of Itsuki's arms were holding her tightly, a sensation Hibiki wasn't quite used to.

"Awake now? You're really cute when you sleep, you know." Itsuki was smiling at the barely awake, pink haired girl. They had completely forgotten to cancel Cure mode before they fell asleep.

Hibiki could feel that they were sleeping naked together, but she wasn't embarrassed anymore. After all, she had spent half the night sleeping with Itsuki. As far as she was concerned, it was the best night of her life. She had never felt that good. Hibiki was quite taken by the older Cure.

"I wanna go back to sleep... There's no sense to getting up in this place anyway..." Hibiki wrapped her arms around her new lover, burying her face in Itsuki's breasts.

"Sounds like a good idea... I'm still tired from last night." Itsuki paused briefly, then kissing the top of Hibiki's head. "I hope nobody heard us. You were quite loud when you came."

"I couldn't help it... I just felt so good." Hibiki's face was turning into a deep crimson. Whose fault did that woman think it was that she got so loud?

"I did too. Although I have to admit, I didn't think my first time would be with a girl that's younger than me." The words made Hibiki lift her head, a questioning look in her eyes.

"Does that bother you? That I'm only sixteen? I turn seventeen in five months." Hibiki was a little worried that Itsuki might think it's a problem that she was so much older than her.

"I don't mind. I just didn't expect it. Before we were all sent to this place, I didn't even know I really was into girls. Maybe I'm not even really into girls and I only like you." Itsuki moved her right leg between Melody's, poking Hibiki's feet with her own.

"Stop it... " Hibiki hid her red face from Itsuki and moved up just a little, barely enough to reach her lips. The first kiss since she woke up. The memories of the last night were still quite vivid.

Itsuki had never really shared a morning with anyone like that before. Hibiki was acting really different from usual, but it was kind of cute. Poking Hibiki's cheek, the pink Cure pulled a grimace. "I'll go back to sleep..." Melody pushed herself against Sunshine, resting her head on the woman's shoulder.

Itsuki didn't particularly dislike the idea. She really didn't need all that much sleep but it felt like she had barely slept about five hours, which wasn't quite enough even for her. A nap for an hour or two didn't sound so bad. "I'll join you." Itsuki just kept the position she was in, Hibiki snuggled into her arms, one of her legs between the girls.

It didn't take five minutes before Hibiki had gone back to sleep, amazingly enough, not making any wild moves. Itsuki took a little longer to fall asleep, Melody's smell keeping her awake. The girl had just this kind of natural perfume coming from her. She had already noticed that last night but didn't really have the time to think about it.

Half-asleep, Itsuki started to think about herself and Hibiki. They fit together very nicely and she liked her. But she wasn't sure if what she felt was really love or just attraction. Without any experience, it was hard to tell. But regardless of that, she liked being with Hibiki.

The two years difference in age would become downright irrelevant as soon as Hibiki turned eighteen, so that didn't bother Itsuki at all... Then... there... "Why does she smell so good..." Itsuki's thoughts faded away as she inhaled deeply and completely passed over to the land of dreams.

=== Dissonance ===

The first people to sit down together for a meal were quite an unlikely collection. Karen and Komachi, Miki, Urara and Honoka. There was no sign of Nagisa.

Breakfast was simple and in western style that day. Toast with marmalade and coffee. There didn't seem to be much of a difference in cost for food. "Did you exhaust Nagisa the whole night?" Urara was looking at Honoka while biting into her second toast.

"Jealous?" Honoka was not the type to have a large breakfast and instead preferred just two cups of black coffee.

"A little. Of Nagisa." Urara had grown sick of pretending years ago and just said whatever she was thinking now. "I'm surprised you two **aren't** exhausted.." Urara was now looking at Karen and Komachi who both nervously blushed.

"We didn't do anything to be exhausted," Karen put it quite bluntly and looked at Urara. "But you're pretty curious about other people's love life all of a sudden. I thought you didn't care." Karen was being sarcastic but that was lost on Lemonade.

"That's just something you assumed. I never really said I don't care about you. I don't know what you take me for but I still consider you my friends." Urara's mood took a dive. She knew fairly well that nobody but Rin gave even a rats ass about her anymore.

"Don't argue at breakfast please. And I think you need to talk that out, looks like you have quite a few misunderstandings to clear up," Miki, like Honoka, was more of a coffee than toast type. She was on her second cup already and didn't mind the bitterness of black coffee in the slightest. If she had time to eat breakfast at all in her busy schedule, she would eat something healthy, like a sandwich with tomato, pickles, lettuce and cheese. But toast with marmalade was poison for her figure.

At the same time, Erika, not quite fully awake yet, joined their little round. "Mornin'..." Almost in trance, Erika grabbed a piece of toast from one of the baskets on the table and shoved it into her mouth without putting anything on it. Suspended in that state for about a minute, Erika almost seemed to have fallen back asleep.

"Some of the things she does are really amazing," Karen commented.

"In many ways." Urara added. Just leaving her like that, they enjoyed the quiet of the morning before everyone joined.

It took a whooping five minutes, give or take, for Erika to realize she was sitting on the table with a piece of toast in her mouth. "Morning..." The others couldn't help but laugh, Honoka almost doing a coffee spit.

"Don't fall back asleep. People are gonna draw on your face." Urara warned the navy blue haired woman.

"Yes, yes... Uh... I hate mornings..." Erika really did. It was a complete turn around from her teenage years where she was always the first one up. But now that she was almost eighteen and often working till late at night and yet still forced to wake up at dawn. The first piece of toast vanquished, Erika reached for another one, this time actually putting up the effort to get some marmalade on it.

As Erika had pretty wild hair to begin with, the others didn't notice at first, but she had quite the bed hair. She was also the only one that was not in Cure mode, still wearing her civilian clothes.

With Erika in the state she was in, half asleep and on an epic quest to destroy the toasty empire all by herself, the table was still relatively quiet until Karen brought up an important topic. "Have we decided who is going to change yet?"

Honoka put down her cup of coffee. "Not yet. It will be difficult to determine who has to go, to be honest. We're a team of three, a team of four, another team of three and Blossom and Marine. Blossom cannot change for four more rounds, so I am really against voting out Marine as that would leave Blossom as the only one of her team on this side." There was more to her reasoning than just concern for Tsubomi. Miki caught on quickly. Honoka had fought along-side Marine before, she knew what she was capable of.

"Voting out either you or Nagisa wouldn't be very clever either." Karen wasn't thrilled with the idea of facing either of those experienced Cures in battle.

"Eventually, it'll happen anyway, but right now, I'd like to keep us in the best possible condition for the next fight." Honoka was aiming to win. Even though participants received personal favor in a battle, the team itself gained nothing if the match was lost.

"It'll come down to either Rouge or me." Lemonade stuffed the last bit of toast in her mouth and leaned back on her chair. "It's pretty simple, really. Our team is the one that's the least united and we already voted out our leader because she's griping with the rules and pulling a tantrum. Karen works as one of the leaders together with Miki and Honoka. She's really close to Komachi, so it's unlikely that it'll be her. Miki won't vote on her own team and they're only one short of being complete. The chances are high that whoever that is will come over with the next exile run."

Everyone on the table looked at her, surprised how thought through her explanation was. "Don't give me that look. I just added one and one together. It'll become a lot worse for you as soon as Rouge and I switched. Blossom will still have two matches to go before she can change again at that point, so that will leave pretty much only the Black – White team or the Fresh Team if you don't want to leave Marine out. But this will be decided by majority vote, so who knows." Lemonade shrugged. "I really don't mind to go. It's not like the other side is evil or anything."

"I didn't think you could be this analytical Urara. I'm really impressed." Karen looked to her old friend.

"Well, it basically is as Lemonade said." Miki put down her cup. "It would help the moral if we could get someone to volunteer to change every time, but that most likely won't happen."

"I think it'll be best if Rouge goes. She's still close to Nozomi and I don't think she's forgiven Marine over there yet." Lemonade pointed at Erika, who had fallen asleep **again**, this time resting her head right on the table. Urara still had... business with Marine. "I'll ask her. If it comes down to it, it'll most likely turn out to be her anyway."

"If she refuses, we can still take votes." Honoka looked around. Everyone present would vote for Rouge after listening to Lemonade. The woman was quite good at subtly manipulating people's opinions. It was already determined that Rouge would go, going by that logic.

"Morning everyone." Love was quite lively despite how early it was and she had dragged Inori with her. Miki sighed, knowing that their quiet morning was now officially over.

=== Dissonance ===

"It's much..." "...too quiet." Michiru and Kaoru sat at the table, bored with watching Saki and Mai eat rice and miso soup for breakfast.

"You two never change, do you?" Mai smiled to their friends while Saki was busy stuffing her face. She had been starving ever since last night. Her stomach had woken up both her and Mai in the morning.

"But it really is boring." "There's nothing to do." Kaoru leaned back while Michiru leaned forward. They had to do something to ease their boredom.

"Bear with it. We're not on vacation here. It seems you're forgetting that." Mai's tone took a dive. Sometimes, those sisters were a tad unreasonable and a little annoying. They were their best friends, even before Nagisa and Honoka, but they could really push one's envelope at times.

The Kiryuu's were saved from a painful death by boredom seconds after Mai had reminded them where they were. A very exhausted looking Setsuna dragged herself into the room, sitting down at the table and almost lifelessly staring at the empty bowl.

"Aren't you..." "...going to eat?" They have had little contact to Setsuna prior to that morning so they were intrigued what had her down that much.

"Right..." Setsuna had spent the night in her own room, ridden by guilt. How would she explain to Love what she did? It just happened on a whim. There had been a spark between her and Ellen but... she shouldn't have acted on it. Now she ruined a potential friendship with the only person that could relate to what she went through and might even have ruined her own relationship based on how Love reacts.

Her eyes red, her face pale and her hair wild and unkempt, she looked like she hadn't slept at all. Which was close enough to the truth. The more she thought about what she did, the more she realized what a horrible thing she did both to Love and Ellen.

Even if it was just a kiss, she had clearly felt attracted enough to Ellen to act on it. And cheated on Love. There she was, one time away from Love for just a couple of days and she was already cheating on her. Was her conviction really that weak?

"Mai, this one's..." "...already dead." Kaoru and Michiru pointed at Setsuna, who had frozen up putting rice in her bowl.

"Leave her, you two. What are you, twelve?" Mai sighed and gave the bored sisters an annoyed look. "People have their own problems, just leave her alone."

And Setsuna was not the only one to be troubled and look exhausted. While the purple haired woman was slowly eating, not without stopping and sighing heavily every now and then, another troubled Cure joined the fray.

Moonlight, in her Cure form, walked up to the table and sat down across from Mai, getting her food and eating quickly. No words were lost and she didn't even seem to register that there were other people around. There were huge, black bags under her eyes. There was no doubt that she hadn't caught as much as a moment of sleep the whole night.

What should she do? On one hand, she knew that she wouldn't be able to continue being with Momoka without eventually breaking down. It worried her too much. Momoka had moved out of her parents house two years ago and urged Yuri to live with her. And Yuri was afraid that a situation like that would lead to enemies taking Momoka hostage or worse.

If she broke up with her, there was a good chance that Momoka would consider their friendship to be finished as well. But Yuri cared too much for her now to put their friendship over her safety. Was that what Muse was saying? True friendship, truly caring about someone meant that sometimes it was necessary to do things that would end up hurting them?

"Still thinking?" Yuri hadn't noticed but Muse had entered the room and sat down next to her. She was still in her adult form, which got quite the reaction from Mai and Saki, not knowing who the black Cure was.

"Muse... yes." Moonlight wasn't in the mood to talk a lot. She was exhausted and hoped to be able to fall asleep after she ate something. Thinking the whole night about Momoka and Miki, she was at her limit.

"Get some rest. You'll be able to think clearly afterwards." Muse could see just how exhausted Yuri was. Her usual elegance was gone entirely.

"Everyone's so gloomy today," Saki whispered to Mai.

"Don't pry. We're on the same team, but we don't really know them that well," Mai whispered back to Saki, not eager to mess with other people's troubles.

The gloomy atmosphere only got worse when Beat stepped into the room, saw Setsuna, walked past her and sat down at the other end of the table, constantly looking at Setsuna from the corner of her eye.

She was in the wrong too, she knew that. Ellen had spent enough time in human society to know it was really bad to kiss someone that was already seeing someone else. Her mind knew that. Her mind accepted it. But her heart was telling her something else. She had felt happy when Setsuna kissed her. She wanted to kiss her again.

Beat hadn't spent the entire night awake but even so, she didn't catch more than a handful hours of sleep. She just couldn't get Setsuna out of her head. She had never been really in love before and then it just happened like that. It left her helpless and confused. To make it all worse, Setsuna was already the partner of Cure Peach.

She couldn't just try and steal away someone else's lover like that. Ellen could never do that. Hurting someone for her own personal again was exactly what she promised herself to never do again after she became a Cure.

"Dark..." "...so dark." The Kiryuu sisters were intrigued but not happy at all that so many people were down in the dumps. While they liked interesting things, they did couldn't enjoy them at all if they came with people feeling bad.

It got even worse when a new face stepped into the room. A pink Cure with long, flowing similarly pink hair. Seeing the many unknown faces, Dream grabbed a bowl, a bit of food and quickly left without talking or looking at anyone.

"What was that about?" Saki could understand if someone had their problems and didn't want to talk, but to not even sit down at the table? What was wrong with that woman? "Do you know who she is?" Saki looked at her partner.

"She belongs to the same team Milky Rose did. Her Cure costume looked a bit like hers. I don't know her name, though." Mai was as confused as Saki.

"Morning." A minute after Dream vanished from the room, Rhythm entered and looked over the people present. "She's not here..." Walking up to Ellen, Kanade sat down next to her. "Morning Ellen."

It took a few seconds until Ellen realized that Kanade was right next to her and responded. "Morning Kanade." She tried her best to look cheerful but it failed spectacularly. It was so obvious that something was bothering Ellen that Kanade asked.

"What's wrong? You look really tired..." Kanade wasn't in peak condition either but she hid it well enough for Beat not to notice.

Taking a quick look down the table to Setsuna, Ellen decided it was best to not talk about it while others were listening. "I'll tell you later."

Kanade, satisfied with that answer, started to eat a little breakfast as well. She didn't feel very hungry at all but knew she couldn't just go without eating anything.

With Dream having run past her and everyone else being present at the table, except Melody and Sunshine, Kanade's bad feeling only got worse. The yellow Cure was always together with Hibiki lately and it was pretty clear why. They must be... Kanade shook her head. She couldn't believe that Hibiki would just jump into a relationship like that. That Hibiki? Who was so dense that she never got a clue on how Kanade felt about her?

Speaking of the devil, Melody walked into the room and stopped when she felt the gloomy atmosphere. Walking up to Ellen and Kanade, the white Cure stood up and walked straight past her friend. She didn't want to see her. "Hey Kanade, where are you going?"

"What do you care?" Rhythm didn't even look back.

"Hey, it's not my fault if you're being moody in the morning!" Hibiki went after Kanade who turned around and pointed her finger at her friend.

"Oh yes, it's your fault alright! You never have any idea what people are thinking!" Kanade was getting angry.

"What's that supposed to mean? How am I supposed to know what you're thinking if you don't tell me!" Hibiki wouldn't back down from such an unfair argument.

"Read between the lines Hibiki. It's not that hard." Kanade's mood was getting worse with every word.

"You say that so easily! But you don't know what I'm thinking at all either!"

"I don't think you're thinking anything at all."

"Are you calling me stupid?"

"What if I am?"

"What is wrong with you Kanade? I see you first thing in the morning and you're lashing out at me like I did something horrible!"

"Pretty sure it's not me who you saw first thing in the morning." Kanade had no proof and it was only a gut feeling.

"What the heck is that even supposed to mean?" Hibiki and Kanade were shouting at each other by now, causing quite the stir.

"I'm not going to spell it out for you!" Kanade had enough. Just how stupid did Hibiki take her for? "I'm sick of it. I'm leaving." Kanade stomped out of the hall, running right into Sunshine, giving her a deadly glare and walking off.

"What just happened?" Itsuki was looking back over her shoulder while walking up to Hibiki.

"I have no idea. Kanade just went crazy all of a sudden." Hibiki sat down on a chair, finally noticing that Ellen had left sometime during her argument with Kanade. "Today sucks."

=== Dissonance ===

"I'm worried about Nozomi, so I have no problem with going." Rin was, unexpectedly, not making a fuss about changing teams. She was more than confident that she could get past whoever was stuck as exile with her strength and agility. Few other Cures could match her in a close combat fight or race.

"Are you gonna be fine here?" She was worried about Urara staying behind though. She wasn't exactly best friends with Karen or Komachi anymore.

"Don't worry about me. I still have some business to take care of on this side." Lemonade would not let Marine get away that easily. She had a thing for lively girls like that. Not to mention, it would be nice to relieve some stress.

"I can't believe you're interested in Marine. You've got bad taste Urara." Rin wasn't particularly hard to piss off and Marine had done so magnificently. She was still mad. Behaving herself because the others wouldn't stand for internal fighting, but still mad.

"You're exaggerating. She's small but she's actually got a nice body." Urara grinned diabolically and made a groping motion with her hand, making Rin cover herself. They had slept with each other on occasion, but there was not a shred of romance between them. They were just friends with benefits.

"You're disgusting Urara. Stop talking about this, I can't stand her." Rouge walked a few steps away from Lemonade and created her fire claws. They were far out in the castle. Rin and Urara were not only friends with benefits, but also sparing partners. They fought each other seriously, in an attempt to stay in shape when there were no enemies.

"How is that new ability of yours coming along Urara? The one you call... what was it again? Eldo something." Rin had developed her Hell ability during fights with Urara as counter measure to her chains and binding. Metal got hot and even though the golden chains would never melt, they channeled heat and got hot enough to melt even solid stone or burn Urara.

"El Dorado. You should read a few books about it Rin. It's an interesting myth." Urara taunted her friend with a smile. "It's difficult. I just can't seem to properly direct the chains." Lemonade was ambitious as a Cure, aiming to be as strong as possible. Rin was the same. "What about you?"

"It's not quite there yet but I'm getting the hang of it." Rouge's eyes widened and the left fire claw vanished entirely, the right one flaring up. A name helped to visualize any kind of attack, and it often also served as verbal activator. "Heat Crush!"

With a lightning fast move, so quick that Lemonade could only see Rouge's arm moving in a blur, the red Cure punched the ground. Lemonade was hit by a wave of hot air that dissipated. Rouge jumped away a split second after hitting the ground. There was no hole or damage. But the ground, the stone itself, was molten. There was a sphere of about a meter of molten rock slowly cooling down.

"I can only do it with my right hand for now. And its size is not anywhere what I want it to be." Rouge shook her hand wildly. There were clear signs of burns on her fingers. "And I can't fully control the recoil either, making this a pain to figure out."

"At least we don't have to worry about civilians and damage in this place. I guess everything has a plus side." Lemonade knelt down next to the slowly cooling molten rock and watched it, slightly fascinated. It wasn't quite apparent to everyone, but Cure powers held much more than they initially thought. Rin had managed to create claws of fire and at times turn herself into the center point of a massive heat zone. Compared to shooting a single ball of fire, that were some huge steps. But she hadn't stood still either.

"You're amazing to be able to see anything good in this situation." Rin was all but pleased being stuck in some god forsaken place that wasn't even Earth. Thinking about it, no fight had seem more fruitless and never ending that the one they were fighting right now.

"Who knows how long we'll be stuck here? Most of the others seem to think it'll only be a couple of weeks or months at best." Urara stood up and looked to her friend. "But think about it. How many Cures are there? With twelve on each team and the exile, just think about how unbalanced everything became. Every single team won. Personally, I don't think we'll be leaving here." A short pause. "At least not anytime soon."

"So I guess it's a 'see the good in the bad' kind of thing. If we're not going to get out of here anyway, we might as well learn to at least accept it and make the best of it? Is that what you're saying?"

"You know I'm right Rin. Fighting an enemy was one thing. As soon as we beat the source of the evil, it was over. But this here... we can't really beat the other team. This whole thing is designed to keep us fighting."

"You used to be so simple minded." Rin let out a single sarcastic laugh.

"Don't compare me to what I was like five years ago Rin, you know I hate that. People take advantage of simpletons. I learned that the hard way." It was a painful topic for Urara.

"I know. Whose shoulder do you think was it that you cried on? But anyway, I hate to think that we'll be stuck here forever. Hardly seems fair, does it? We simply protected what was dear to us and now we're locked up because some kind of power decided that there's an unbalance of light and darkness."

"Nothing in the world is fair Rin. Like I said, we should just make the best out of this situation. We have exactly two choices. Be miserable the entire time we're here, or get over it. I for one won't be like Nozomi and act in denial about this whole thing."

"She doesn't really have a choice. This goes against all of her beliefs and principles. There's no way she could accept fighting other Cures for some grander purpose."

"Nozomi isn't a kid anymore Rin. She turned nineteen a while ago. Nineteen! She's old enough to realize that nothing good is going to come out of refusing to accept this."

"Try telling that her." They both knew that Dream would not accept the situation. She would fight it to the end, no matter how long it would take.

The two of them went quiet for a few minutes, thinking about Nozomi and the old days. Things had really started to go wrong when they graduated and got worse shortly after. Their happiest time was definitely in the days of just attending school all together after becoming Cures. Despite the fights, despite the battles, it was the time which they had the fondest memories of.

"You don't really have a thing for Marine, do you?" Rouge brought the topic back up. It was bothering her. She disliked the blue haired shrimp.

"Not enough to go out with her or anything. Worried I might stop sleeping with you? You could still try to get together with Nozomi in that case, can't you?" Urara was extremely blunt about their relationship.

"I don't think that's a good idea given the situation. We've been friends for ages, I seriously doubt she will ever see me like that."

"Why not? It worked for Komachi. She had this look in her eyes when she was with Karen earlier. I'm sure they finally hit it off. Only took them half a decade."

"Are you sure? Karen always let herself be pushed around by Kurumi. Everyone except Nozomi thought it was horrible how she treated Karen."

"Not even Karen has infinite patience. I guess she finally got fed up with Kurumi. Or maybe Komachi is just hotter. I mean, she is really hot. She's pretty tall, got a great figure and then those boobs..."

"You sound like an old man. And a pervert." Rin crossed her arms and grinned. "Karen is not the type to go after appearance. We both know that. If she's really with Komachi now, she must have been fed up with Kurumi's bullshit."

"She was quite nice at times but I guess that went all out the window when she got a hold of Karen's heart. Personally, I was annoyed when she told everyone she was not going back to Palmier and instead wanted to live like a human on Earth." Lemonade scoffed. "Tch, she looks human alright, but she really just leeches off Karen. Maybe it'll serve as a wake-up call for her if Karen dumps her."

"I don't like her either, but you shouldn't badmouth her like that." Rin was not exactly Kurumi's friend but she didn't like the way Lemonade talked about her. "But Karen and Komachi are an item now? I always felt sorry for Komachi. Karen is really smart, so I always figured she'd realize it sometime, but then Kurumi came along. We know the rest."

"She looked pretty happy. I wonder if they're sleeping with each other yet."

"Don't pry. You of all people should know how annoying it is when people pry into your private stuff." Rin remembered quite well.

Urara had taken her career as idol quite seriously, aiming to also become an actress. However, as time went on and her fame increased, people also started to badmouth her, start rumors or secretly take photos. When she just turned sixteen, a website came online that showed a lot of fake photographs of her and reported false things. Her popularity took a massive dive.

It was a normal thing to happen in the idol business, especially for someone that young. Hate mail started to come, she got less job offers and rumors circulated quite heavily. In the end, it resulted in Urara collapsing from too much stress. Her career as idol was over shortly after and her personality changed quite violently.

Rin was the only one that knew the real truth. While Urara told everyone she simply dropped the cutesy act, Rin knew that it had hurt her much more than she would ever admit to lose her job and support. She didn't drop the cutesy act. Urara suppressed her entire old personality in an attempt to just forget about her past. The witty, feisty and very dominant Urara she became had since then become her real personality, the old one buried beyond tons of emotions she rather forgot about.

She joined a punk rock band called "Butterfly Revolution". While the fake photos and stories were poison for her as idol, they pulled the people in for when she was part of a punk band. A bad girl that left being an idol behind, got a radical make over and sung lyrics of fighting life and fate. Rin found out about what cost Urara her old job and consulted with the others. The site was taken down with Komachi's help and they wanted Urara to try again.

It resulted in a big fight. The yellow Cure had already changed so much that she didn't want to go back to her old self. Even Rin didn't talk to Urara for weeks until she couldn't stand it anymore and just accepted that it was Urara's own decision what she did with her life.

Karen and Komachi were busy with their own lives and didn't want to deal with any more chaos than they had on their own plates. Nozomi tried to still be her friend but Urara was still in a phase of being hurt by people so she rejected everyone. Rin eventually pulled through and managed to break through her hard shell. Urara told her everything but made her swear never to tell anyone.

It explained a lot. Why her personality took such a turn and why she refused to go back. Someone that got burned by hot fire would always be cautious around it.

"Talking about this... I like you Rin, but I hope you know we're never going to be more than friends with benefits. Just for the record, I don't mind if you go and get yourself a girlfriend. I can see the way you look at some of the others."

"No need to remind me Urara. I knew what I was getting into from the start. We have quite a few beauties on our team. I guess if I had to give a name, I wouldn't mind spending a night or two with Black."

"You're a bit out of your league with that one." Urara grinned. "You'd have a better chance with Pine or maybe Blossom."

"I'm not really into either of them." Rin was despite all quite picky.

"Well, good luck with the girls on the other team. They have a really cute pink Cure. I fought her in a match. She's really strong. I think she'd be your type."

"I'll see about that when I get there. This isn't a mixer, Urara. You're enjoying this a little too much I think." Rin frowned.

"Just making the best out of a bad situation."

=== Dissonance ===

"We haven't decided on anything yet. I'd like to hear what you have to propose. We'll go from there." Aqua couldn't help but eye the area in confusion. Until the day before, the area for battle and negotiation had always been a large hall with several balconies, many hallways and smaller rooms. But now, there was just a gigantic chasm in front and around them. Several thin towers with platforms were placed at different heights. A total of twenty-four towers for a total of just as many Cures. How were they supposed to fight there?

"Sticking to small fights will not get us anywhere. More people fighting will result in more favor and energy. Moonlight and Berry cannot fight the next battle. I want every single one of us to fight." Windy stood on a platform that was placed at about the same height as the one Aqua stood on.

"An all-out match of eleven versus eleven? I cannot agree with that. It would force both Moonlight and Berry to fight the next battle on their own again."

"Unless negotiations fail."

"You want to intentionally cause a forced match? I won't let that happen." Aqua figured that a battle with both teams included as a whole would be a catastrophe.

"It is the easiest way to create energy and favor."

"And cause dissonance among the teams and us. You're thinking only about the results and leave out the process."

"I didn't. I simply chose to value results over means in this case. But if you disagree, let's hear what you have to suggest." Kaoru was not dead set on intentionally causing a team match.

"I agree that we both need to up the numbers. A single fight was necessary to allow people to rest, but most should have gotten used to the situation by now. We cannot afford to just sit around and let people fight one versus one matches all the time. But eleven is too high a number. A maximum of six to eight people." Aqua stared at Windy.

"Eight. I can live with that. That leaves four for the next battle. Eight it is then. Agreed?"

"I'm fine with eight. Agreed. What about the time? It is still early, so we might set the battle for sometime after noon."

"I can't see how this place has a morning, noon, evening or night, but I get what you mean. Six hours. That will give the runners time to adjust to their new team."

"Participants, eight." Windy said out loud and waited for Karen to seal the deal. "Participants. Eight."

"Time, in six hours." Aqua stated and waited for Windy to confirm. "Time. In six hours."

There was no sign of a door, just a glowing circle in the center of the five meter wide platforms placed on top of each tower. Aqua stepped on hers and saw the battlefield vanish. She had to tell the others about the change in area.

=== Dissonance ===

"I'll go." Passion had spoken up during the debate who would run for exile. Moonlight, Windy and Egret were discussing the matter in what they had started to call the public or living room.

"My partner is on the other side and I sat out last time." There was one more reason she wanted to go. To get away from Ellen. She didn't trust herself enough to stay truly loyal to Love if Ellen said something nice to her.

"I was expecting another round of sitting back but this makes things easier." Moonlight looked at the other two. Neither had objections. "We will see you off then."

"I'm fine, thanks." Setsuna was not in the mood to be in company. Ellen was still on her mind and it bothered her. That and her own breach of trust with Love.

Walking off alone, the red Cure left behind the other tree. She halfway expected Ellen to be waiting at the gate but nobody was there. She hated her own weak will for actually feeling disappointed.

Standing in front of the gate, Passion started to hear something. A tune she remembered quite well, since she had heard it just the evening before. Beat was playing that same song again, somewhere near. Setsuna felt both relieved and disappointed when the gate opened in front of her. Why was she so torn between staying loyal to Love and wanting to explore where her feelings for Ellen would lead?

Stepping through the gate, she found herself on top of a wide tower, with many more towers in front of herself. The sky above her was just black space and yet somehow she could breathe. Somewhere in that area were two more Cures. Setsuna hoped that it wasn't Love who was running for the other team.

Just jumping once, Setsuna was startled by a massive explosion, collapsing a whole tower much further in the area. A purple light flashed through the sky. A shock wave, originating from the collapsing tower, hit Passion and forced her to take a step back. Someone was clearly losing his marbles.

It wasn't a wise idea to go try and go straight through the middle. Taking a left turn and trying to pass by the other most towers, Setsuna was actually scared of the continuous destruction that was happening further in the center.

Her attention was grabbed when the purple light was joined by a red one and a massive fire pillar rocketed into the sky from the top of one of the towers. Another explosion followed and the purple light was coming her way.

Passion barely trusted her eyes when she saw the crazed Milky Rose approach her with an insane look on her face. Her eyes wide and red, heavy black bags below them, her clothes torn in many places, her hair dirty and wild and most of all, dried blood on her face, signs of nails scratching too deeply.

"No more, no more!" Milky Rose was screaming and aiming for Passion. The red Cure jumped out of the way just in time. The purple Cure literally obliterated the top of the tower. She was no longer a person one could reason with.

"Tremor of Clubs!" Spawning a dozen crimson colored glowing club symbols around herself, Passion stomped on the ground, swinging her arm and pointing at Milky Rose.

The club symbols all hit the ground simultaneously, each cutting deeply into the ground. Milky Rose took the attack head on, even rushing into it, suffering deep cuts both on her arms and legs. Passion wasn't quick enough to get away and Milky Rose was right up to her. What scared Setsuna the most was not the pain she could inflict on her or her power. The crazed look in her eyes that told a tale of witnessed madness scared her enough to leave her unable to move.

A powerful punch to her stomach, Passion bend over and gasped for air. That Cure was really powerful. Milky Rose grabbed Setsuna's face, covering her mouth with her hand. "I will get out of here. And you won't stop me. Nobody will stop me. You can rot here for all I care."

Passion's vision became red with pain and fear when Milky Rose slammed her into the ground so hard that her body left an impact in the solid stone.

Setsuna saw no way to fight her than to seriously aim for her vitals. Biting into Milky Rose's hand hard enough to rupture her skin, she rammed her fist against Milky Rose stomach. "Spear of Clubs!"

The purple Cure was thrown high into the air by a pillar of red energy. Passion got up and set up her next attack while Milky Rose was up in the air. She had to knock her out now before she did whatever had caused that explosion earlier. "Queen of Clubs!"

"Abbadon!" Milky Rose countered the second she heard Passion use another attack. A storm of metal shards clashed with a majestic crimson insignia, Passion's suit the Club. Kurumi was slowly overpowering Setsuna, despite her injuries and lack of rationality.

Putting every ounce of power she had left into her attack, Milky Rose broke through Setsuna's attack all at once, a multitude of fragments cutting her. Passion's screams echoed through the air.

Rouge could barely walk. "I always knew she was strong but this is ridiculous... she's totally crazy." Rin was cursing, losing blood from a deep cut into her shoulder. She had taken the blunt force of Kurumi's special but managed to get away because of it. Thankfully, Kurumi had thought her knocked out when she fell down from the tower.

"What happened to her in here?" Rouge reached the last platform and the circle of exit. She was safe. But she worried for the other Cure that had run into Milky Rose.

But there was no sign of further battle. That had not been a battle. That was an one-sided outbreak of rage. Rin waited for a few more minutes until the circle below her started to glow and she felt the area around her change rapidly.

When the room stopped spinning, the gateway door was behind her. Two Cures, both of which she recognized, were waiting for her. Moonlight and Windy.

"I didn't expect to see you again so soon." Windy seemed rather surprised to find Rouge as the exile runner. "Came over from the other team or escaped from being the exile?"

"I'm from the other team." Rin stood up. The pain was still vivid in her memory. She could almost still feel it. Whoever the poor scapegoat from the side she was now on had been, Rin pitied her. "I'm Cure Rouge. Natsuki Rin."

"You belong to Cure Dream if I'm not mistaken. This is good, you can talk some sense into her." Moonlight wasn't pleased with Dream's attitude at all.

"Hold your horses. Can I get to my room first? I had a little run-in with the exile and I'm pretty exhausted." Rin was not exaggerating. If she hadn't been careful, she might have ended up being killed or at least severely wounded by the crazed Milky Rose.

"These exile runs are dangerous. It seems the two that escape have their injuries healed, but I am not so sure about the one that becomes the exile." Rin wasn't sure how she would deal with being the exile. But seeing Kurumi like that really scared her.

"Follow me." Moonlight was not in the mood for many words.

Windy returned together with the silver and the red Cures, branching off and walking towards the living room when Moonlight led Rouge to what had been Passion's room just an hour earlier. The rooms itself seemed to be magical. If someone changed teams, the room itself changed too. Rouge found her bed just the way she left it on the other side, indicating that it was indeed her room.

"If you intent to join the fight scheduled later, talk to either Windy, Egret, Muse or me." Moonlight left, leaving Rin to rest in her room.

"I hope Kurumi won't do anything crazy over there when she finds out Karen and Komachi are together now." Rouge couldn't have known how close she was with that guess.

=== Dissonance ===

"Lemonade restrained her and she seems to have calmed down. But I want to know what caused this in the first place." White looked to Lemonade, who had been the one to greet the exile runner.

"She seemed really tired, confused and tense when she came out of the portal. She asked me where Karen was and wanted to see her so I took her to the living room. Komachi and Karen were sitting next to each other and chatting. Then all hell broke lose. I barely restrained her in time to stop her attack. She was yelling about something like us all being illusions and a nightmare and god knows what. She seemed pretty nuts." Lemonade put together what happened and summarized it pretty quickly.

"So the sight of Karen with Komachi caused her to go berserk. Has she said anything since then?" White was making a further inquiry.

"She calmed down after I kept her locked up for about half an hour. I had to reinforce the chains a few times because of how much she was fighting it. Apparently, she spent two nights as the exile and it was pretty tough on her. She believes she's still in exile and we're just part of another tormenting illusion." Lemonade had talked to her a little, making sure to ignore all questions regarding Karen and Komachi.

"**That's** what being the exile does to you?" Komachi looked on the ground, trembling slightly. If two nights was enough to turn someone into that much of a nervous wreck, she didn't want to become the exile, ever.

"That's horrible..." Berry hadn't seen Milky Rose rampage but just hearing about it worried her.

"I think she's gonna get a grip on it eventually but I'll keep her locked up for now. Karen, you might want to hold off telling her you're with Komachi now." Lemonade was slowly becoming one of the leaders of the team, proving to be much smarter than everyone gave her credit for.

"I didn't think the exile would be put through such an ordeal." White wasn't pleased with the situation. That they had to fight was already an annoyance, but the whole exile system really pushed the limit of what she wanted to put up with. If it was designed to motivate people to be a valuable team member so they didn't get voted out and had to run the exile area, it worked flawlessly.

"I can't imagine what she was put through. She didn't have any visible injuries. What was really hurt seems to be her mind." Lemonade liked it when things got interested, but not like this. Liking Kurumi or not, she felt incredibly bad for her. "Karen, a moment please." Lemonade nodded to the left and walked away from the group, Aqua following her.

"I didn't want to say this in front of everyone. I know the way you think Karen but you're wrong this time. This was not your fault and it doesn't matter if Kurumi is suffering right now. You made your decision to be with Komachi, didn't you? Going back on that just because you see Kurumi being miserable would be the worst thing you could do. That's all I wanted to say." Urara tried returning to the group but stopped briefly when she heard Karen whisper a thank you.

"This certainly doesn't make me comfortable running exile after the next battle. I told Rin I would follow her after I wrapped things up on this side. I suppose there is no real way around this though," Lemonade said as soon as she joined back into the circle of Cures.

"Nobody is going to get around running exile permanently. But I hope nobody else will end up like Milky Rose." Berry wasn't thrilled of running into a crazed Moonlight. Or becoming like that herself.

"Speaking of exiles, we should decide who is going to fight. Four will get to sit out, one of them obviously being Milky Rose. There is no way she will recover from that trial in time. I can't fight this time, which means we have to decide two more who aren't going to fight." Berry was a little uneasy.

"Black and I will fight and so will Luminous. She's a huge asset for us two. I also want Marine and Blossom to fight. Since Berry is sitting out, I'd like Peach and Pine to pause as well. They can all fight together in the next battle that way." Honoka always went about such things calmly and analytically.

"Sounds reasonable. I am sure Love isn't going to mind and Inori is likely more comfortable fighting with us at her side too," Berry commented.

"That settles that. Before we go to battle, I'd like to go over a few details. There is also the issue of the battlefield. It has changed considerably. Negotiations took place in a different place than usual, so I assume that the whole area is undergoing shifts as days pass. We should call the others. I don't want to explain this twice and thrice over." Karen wanted to be as prepared as possible.

=== Dissonance ===

"She wasn't just stressed or angry. She seemed completely nuts. I don't know what happened to her, but I am damn sure she's been the exile. Who joined here before me?" Rin was setting on the table with Moonlight, Egret, Windy and Muse.

"Dream. She seemed fairly normal if stressed. She hasn't talked to anyone, but she certainly doesn't seem crazed or exhibit dangerous behavior." Muse was the first one to answer.

"Going by what you just told us, it does look like she spent more than two days as exile. But still.. I don't know what happens to the exile that they act like that. It seems pretty dangerous." Egret put the pieces of Rin's info together.

"I am sure as hell glad that I didn't get stuck out there. There's really nothing. Damn nothing at all. It's just towers and empty space. I'd go crazy too if I was stuck there for two days straight." Rouge shook her head. "I'll go and catch some shut-eye if that's good. I'll sit out on the battle later. Don't even bother trying to get Dream to fight. It's more likely we'll get out of here today." Rin's serious face and tone made clear that she wasn't joking around. She really meant what she said.

"I assume the other team has either confronted Milky Rose or heard about her from Passion. I assumed the exile was going to just be a solitary confinement thing, but it's quite horrible that they are put through something so atrocious that they turn out like that. A crazed berserker that indiscriminately attacks everyone. I wouldn't believe it if we weren't stuck in a place like this." Egret was pretty depressed, hearing about it.

"There is nothing we can do Mai." Windy sat next to her friend but she too, looked distressed.

"Nothing good is going to come out of brooding over this." Muse was the one to pull the conversation in a different direction. "While we're all here, we should decide who is going to fight in the next battle."

"Rouge and Dream won't fight, which leaves two more that will get to pause. One of them will be Moonlight, as she fought the previous battle." Windy quickly summarized the facts. "I suggest Sunshine sits out as well. She belongs to Moonlight's team. It might not make a huge difference if we go after one versus ones, but in the case of a huge brawl, fighting with your team mates will prove to be an advantage."

"I'm opposed to that." Muse spoke up. She had a quick run-in with Ellen prior to Rouge showing up and she could tell quite clearly that her mind was too occupied to be of any use in battle. "I don't know the reason and it's none of my business anyway, but Beat is depressed and would only be a dead weight in battle. I say we let her take a break."

"I didn't know about that. Are you sure about that? You're a team of four, so if you exclude one member-" Egret looked at Muse who just shook her head.

"Fighting with your team mates it an advantage, not something critically important. If she is going to be a dead weight in battle, I'd rather have Sunshine backing us up." Ako was viewing things with a clear head.

"I'll take your word for it then. Yuri, Kaoru, you two okay with this?" Egret didn't want to make that decision alone.

"I see no problem." Moonlight had been quiet for quite some time. She was quite happy that she didn't have to fight. With her current mental state, she would be as much of a dead weight as Beat.

"I am fine with this," Kaoru answered and was the first one to stand up. "There are still things we need to talk about so we should call everyone that will be fighting."

"I will call Melody and Rhythm. Yuri, if you see Sunshine, can you tell her to join us?" Ako looked at who she considered to be the person who was the most on her wavelength.

"If I see her, yes. I don't know where she is, though," Yuri replied.

The group dissolved quickly. By sheer coincidence, Yuri found Melody and Sunshine just on their way to the living room. Saki and Michiru had been waiting for their partners anyway, and Muse found Kanade in her room.

The eight fighters assembled, Windy started to explain how the battlefield had changed. "The hall is gone entirely. It has been replaced by what seems to be an several hundred meters deep chasm with about twenty-four towers of different height, each with a platform on it's top. The platforms are at maximum width only about five meters. No matter what, unless you can outright fly or don't mind falling down, you will be fighting in close combat the entire time."

"How are the platforms placed? Any pattern?" Muse inquired.

"I couldn't tell any pattern, both height and placement seems random. The height difference between the lowest and the highest platform might well have been over a hundred meters. If you drop down, your only chance is to make use of the walls and the towers themselves to get back up."

"What about beyond the chasm?" Egret asked.

"As far as I could tell, it's plain wall. There doesn't seem to be any way in or out of the chasm and it's platforms without literally trying to blast your way through the walls. And we have no idea how thick they are."

"That idea is out then. I guess it really comes down to aerial battles and close combat." Mai concluded. "I am fairly sure that Luminous made it to the other team based on what Rouge had to say. Which means, this time she will be our enemy. I am pretty sure that Black and White will be fighting too. Those three have an insanely powerful combination attack. We have to stop them from gathering on one platform. Kaoru, if it comes down to it, take Luminous or Black out."

"Got it." Kaoru was still one of their aces, being able to instantly and guaranteed knock someone out on the price of retiring herself as well.

"I will try to take care of Marine. I know her fighting capabilities and in an area like this, she could be a real nuisance and danger. She's just as dangerous as Luminous in a team battle." Sunshine interjected.

"I would love to tell you to leave Black and White to Saki and me, but I fear that we might be in a little over our head. Especially Black is going to be hard to beat like this. Saki will try to keep her in check. If any of you see an opportunity to take her out, do it, even if it might knock out Saki too. Black is that dangerous of a foe."

"You could have said that a lot nicer Mai..." Saki looked crestfallen.

"I'll comfort you later." Mai smiled briefly and got back to the discussion. "I am not entirely sure who else is going to fight. Black, White, Marine and Luminous are pretty much guaranteed though."

"If they let Marine fight, the chances are high that Blossom will be there as well," Sunshine spoke up. "It doesn't feel right to reveal what kind of ability she has, so I'm sorry I can't tell you."

"Nobody expects you to be a snitch Itsuki," Hibiki said and smiled to the woman.

"Melody is right. Regardless, if you think she will be a combatant, that leaves three Cures we can't be sure about. Basically, the most dangerous elements this time around are White, Black and Luminous as a trio, Black by herself and potentially Marine." Windy summarized what they knew.

"This is going to be difficult," Egret said and looked to Kaoru and Michiru. They too knew just how strong Black and White were, especially if buffed by Luminous. "Really difficult."

=== Dissonance ===

"Urara, can't you use your special to create bridges of chains between the towers?" Mint looked at the woman that had a few hours ago declared herself to be still their friend.

"I'm a Cure, not a construction worker. Iron Maiden is a restriction attack. Anyone stepping on the chains would trigger the effect and get wrapped up nice and tidy like a Christmas present." Urara was still pretty snappy. "No, I'm sorry Mint but that idea is a no go."

"Mint, I'd like you and Luminous to stick together. Lemonade, I'd like you to join those two. If we put you three together, there is no danger of Luminous being knocked out and we'll all be boosted."

"I'll see what I can do. No promises. Battle's aren't a TV schedule," Lemonade replied but still smiled.

"Making any plans beyond this is not going to have much of an impact. We have too little experience fighting with and against each other to properly project what they are going to do. Marine, you were hit by some kind of instantaneous knockout in the first battle, right?" Honoka still remembered how Marine suddenly dropped. "We need to watch out for that. If they drop Black, we'll be short one of our aces."

"It's only once but I can let some recover from knockout." Tsubomi spoke up. People immediately stared at her.

"I knew that Mint could heal wounds but to be able to bring someone back from unconsciousness? That's a really powerful ability." Karen seemed very surprised.

"This is going to sound hard and unfair but please save your ability for either Luminous, Black, Marine or Lemonade. Given the area and who our enemies are, these four are going to be our aces." White wasn't sure just how far her leadership qualities were going to get her.

"Ah, you're flattering me." Erika was waving to Honoka, causing half the group to burst out in laughter at the silly act.

With a smile, White got them back on track. "I will try my best to back everyone up with my ranged blasts. I am fairly sure that Bloom, Egret, Bright and Windy will be fighting together. We only need to take out one of them to disrupt their combination and prevent them from using their combination attack. This should be our highest priority. Anyone suggestions or questions?" Honoka made quite the impression. There was nobody in the room that would have dared claim she wasn't cut out to be a leader. Similarly, there were no questions either.

"Then that's all. We will meet in four hours at the gate to go over eventual final details and suggestions." Honoka grinned. "Dismissed!"

"You always wanted to say that, didn't you?" Nagisa grinned.

=== End of Event VII ===


	8. Reality

**Dissonance**

_Event VIII_

**Reality**

Breakfast was over and everyone went their separate ways. There was not a sight to be had of Kanade. Hibiki was in a foul mood because of her argument with her friend and Itsuki had little success in getting her to cheer up.

"About what did you fight anyway?" The yellow Cure had a hunch. The cold and angry glare Kanade had shot right at her seconds before she left the room earlier were a pretty clear indicator that she wasn't pleased Itsuki slept with Hibiki.

"I don't even know! Kanade's always like this, she just suddenly rants about this and that and gives me the fault. She acts like it's all my fault!" Hibiki was not exactly the most mature or objective person during an argument. That hadn't changed at all in these past two years.

"So you don't know why she's angry?" Itsuki was leaned against the wall across the bed wall while Hibiki was laying face down on said bed.

"How would I know?"

"Now look Hibiki, you can be a bit dense so maybe you should think about this a little more. I have a pretty good idea of why she's angry, but no proof. You're old enough to solve your own arguments though. I really like you, enough to protect you from any unjust anger directed at you anytime, but I think this one might not be completely unjust." Itsuki couldn't shake off the idea that Kanade had figured it out. She had always had a hunch that it would be bad if she knew and now she had a confirmation of sorts. There could only be one reason why Kanade was angry too: She liked Hibiki for more than just her friendship.

But that was a difficult matter. Those two had been together for quite a few years. They were on the same team. And if Kanade really liked Hibiki that way, it likely wasn't just since yesterday. That Hibiki wouldn't notice unless Kanade went and told her straight out seemed more than likely. The girl was a little unresponsive to subtle hints and the like.

"I'm not dense. Kanade is just being unfair like usual. It happens all the time." Hibiki buried her face into the pillow. She always, with no exception, felt absolutely miserable when she fought with Kanade. Like a big hole had been ripped into her chest and someone filled it with ice. Even being around Itsuki wasn't really that fun while she knew Kanade was angry with her.

The taller woman sat down on the bed and patted Hibiki's back. It didn't take a master detective to see that Hibiki was being miserable. But there was no easy way out of that situation. She didn't want to lose Hibiki so despite knowing that it was a little cruel, Itsuki kept her mouth shut about Kanade.

"I'm going back to sleep..." Hibiki felt terrible and didn't want to go to the arena like that. She'd only be a deadweight for everyone else.

Sunshine waited until Melody had fallen asleep, which didn't take more than five minutes. Leaving the pink Cure to herself, Itsuki went out and ran straight into a black Cure, who she now recognized as Cure Muse, and a silver Cure, Moonlight.

"Itsuki, great timing. Can you come with us and help us out?" Yuri was not one to usually ask for help but Sunshine had proven in the last year that she was extremely reliable. "We want to test a few things and we need someone who can put up a shield."

"I could use the distraction. Let's go." Itsuki was eager to bury her worries about Kanade under something else. She would have to confront the whole thing sooner than later and worrying about it right now wouldn't help at all.

"It's rare to see you all worked up. Did something happen?" Moonlight had known her friend for four years now, easily able to see when something was bothering her. Sunshine was a terrible actor when it came to hiding her feelings.

"It's complicated." Sunshine thought it would be kind of cruel to talk to Yuri about her problems when she was clearly troubled herself.

"There are a lot of complicated things going on with your team Yuri." Ako interjected, not uninterested in what was bothering Sunshine. "You might learn something new from other people's view on things."

Sunshine sighed as they walked and took a deep breath. "You probably didn't catch wind of it yet but I'm sleeping with Melody. She's cute, wild, funny, a little bit of a tomboy just like I used to be. I really like her." Itsuki looked at Muse from the corner of her eye. She was part of Melody's team, but it didn't seem to faze her at all that the girl was sleeping with Sunshine.

"I'm pretty sure that Rhythm also likes her and figured out I'm sleeping with her. I don't want to cause a huge fuss but I don't want to end this relationship just like that either. Muse, you're on her team, aren't you? What do you think?"

"Kanade has been in love with Hibiki for years. It was as obvious as daylight even when I just joined the team. Hibiki is much too dense to realize it and Kanade is too stubborn to just come out and say it. I'm actually surprised you managed to get Hibiki to realize what you wanted from her." Ako was indeed surprised at the turn of events but hid it well.

"There was no way she could have not understood what I told her. Anyway, I have no idea what I should do now. I'm not sure how Hibiki feels about Rhythm and to be honest, it scares me a little." Itsuki found herself talking openly about her feelings to someone that might as well have been a complete stranger.

"I know Hibiki likes Kanade but I think she doesn't even realize it herself. It would be a miracle if those two ever got together on their own. But you're right, this is a complicated situation." Muse had quite a bit of insight into those things.

"So it all depends on whether Melody likes Rhythm or Sunshine more." Yuri joined the conversation.

"That's not very reassuring." Itsuki didn't really want to lose Hibiki to someone that couldn't even say 'I like you' to the face of the one they liked.

"How serious are you about her?" Ako was touching on an even more serious subject now.

"I... don't know for sure. I really like her, but I never been with anyone before. It's difficult to tell if I really love her or if it's just liking her. Thinking of losing her to Rhythm does pain me quite a bit. So I guess I'm pretty serious about this." Sunshine had no problem getting her feelings across once she herself was sure what they were. But to get there wasn't really that easy.

"This might come over a little sour from someone that's on the same team as those two, but in that aspect, you're losing to Kanade." Muse didn't feel comfortable saying it but she knew it was true. Kanade was so heels over head in love with Hibiki that Ako couldn't see her giving up on her. Not unless Hibiki went and told her she only wants to continue being friends. That might devastate Kanade.

"Love isn't simple, is it..." Sunshine sighed.

"It's not. Sometimes it hurts. Not just you but others too. And rarely, it can even be cruel." Yuri thought about her own situation. Deep down, she knew she would have to eventually budge on giving up Momoka to guarantee her safety in the future, after this ordeal. But her heart and her mind were refusing to give in just yet. Not after all the time she spent with her. "This is far enough." Moonlight stopped and looked around. They were in a wide, open room. It was good enough for their needs.

"What exactly are you going to try?" Itsuki had powerful defensive capabilities but she wanted to make sure of what was coming for her before they started.

"I can give short, one-time power-ups to my own team and want to see if it works with others too. It's based on how harmonious I am emotionally with them. I've talked to Yuri quite a bit now, so she's the first one I try this with." Ako explained.

"Essentially, you'll put up a shield and I will try to smash it with a punch or kick." Yuri stated and took position on one end of the room, Itsuki walking to the other end.

"Ready when you are." The look in Sunshine's eyes changed. She stopped thinking about relationships and the likes. Her thoughts were focused entirely on battle. "Sunflower Omega!" A five layer shield appeared in front of her, the strongest defensive ability she had developed over the years. Five layers were her absolute limit for now.

"Muse." Yuri took position and aimed at the center point of the shield, where it was the strongest. "Crescent..." Silver energy was collecting in her hand, slowly forming a small sphere.

Muse lifted her arms and spawned two rows of piano keys in front of her. "Grandioso Tone!" Her hands descended on the key pieces and a deep, loud organ sound emerged from them. At the same time, Yuri jumped at Itsuki. "...Cleaver!" Slashing the shield with her bare hand, a majestic crescent moon composed of silver light appeared in the air above her for a second.

"Failure." Yuri stood in front of Sunshine and looked at the shield. Only the first layer had a deep cut, the other four were untouched.

"I guess we're not quite there yet." Ako was disappointed but not entirely surprised. She had needed months to get it working with the other three on her team.

"I'll take a walk. I'd say I need some fresh air, but I guess it doesn't work like that here. I still need to clear my head. See you two later at the match." Sunshine waved as she left the two behind. She needed some time to think.

=== Dissonance ===

"Focus. Keep an eye on your allies. Fight as hard as you can." White was giving final instructions. The group of eight had assembled in front of the door. Only seconds remained before it would open. They all knew that instinctively, like an inner countdown was running in their heads.

With a creaking noise, the doors swung open and they looked into the already familiar red light. The sensation of their anger, their aggression and drive to fight, being heightened to the level of where it started to affect their judgment.

"Go." White and Black were the first to go through, followed by Mint and Luminous and Lemonade, Aqua, Marine and Blossom the last of the pack.

The temperature was so vastly different that chills ran over their body. It was cold. At best, around five degree Celsius. Strong winds were blowing, making hair and costume flutter. A gaze above, and they looked at vast darkness, a gaze below, and they looked at vast darkness. The chasm with it's towers.

The group was spread out, one Cure per tower, all of them on the western side. And they had a good look at the Cure's on the eastern side. Black and Marine were the vanguards for the light team, Bloom and Bright the equivalent for the dark team. A grand total of eight towers in the middle were free.

Seconds passed and the winds died down for a second, raising the tension in the air. Their vision clear, no unnecessary thoughts in their minds, a mighty gust of wind pushed against their bodies, trying to throw them into the chasm so it might devour them. The fight was on.

Luminous and Lemonade joined up with Mint immediately, three quick jumps each. A golden light enclosing the light team, the green barrier went beyond the limits of the platform, a giant sphere of protection, Lemonade and Luminous inside, one a guard, one support.

Black and Bloom were the first to make contact. Heading straight for each other, the clashed in the middle of the central tower, the highest of all, easily more than twenty meters above the others. "Blacklight..." Nagisa stared at her friend like any other enemy. "Gaia..." An exchange of brutal punches. "...Devastation!" "...Tremor!" The collision shook the air and the tower. Their powers unequal, Black was forcing Bloom back.

Nobody dared to set food on that tower, frightened of getting caught up in their fight. Nobody but Bright. "Full Moon Destruction!" Black was forced to let go of Bloom and evade the powerful attack. The red haired Cure hit the ground with her attack and left a sizable crater in it. It was now two versus one. Ignoring the danger, Marine joined up with Black. She was the only one on the team that could possibly keep up with her in a physical fight thanks to her copying ability.

Egret and Windy tried to join the fray but were intercepted by White, who was confident enough to take both of them on. She had more experience at fighting alone than the two of them and she had superior crowd managing skills.

Passing right by them, Melody, Rhythm and Sunshine headed straight for the strategy point of the light team, the sphere of protection by Mint. Aqua and Blossom tried to intercept and stop them dead in their tracks, but they faced an enemy of unknown potential. Muse.

Marine was far superior to Bright and Bloom in terms of speed and versatility but her power was lacking quite heavily. Black made up for that with ease. Under the influence of her friend Hikari, she was on par with Bright, who was making a name for herself as the strongest physical fighter of them all.

"Buy me some time." Bloom had to seal Marine's movement somehow. She had fought her before, and she was bad news, especially together with Black. Bright nodded and rushed at her enemies. Marine jumped at her with a drop kick but Bright had more experience than her. Grabbing the cyan haired Cure by her ankle, Bright slammed her into the ground, aiming a punch right into her face. But she still underestimated Marine. Her legs wound around Bright's arm, Marine grinned. "Blacklight..." Bright had no time to react. "...Devastation!" Marine grinned and nothing happened as Bright covered her face. The blue Cure let go of Bright and pushed both her hands right against the stomach of the confused Cure. "Marine Break!" A huge shot of blue energy broke right through her body, causing massive internal damage. The red haired Cure fell to her knees and spit out a large amount of blood.

"Blacklight..." Black didn't miss the chance and tried to finish Bright off before she recovered. But she was not quick enough. Bloom had abandoned her initial plan upon seeing Bright lose in terms of wit to Marine. Black took a blow straight to the stomach, followed by a series of punches she was barely able to defend against with her arms crossed.

Bloom had excellent intuition and grabbed the sneaky Marine from behind her back by her hair and whirled her straight at Black, giving Bright enough time to get back on her feet.

Surprisingly, Egret and Windy had trouble getting close to White. They circled around the purely white Cure who stood in the center of the lower tower, following both of the other Cures with her eyes. "Whitelight..." Both Egret and Windy rushed at the Cure to stop her from using her special attack. They fell straight into Honoka's trap. Turning around, grabbing Egret first because of her superior speed, White raised her knee as fast as she could, landing a hard blow right into the purple haired Cure's stomach, stopping her from defending herself. Tightening her grab, she whirled the Cure around, straight into Windy's path, who had no time to evade on time. "Whitelight Illumination!" White hit both Egret and Windy with full force, the explosion sending fragments of stone flying everywhere.

Or so she thought. Windy and Egret were covered by an azure blue shield, both of them panting hard. "Tempest of the Azure Sky!" With a single blink of an eye, the oldest of the three lost sight of Egret, leaving only Windy behind. Another blink and her back was hit, making her topple. A third blink and her face was hit hard, forcing her back. Windy was carefully standing back, looking at the rest of the battle.

"Echo of Glory!" Melody hit the barrier as hard as she could but didn't even make a scratch. Mint was powerful on her own but with Luminous using her 'Queen of Light' right next to her, nothing could touch her.

"Stop it Hibiki, you're only going to hurt yourself." Sunshine, Rhythm and Melody had taken position on a tower that was close to the light teams strategic base where Mint, Luminous and Lemonade were protecting them.

Muse was somehow keeping both Aqua and Blossom in check. They had to somehow break through before the light team started taking out people. "Guess all your brute force is pretty useless now." Rhythm made a snide remark, clearly still sour about earlier.

"Not like you're any use either." Melody fought back and glared at her partner.

"More than you at least. But that's nothing new, is it?" They were saying things they didn't really mean. Arguing in a state of heightened aggression was a really bad idea, yet that didn't stop them.

"I'll take down the tower. That will force them out. You two take care of things then." Sunshine ignored their argument, hoping they could get their shit together for just five minutes.

"No thanks. I don't need any help from someone like you." Rhythm turned away from Sunshine, not without a glare.

Lemonade was watching the spectacle with interest while Mint and Luminous had to concentrate. For the enemy to be in such a sorry state of teamwork was really lucky.

"Will you stop being childish for even five minutes?" Sunshine wasn't exactly in a situation where she had infinite patience for arguments.

"Do whatever you need to do. I'll clean up after Melody's mess as usual." Kanade's mouth moved faster than her thoughts.

Muse was on the defensive, fighting two versus one. Aqua was a tricky opponent and Blossom was much faster and stronger than she expected her to be. "Blossom Impact!" Muse put up a shield of piano keys to deflect her blow but was still forced back a little. And she had lost sight of Aqua again. Jumping out of reach for Blossom, the black Cure looked frantically around to find the blue Cure. "Aqua Pierce." Aqua's words were whispers in the winds. Muse was not quick enough with her barriers to avoid the attack. Several needle thin water beams shot through her hands and arms, leaving almost invisible holes. Muse grit her teeth in pain. So that what it was like to fight another Cure?

Muse didn't get a break. Blossom was right in front of her, grabbing her shoulders and pulling, ramming her knee right into the black Cure's stomach. Once, twice, thrice and following up with a sweeping kick. Blossom had trained hard to catch up to Moonlight. She wasn't quite there yet, but she could easily keep up with Marine and Sunshine.

"Blast Symphony!" Muse slammed her hands on the ground and she turned the entire platform surface into piano keys. With a disharmonious wail, the keys shot right at Blossom, hundreds of them, each exploding with but a small force.

Ako looked frantically for Aqua. "Aqua Pillar." Something hit her in the back so hard that she was throw through the air like a bag of sand, losing all sense of where up and down was.

"Enough!" Bright was growing tired of playing tag with Marine. "Moon in Dusk!" Bright collected all her energy into her right fist and smashed the ground below her. The impact was so great that the tower itself collapsed under the power, separating the four of them. Bloom and Black were in a grappling match, trying to overpower each other, falling down into the chasm with the debris of the tower. Bright retreated to a nearby tower and so did Marine. They was about twenty meters difference between them.

Marine jumped high into the air, far beyond where Bright could reach her. "Marine splash shot!" Creating an orb of cyan energy in front of her, she knew that distance was the key to beat or at least delay Bright almost indefinitely. The orb broke into a dozen fragments, raining down on Bright. "Splash shot, splash shot, splash shot, splash shot!" Marine didn't let up, fully abusing her advantage in speed and mobility.

Bloom had managed to get away from Black, running up the side of one of the towers, followed closely by her enemy. The battle was a mess and they were unevenly matched. They couldn't go on like that. Hopefully none of the other three were knocked out yet.

White took a brutal hit from two sides at once. Egret had used her ability and both she and Windy were far outside White's class of mobility now. Another blow to her face, a heavy kick sweeping her off her feet. She couldn't even see her enemy anymore.

Sunshine had finished collecting energy and aimed. "Take them out when they leave the barrier." The fight was clearly not going in their favor and she had to turn that around. "Thunder God Obliteration Blow!" A single punch directed at the thick pillar supporting the platform in front of her. Sunshine remained standing but the recoil literally pushed her a few centimeters into the stone.

"Now, Melody, Rhythm!" Sunshine couldn't move for another ten seconds because of the exhaustion that came with the attack. And only Rhythm shot straight past Sunshine, head first, crashing right into the collapsing tower. Turning around, Hibiki was on the ground, entangled in golden chains.

"Pay more attention." Lemonade jumped and heel-dropped Sunshine right into the ground. Not letting up, she heel-dropped her again, even further into the ground. The third time was interrupted by Sunshine grabbing her other ankle, pulling and throwing her off balance. Her face was roughed up and blood was flowing from her nose.

Mint and Luminous had all but vanished from Sunshine's line of sight. They had to be somewhere safe though. Lemonade's power wasn't dropping, which should have happened if they took out Luminous. She had exhausted herself by destroying that tower all for nothing.

Rhythm was trying to free Melody, but with little success. The chains were heavy and extremely tightly wrapped around Hibiki's body. "Hurry up!"

"This isn't easy, so shut up, I'm trying!" Rhythm had no nerve for Hibiki's bitching right then.

"If you can't get me out, go and help Sunshine!"

"That's all you care about, isn't it?" Rhythm was approaching her limit of how much shit she was going to put up with.

"What are you talking about?" Melody was not in the mood to have another useless argument.

"I don't even matter to you anymore, do I? You just trample all over my feelings like that and then act like nothing is wrong! Did you ever stop to think what I felt when I saw you act all cutesy with **her**?"

"I have no idea what you're even talking about!" Melody tried to break free from the chains but they didn't even creak.

"Watch out!" A pretty roughed up Blossom had shown up right behind Rhythm. A kick straight to Kanade's face sent the white Cure flying right against Sunshine, who was struggling against Lemonade's weapons. Her right arm was entangled into a golden chain and it refused to come off. Usually, being in close range to her opponent was an advantage for her, but Lemonade would simply completely tie her up given the chance. The two cures were on the ground, trying to regain their balance. They had to get out of there.

Blossom stood right over Melody. "Blossom Regal Impact!" Her whole arm was glowing with power, her face dead serious. She was going to knock the defenseless Melody right out. "Itsuki!" Hibiki cried out for help.

Sunshine saw no real choice. Rhythm was just being a bother, so she grabbed her and threw her right at Lemonade, who was so surprised at the act that she dropped the chain. Sunshine barely made it in time to grab Melody and carry her away. Blossom smashed the ground below her to pieces.

Rhythm found herself double teamed by Lemonade and Blossom, who didn't pursue the enemy yellow Cure and instead focused on the white one. Rhythm was glaring at the back of Sunshine. She hated that woman.

Trying to escape with a powerful jump, Kanade didn't manage to get out of Urara's range quickly enough. A chain wrapping itself around her leg, she was flailed into the ground like a yo-yo, again and again. Spitting blood and heavily roughed up, Rhythm tried to get rid of the chain on her leg. She had completely forgotten about Blossom. Her thoughts were everywhere but at the battle at hand. "Blossom Regal Impact!"

Rhythm was hit straight in the back and toppled over, falling flat on the ground and not moving. She was knocked out. Lemonade nodded to Blossom, who was surprisingly merciless in battle. Mint and Luminous had retreated to a pillar much further below the others and remained there.

Black had reunited with White and was now facing off against Bloom, Egret and Windy. Three versus two was not as bad as two versus one. With a mighty leap, Black rushed at Bloom. Egret and Windy took position to take full advantage of her headless frontal assault. They had no time to evade when Black dropped flat on the ground to evade her partners attack. "Whitelight Illumination!"

Egret and Windy were hit with full force but Black didn't get off unscratched either. Bloom had jumped straight through the aftermath of the blast, ignoring her two friends, and landed a hit right into Black's stomach.

But even that had an aftermath. Marine had been on the run from Bright and successfully left the enemy Cure behind. "Blacklight..." She was right behind Bloom, who had just attacked Black. To add to the difficulty of the situation, Black grabbed Bloom's arm and hold her in place. "...Devastation!"

Marine hit Bloom right in the face, flipping her over in mid-air. Unmoving, the enemy rolled over a few times and went limp near the edge of the platform. Black had taken considerable damage from the attack as well, but she wasn't quite done yet.

Marine dropped like a bag of sand just seconds after the attack went through. Windy came crashing down as well, unconsciousness from using Stormflair on Marine. Black lost her small window of escape in the brief confusion. Egret landed right on top of her, using the acceleration of her fall to increase the power of her kick. Black gasped and lost all sight of Egret, who had just hit her with a powerful kick in the same spot Bloom had hit seconds before.

Aqua was facing off Muse. Alone, the black Cure was a much more potent enemy than the blue Cure wanted her to be. She was losing ground. "Aqua Mist!" Aqua vanished from Muse's sight but Ako was on to her trick. "Tremor Symphony!" Hitting her piano keys again, massive vibrations shook the air, distorting the air exactly where Aqua was.

The blue Cure was hit by a lightning fast kick, flying right over the edge of the platform and smashing into the side of another tower. She couldn't take much more than that. And Muse didn't give her any chance to recover. "Blast Symphony!" The same attack as before, Aqua was hit by countless exploding keys, taking continuous damage.

Muse stopped her attack, wanting to see if Aqua had been knocked unconscious yet. A grave error. The blue Cure was nowhere to be seen again. "Tremor Symphony!" Muse used the same attack as before but couldn't find her enemy in time. A strong wave of pain shot through her body. Looking down on her, a blue blade was poking right out of her stomach. Aqua's blade.

Gritting her teeth, Muse rammed her elbow into whatever was right behind her. A cracking sound signalized that she broke something. The blade was pulled out and a thin stream of blood was running from her wound.

Turning around, she found Aqua holding her face in agony. "Power Symphony!" Muse played a final piece for her enemy. As if hit by an enormous fist, Aqua was crushed into the ground, leaving an physical impression on it. Knocked out.

Bright had finally caught up with Marine but the cyan Cure was already down for the count. Egret and White were facing off. Bright saw Sunshine fleeing from an enemy and headed in her direction.

Honoka knew she could beat Mai. Leaping forward, Egret copied her attack, unleashing the first attack, a heel-drop from mid-air. White blocked the hit with her arms crossed and retaliated with a roundhouse kick that missed Egret by only a few centimeters, the purple haired Cure covering barely in time.

"Whitelight..." Honoka knew she wouldn't have time to use the attack. It was a trap. Mai knew that. But if she didn't attack her to stop the attack, she would hit her with her special move. One way or another, it was a losing situation.

Egret jumped straight off the platform, much to White's surprise. She was clever. If there was no actual ground nearby, she couldn't use Whitelight Illumination. But Honoka didn't give up that easily. Jumping straight after Mai, the two white Cures faced battle during free fall towards a bottomless pit.

White landed the first hit, straight to Egret's face, the counter coming straight to her stomach. The next hit to her chest, the next counter to her stomach again. A no-defense match of who could outlast the other. A series of blows, kicks, punches exchanged with no regard for their own safety.

Sunshine had trouble carrying Melody and getting away from both Lemonade and Blossom, who were in pursuit of her. Lemonade pointed towards the platform where both Marine and Black were down and Blossom gave a quick nod, separating from the two yellow Cures, one hunting the other.

Tsubomi knelt down next to Marine and readied herself for her special ability. It was difficult to do in the arena, but she had to pull it off nevertheless. A massive pink energy flow left her and went right into Marine, who opened her eyes and tried to warn Tsubomi. The pink Cure had noticed too late that someone had caught wind of her trying to pull something. "Full Moon Destruction!" Bright flattened Blossom like a fly, hitting her so hard that she literally bounced off the ground twice before laying down.

Marine, not even getting up, aimed straight at Bright's stomach, which was just in reach. "Full Moon Destruction!" Bright, getting hit by her own attack, toppled over and laid on the ground, twitching and holding her stomach in agony. "And this is for Blossom. Blacklight Devastation!" Marine hit the back of Bright, the energy blow shattering the ground below the Cure. Bright was out for the count.

Sunshine had stopped on a platform, putting Melody down and facing Lemonade. There was no way to get her out of there without giving Lemonade a massive beating. And there was only one way she was going to be able to do that. Charging at Lemonade head on, Itsuki discarded tactics and strategy. And it worked. Lemonade was so surprised by the unusual approach that she didn't get her chains up in time.

Sunshine overwhelmed Lemonade, pushing her on the ground, punching her face with full power. It didn't take three seconds and she felt two cold chains rattling around her neck, trying to suffocate her. Sunshine hit Urara as hard as she could, the chains tightening at an alarming rate. She couldn't breathe anymore and the pain was almost exceeding her threshold. Just how much damage could Lemonade take before she was down?

Itsuki, instinctively, grabbed the chains at her throat, quickly turning pale and fighting to breathe. Overcoming her primal instincts, Sunshine continued to hit Urara, whose face was bloody and beaten. Itsuki was losing sight of the face of her opponent and kept hitting her. A race against time. Who could endure more pain?

Marine saw Sunshine fighting someone on the ground. She was almost there when she was hit by a kick combined with a back-flip. Muse, pretty beaten, was attacking Marine. The cyan Cure was pretty roughed up herself.

"Blast Symphony!" Muse was not going to pull any punches. If she took one or two more hard hits, she was not going to be able to stand up. Unable to stop the bleeding from Aqua's attack, pain was shooting through her body.

Marine was too fast to get hit by the projectile attack, jumping from platform to platform, approaching Muse. "I don't have time for you." Erika was in a foul mood. "Full Moon Destruction!" Erika opened her eyes wide when her hand hit a wall like steel. Muse had put up a barrier right between her stomach and Erika's fist. The barrier broke apart from Marine's hit but Muse remained untouched.

Erika side-stepped Muse's heel-drop and used a sweeping kick to pull her off her feet. "Blacklight..." The short Cure stopped her attack when Muse created another barrier in the middle of the air, using it as stepping stone to get away.

Enough was enough. Going at her maximum speed, Marine caught up to Muse in a matter of seconds, putting both her hands right on her stomach. "Block this. Marine Royal Tempest Impact" Seven continuous blasts of energy rocketed Muse's body, causing severe internal damage and completely shredding part of her costume. The black Cure dropped to the ground and shrunk in size, her costume turning from black to yellow.

Melody was finally free, but at a price. Sunshine had lost consciousness despite winning over Lemonade. Taking a quick look, she found that most of the fighting was over, unconscious Cures littering the ground.

But one was still up and kicking. Melody barely blocked Marine's punch in time, retaliating with a kick and a series of punches. In close combat, she had the advantage. "Echo of Glory!" Hibiki shattered part of the ground, missing Marine by an arms length.

"Whitelight..." Marine was running out of magical energy, having overused the special attacks she copied. Having Luminous blessing or not, she was having a hard time using any more energy blasts. "...Illumination!"

Melody was hit by the energy blast and thrown high into the sky. "Brutal Melody!" The pink Cure summoned a number of notes right around Marine, who took the blast straight to the face. In the confusion, Melody descended down on her enemy and hit her with a violent heel-drop. Marine was down.

Was she the last one standing? Melody looked around but couldn't see anyone. Counting the knocked out Cures she could see, there were four of them missing. Three of the other team, one of her own. Five seconds later, it was obvious where two of the missing Cures were. A green barrier was suddenly trapping her and a green and yellow Cure appeared behind her. Aqua wasn't the only one that could hide things. Luminous had trained quite a bit to at least hold her own in a one versus one.

Melody hit the barrier with full force, shattering it. The punch was returned to her at equal power. Hikari used the rare chance to show at least one person that she wasn't helpless alone. "Six Lights of the North!"

Six spheres of light energy appeared in front of Luminous, flying straight at Melody and impacting with the force of a grenade each. "Eight Lights of the South" Another set of spheres, this time appearing around Melody and impacting at her slightest movement. The pink Cure had no chance to fight back.

"Punishment of the Dark King!" An attack that a certain someone had taught her. Twelve pillars of light shot out of the ground and encircled Melody. "Judgment!" The pillars converged and Melody screamed out in pain, the energy piercing her body.

The pink Cure dropped to the ground like a bag of sand. Mint and Luminous looked around but couldn't see anyone else. "Why isn't it ending?" Mint was confused and looked to where Aqua was to go and nurse her.

"I don't see White and Egret."

The two white Cures were still brawling but at the end of their line. They had fallen so deep that no light from above could penetrate the darkness down where they were. Fighting in complete darkness was difficult. White had enough. It was risky, but she had endured it once already.

"Whitelight..." Her left hand was laid on Egret's stomach, who tried to get away but couldn't. White was grabbing her throat with her right hand. "...Illumination!"

The white flash of energy burst through Mai's body, instantly knocking her out. The energy, having nowhere to go, erupted through Egret and hit Honoka as well, who didn't have the stamina to endure an attack like that. The two of them continued to fall, both of them unconscious.

=== Dissonance ===

Yuri had waited in the living room for the combatants to return. The first to show up were Bloom and Egret, the two of them looking incredibly exhausted and a little roughed up. Yuri could tell just from the unsatisfied look on their faces that the battle hadn't gone well.

"There's no change in team favor. It's kind of depressing to have lost again." Saki sat down one chair left of Mai, who sat across Yuri.

"They were really organized and had Luminous on their side." Mai rubbed her stomach. She was still feeling the pain from White hitting her with a kamikaze attack.

"Are you two feeling okay?" Yuri seemed a little concerned. "How hard was it to fight in the new field?"

"It's chaos. Pure chaos. The platforms are small, there's almost no way you're going to get back up once you fall off the lowest platform. We were shooting at each other with special attacks half the time, despite the risks." Mai explained, resting her head on her arms.

"It's either a ranged blast off or close combat chaos. Either way, we were at a real disadvantage this time. Marine was a real pain in the ass this time. What kind of unfair ability is that, copying other people's attacks like that?" Saki was quite unhappy with how things turned out.

"Don't whine. We tried our hardest and lost. Teams will change. The moment when positions are reversed will come eventually." Mai patted Saki's head and sighed. "I lost against Honoka again. As far as battle goes, I'm always a step behind."

"Judging by the look on your faces, we lost again." Michiru walked into the room and sat down next to Saki. "Kaoru's in her room, getting some rest. Using Stormflair always puts a huge amount of stress on her mind. This round really sucked. I hate that field." Michiru was all but in the mood to act.

Rhythm joined the group of four and sat down at the far north end of the table, not even saying anything. Her face looked like sour grapes and worse. "I guess some of us stomach this a little less well than others." Mai lowered her voice, not wanting to further piss off the blond Cure.

"So the area changes after a few fights. That means we'll be stuck with this field for now." Yuri was simply thinking out loud. "Maybe we should just get a few one versus one battles quickly over with... and hope that works."

A few minutes of silence passed and Egret actually feel asleep in her chair, her head resting on the table, on her arms. Saki was leaned on the table as well, looking at her sleeping partner with a kind smile.

Itsuki, followed closely by Hibiki, were the last two to join the group of beaten Cures. Sitting down near Yuri, to the southern half of the table, Hibiki didn't even deign to look at Kanade once. She was still mad that she brought their fight into the battle.

"We were beaten pretty badly this time around I guess. Melody was taken out by Mint and Luminous, who were still in top condition when everyone else was out. I somehow managed to take out Lemonade before the lights went out, but it seems that didn't help much." Everyone felt partly responsible for the loss, but nobody bothered to utter even a word of regret. It was a team fight. If any of them would say as much as sorry, everyone else would feel obliged to do the same.

"Maybe we wouldn't have lost if a certain someone hadn't gotten herself tied up like a five year old." Rhythm was starring at the empty seat in front of her, not bothering to look at Melody. But her words were clearly audible for everyone in the room.

"Look who's talking! If you had actually tried to get me out or away from there instead of blabbering on, things would've gone differently!" Hibiki was fighting back, staring at Kanade.

"Blabbering? I was blabbering? Is that what my feelings mean to you? Blabbering?" Kanade met Hibiki's stare and responded with her own.

"That's not what I said! Stop turning around what I say! You're always like this!"

"And you're always like this too! Can't you ever get a clue what other people are thinking? Do you need everything spelled out for you in big, golden letters?"

"Well, excuse me I can't read thoughts!"

"I'd think you've known me long enough to get a hint."

"Again with this! I don't get what you're talking about!"

"Really? You still have no idea what I'm talking about? If your head doesn't work, maybe you should at least use your heart a little!"

Hibiki went quiet all of a sudden, a few very specific gears in her head starting to turn.

"Do you really need to me to spell it out for you? When it's so obvious? When I gave you so many hints, all the time? I... I..." Kanade's lips formed words but no sound came out. Her face was as red as a strawberry. "Forget it. This is stupid." Looking away, Kanade walked past the table and left to the other side, leaving behind a confused Hibiki and a very annoyed table.

"I'm going to sleep Itsuki." Hibiki was so angry she could have eaten a whole cake and it wouldn't have changed her mood. That she specifically addressed only Sunshine tipped Mai off as to what was going on between those two.

After the pink Cure left, Sunshine sighed deeply. "I'm sorry you had to see that."

"It's not your fault. Is it?" Mai usually followed her policy to not meddle in other people's arguments, but after they fought with each other like that right under her nose, she couldn't help it.

"I guess somewhere you could say it's my fault when it comes down to it." That she was innocent and hadn't intended to cause the two friends to fight like that didn't matter. It was her taking Hibiki from Kanade that incited the argument.

Mai kept quiet, not saying anything else. Itsuki clearly felt guilty, she didn't want to make her feel even worse than she already did.

"I'm going back too. I'm exhausted. Night everyone." Sunshine got up and walked away, waving as she left. Walking straight past her room, she stopped in front of Kanade's. The girl was a lot like she used to be. Unable to go after what she really wanted. For her, it had just been the way she acted, but for Kanade, it was the girl she loved. Liking another girl and telling her was hard enough. To add to that, they have known each other for quite some time.

Not knocking, just opening the door and walking into the room, Itsuki found Kanade sitting on her bed, her head sunk into the pillow on her knees. The second she walked through the door, Kanade shot an angry glare her way. "What do **you** want?"

"For you to actually do what you want to do." Sunshine closed the door and looked at who Melody most likely considered her best friend. "Hibiki might have realized you have feelings for her after your fight just now, but she's never going to know for sure unless you tell her."

Itsuki glared back at Kanade. "I once did the same thing you're doing now. I lost so much time until I realized that it was wrong to go about things like that. I don't care how long you've known her or what you think of me. Hate me, whatever. If you ever want to have a chance with Hibiki for real, you need to stop only dropping hints and tell her face to face you love her."

"That's easy for you to say. What did **you** have to lose? You barely knew her." Kanade wasn't going to let an almost complete stranger talk to her like that.

"That's not what this is about and you know that. You're smart and you've known her for so many years, I can tell that much just from what Hibiki tells me. And yet, you don't realize that yes, she does need you to spell it out for her. Hibiki is like that. She's not stupid, but a little dense. Even if she now starts to think you like her, she would never act on it without knowing for sure. If anyone is at fault that she is with me and not you now, then it's you." Itsuki walked up to Kanade's bed, towering over her.

"I didn't steal her from you. She was never yours. You're hiding behind hints and subtle acts, unable to say what you really feel. I like Hibiki, and I am honest with her. I tell her what I feel. If you can't even do that much, how do you expect to ever be with her?"

Itsuki turned around and glanced over her shoulder. "As far as I'm concerned, I think you can't even face your own feelings. If you could, you'd tell her, regardless of what the outcome might be. Consider this advice because I was in a similar situation once." With those last words, Itsuki ended her lecture, opened the door and walked out, leaving behind an angry Kanade.

She knew that every word that woman had said was true. But changing herself, facing her feelings like that was easier said than done. She was simply too scared of Hibiki rejecting her... and now, too, choosing Sunshine, not her.

When Itsuki returned to her room, she found Hibiki on her bed, looking very gloomy and confused. Sitting down next to the poor girl, the older Cure put her hand on Hibiki's. "Are you feeling okay?" She really cared for Hibiki now, despite knowing her for only a short amount of time.

"I dunno... Kanade. If... I mean... what she meant when she said I should use my heart..." Hibiki could feel deep down in her heart what Kanade was hinting at now. But was that really it? Could she been mistaken? What if Kanade meant something else? "Itsuki... do you think Kanade... likes... me?"

"If by like you mean love..." Sunshine sighed. She wouldn't help Kanade anymore than she already had. "That's up to you and her to figure out."

"Yeah... you're right. I just... don't know what I'm supposed to do. I don't wanna risk losing her again. I don't want to go through what I went through in middle school ever again. Not talking to her, not seeing her."

"This is something you need to figure out by yourself Hibiki. The only advice I can give you is that you will always regret not chasing after something you want." Itsuki took off her boots, hair ties and gloves, laying down on the bed. She was too exhausted and even a little frustrated with the situation at hand to do anything tonight. "Want to go to sleep?"

"I'm scared Kanade might hate me now..." Hibiki felt a little like crying but the feeling passed when Sunshine hugged her tightly from behind.

"I barely know her but nobody could hate you for being who you are Hibiki. At least nobody that has been your friend for years."

"Maybe you're right..." Hibiki closed her eyes, falling asleep as she reached for the blanket. The confusion, the fight, the bickering, all of it was too much for her.

=== Dissonance ===

"Eas." Setsuna opened her eyes, opened her mouth, knelt down. Where was she? What was she doing? The air felt familiar. The ground felt familiar. The voice that spoke a name she had long discarded. She wanted to never hear again. She had buried in the deepest part of her memories.

"You have done well." A voice so dreadful, her mind was shaking. Her hands were sweating. Her eyes were painfully trying to look in every direction at once, looking for the origin of it. But her body refused her will. Her body refused her wish. She knelt. And smiled.

"I exist to serve you, Lord Moebius." Setsuna couldn't believe what she was saying. Moebius? But he was dead. He was history. They had beaten him, destroyed him, freed Labyrinth!

"You infiltrated their home. Their lives. You got so close to them, they trusted you like their own. You have served me most excellently." Setsuna stood up and looked at a face that sent chills of terror down her spine. Moebius.

What was happening? It had to be an illusion. It couldn't be real. She had escaped from Labyrinth, had become a Cure, had found happiness. She had spent years with Love, the person she liked more than anyone else in the world. She had found friends among other Cures even. She experienced sadness, happiness, fear, courage.

"I can see you are still confused. Fear not. Soon, the memories of your dream will fade and you will be as you were. Your mission was a success, but you were critically wounded in the process. You slept for a long time to recover." The voice spoke to her and she couldn't believe what she was hearing. A dream? No. That couldn't be true! No dream was that detailed, that long!

Her head started to hurt, her body moved on it's own. Walking away from the voice, she approached a dark corner of the room. A horrible stench was reaching her nose. The stench of decay and death. Each step echoed through the room. She was swelling with pride. A mission nobody thought possible. A mission to once and for all get rid of those pesky Cures.

Her hand reached out to the shadowy corner, her black gloves masking the feeling of touching hair. Pulling on something, Setsuna cried out in terror inside her mind. Eas smiled. She smiled upon her prey. Upon her trophy of victory. Upon the person whose silly trust and care would betray herself and bring about her doom.

"No! No! No!" Setsuna was crying inside her mind, frantically trying to regain control over her body, trying to look away, trying to shut down her mind. But she had to look. She was forced to. Against her will, her eyes feast on what she did. On the cruelty. The absurd violence. The damage, the decay.

She wanted to run. To blind herself. To close her mind, to forget. It had to be a lie, a trick, an illusion! It couldn't possibly be real! It just couldn't! After all... she and Love... she was... everything to her. For her to... no... no, no, no, no, no. Setsuna couldn't think straight, refusing to accept what she was seeing, smelling, feeling, tasting.

Dragging her spoils of war over the ground after her, Eas noticed that something stuck to the heels of her pumps. A red that was slightly different and liquid in nature. She was amazed that there was still some around. If she had truly slept that long, it should have dried up long ago.

Eas walked back to where she had knelt earlier, dragging her trophy all the way over there. With a single powerful swing, she threw what she had pulled so far in front of her lord and master. A corpse. A corpse of a blond girl, maybe fourteen years old. Love's corpse.

Her whole body was showing deep cuts, her eyes were open in wide terror. Eas started to remember. That day, she had asked the human called Momozono Love out to a secret meeting spot. Her human disguise, Higashi Setsuna, a ruse to gain the trust of the Cures, had outlived it's purpose.

That wasn't her. She didn't do it. She couldn't kill Love. She could never hurt the one person that meant the world to her. Love saved her. Love gave her life meaning after Moebius abandoned her. She was supposed to believe... she... she... killed Love?

No... but... she remembered. She remembered everything. How she called out Love. Revealing herself before the girl, Eas remembered quite vividly her terror, her disappointment. She could see, smell, taste how Love's heart broke, her trust betrayed, her feelings toyed with. The battle had been hard, but without anyone to back up her, she stole away victory.

The memories were so vivid. So real. Were they real? Did she... did she... really do it? She felt like throwing up, nauseous, sick, disgusted with herself. What if... what if she did it? What if this was reality? Had Milky Rose killed her and that caused her to wake up? Was her time with Love really just a dream?

Her thoughts raced. Don't let that be. Don't believe it. Refuse it. You love her. You can't kill her.

And yet, there she was. Her corpse. Right before her eyes. The stench of decay and death. The feeling of satisfaction that she wasn't feeling. It was Eas that felt it. Was that really her? Was she still Eas? It had to be a lie. She knew it was a lie. She hoped it was a lie. She prayed it was a lie.

Pretending to have a change of heart, pretending to betray her one and only master, she swore to join their side, to run from Labyrinth. Cure Peach let her guard down. And she stabbed her in the chest, betraying her twice over. Her own injuries had been great, but she managed to grab the dying Cure and pull her back to Labyrinth. Her memories ended there.

"Lord Moebius, are there any recordings of her final moments? I want to see it." Eas knelt down again. One of them was dead. Two more to go. She would not let Soular or Wester gain any of the glory. Lord Moebius would look at her and just at her alone. He would praise her.

Don't let me see it. Please don't show it to me. Close your eyes. Please. I don't want to see Love suffer. I don't want to see me doing this. This isn't me. I didn't do it... I didn't do it... I didn't do it... I didn't... I didn't... did... I...

Setsuna grew ever more desperate, her trust in herself fading. It was all so real. Was it real? Love's face, distorted in pain and anguish. She couldn't stand it. She couldn't bear to look at her. And yet she had no choice.

A large screen appeared in front of Eas. Setsuna could no longer speak or think. Her mind was frozen, fading. Were all her memories fake? Was she still Eas? Was Cure Passion an illusion she had only dreamed of? Tears ran down her face. Tears of fear and horror. She couldn't speak anymore. Her mind was blank as the recording came to a close-up of Love.

"Set...suna..." The dying Cure had lost her power, laying in a puddle of blood on cold stone. One of her hands was reaching out to the screen, weakly calling the name of a human that had never existed to begin with. "You're... not like... this..." Those were her last words. The light in her eyes grew weaker with every second, her arm dropping to the ground, the blood pool growing in size ever larger.

Setsuna stopped thinking, stopping crying, stopped living. She couldn't endure the thought of having killed the one person that showed kindness for her. That showed her compassion and love. The one person she loved more than anything else in the world. Her mind just stopped, blanking out. The final defense mechanism.

"What a foolish girl. Lord Moebius, I swear I shall bring you the remaining Cures soon." Eas knelt down again and smiled. The girls refusal to believe she was betrayed by one she trusted to the very end pleased her. Her ruse had been perfect. And now it was time to complete her mission. It was time to kill Berry and Pine.

Setsuna was just in there. Inside a body that was no longer her own. Inside a body that might have killed her love. That might have killed Love. A body, a person, that was who she had been in the past. Who she might have been... or still was.

=== Dissonance ===

Kurumi sat alone in the living room, everyone else having gone to bed. She had finally come to terms with reality. She had escaped the exile after going through literal hell for two nights. After fighting and injuring others. Only to learn that her worst nightmares had turned into reality.

She couldn't even cry anymore. Her eyes were red and dry, they hurt like her throat. Her voice had given in after hours of crying loudly in her room. Karen had come to her and told her. That she couldn't be with her anymore. That her behavior was impossible to accept any longer.

"_You promised so many times to change. You never did. You don't do anything for me or anyone else. You don't care about our friends. I... can't be with you anymore Kurumi. I'm sorry. I tried my best, I... tried so hard to keep loving you. But I just can't." Karen stood with her back to Kurumi, who was laying on her bed, unable to lift as much as a finger._

"_I can't even look at you without feeling bad. But no matter how bad I feel, I can't come back to you. I can't be with you. Not now. Not in the future. In the beginning, I could accept the way you acted. We were teenagers. We did a lot of stupid things and I had fun. But you didn't grow up with me Kurumi. You are still the irresponsible teenager from five years ago."_

"_Karen, I can change. This time for real. Just don't-" Kurumi was interrupted. Karen almost never raised her voice, but this time she shouted loud enough to silence Kurumi instantly._

"_Don't keep lying! I've had enough of it! I don't hate you, but I don't love you either. Not anymore. And even if you change... I will never be able to really trust you again. People can't trust you Kurumi. They just can't. You always put yourself first, you always only do what you think is best. You ignore others opinions. I wanted to tell you this in person but honestly... I can barely stand being in the same room as you right now. Even now... all you're thinking of is keeping me on your leash. Confining me to your clutch, so you can stay as you are without ever putting any effort into what you do."_

_Karen lowered her head. "It's over Kurumi. See you." With those last words, the blue haired woman left the room, left behind a Kurumi on the edge of despair._

But there was just one person that didn't abandon her. Who still listened to her. Who was by her side when she felt like dying.

"Here." Kurumi looked to her right side. A short, blond woman was holding out a cup of tea, something she got from her own personal favor. And she shared it with Kurumi without any ill intent or hidden motives. Kurumi nodded, thankful that Hikari existed.

"I'm sorry for what happened to you... It might not mean much but... even as you are, I still like you. I think, deep down, you aren't really a bad person. You just let your desires get the better of you. I'm your friend and... that's why I think I need to tell you this." Hikari wasn't great at showing people their faults, but at least she could speak her mind.

"Aqua is right. You shouldn't have lived like that. You need to change. I know this sounds hard and unfair right now, but sometime in the future, you'll look back and realize that we're telling you the truth because we care about you." Hikari covered her mouth with her hand as she yawned.

"No matter what, I'll always consider you my friend Kurumi. I'm really sorry but I'm tired... I can barely keep my eyes open. Do you mind if I go ahead?" Asking politely, Hikari smiled when Kurumi showed a little smile and waved her hand.

The blond woman left and looked twice back, making sure her friend was at least somewhat okay. As soon as she was gone, Kurumi looked at the tea. A gift from a friend that was worried about her. That cared about her.

=== Dissonance ===

"Are you feeling better Karen?" Komachi was sharing her bed with Karen, who was suffering quite a bit from telling Kurumi about the end of their relationship.

"A little..." Komachi had spent the last hour hugging and patting Karen, who had once again cried her soul out after confronting Kurumi. But now, she was finally done with it. She wouldn't shed another tear over things past.

"You didn't have to tell her tonight..." Komachi wasn't sure it was such a good idea to tell Milky Rose, considering her behavior earlier that day.

"I had to. I couldn't drag it around anymore. It was eating me up from the inside." Karen turned over and faced Komachi, who had a very worried look on her face. "I'm done with Kurumi. I told her everything I wanted to say, everything I held back all these years. I belong with you now."

Karen laid her arms around Komachi and hugged her tightly. She could feel her love for Komachi grow inside her chest. She had been with her so long, so many years. It felt like a long journey had come to it's end.

She still couldn't sleep with her or do anything that went further than kissing. And Komachi didn't push her. She was as understanding as always. A kind soul, the total opposite to the selfish Kurumi.

"Karen... let's go to sleep. I'm happy you feel better but you should get some rest. You had a rough day. Komachi was tired herself, but not as much as Karen, she could feel that. The violinist was looking really exhausted, almost forcing herself to stay awake.

"You're right..." Karen had barely spoken those words as she slipped away to the kingdom of dreams, safely in Komachi's arms.

=== Dissonance ===

Ellen was sitting on a stair far out in the labyrinth of hallways and rooms. She couldn't sleep. Was Setsuna okay? Had she made it through the run safely? The more she thought about her, she more she missed her.

Her voice, her laughter, her smell. Love indeed was painful. Ellen now understood a little of what Kanade must feel sometimes. She didn't regret falling in love with Passion. She knew that she couldn't have her, couldn't have Setsuna.

She already loved someone else. Someone that had saved her life. Someone that had given her purpose again. Ellen understood all too well why Setsuna was so drawn to her. And still, she couldn't help her own feelings grow with every hour she was away from the purple haired woman that stole her heart in a storm.

She was playing a sad tune, her voice echoing through the halls. A track called Blade and Burden, something short, barely a minute long, she sometimes played over and over when she felt melancholic. And right now was such a time.

There was no hope for the love she harbored for Higashi Setsuna. She would never be able to kiss her again, to hold her. And after what happened, it would be a miracle if they could even talk to each other anymore. Knowing all this, she still couldn't stop herself from imagining herself next to the woman that understood her so well.

"Setsuna... I miss you." A single tear ran down the musicians face. Life was cruel. To find love in the most unexpected place, only to find it to be an impossible love. It wasn't fair. It wasn't fair at all.

The sound of her playing the sad song continued to fill the night.

=== End of Event VIII ===


	9. Melody

**Dissonance**

_Event IX_

**Melody**

How many years did she know Hibiki now? How long has she spent hinting at things, pointing subtly in the right direction? All the while she knew that the cheery girl would never realize her feelings. Maybe it was on purpose. Maybe she wanted to be able to tell herself she was making the effort while she didn't want to risk their friendship.

A life without Hibiki had become an image of horror for her. A source of nightmares. The times they fought, the times they reconciled, the times they had fun or were sad together. She didn't want to miss any of these, didn't want to let go of the life she had.

Why couldn't she be content with things the way they were? Why did she have to fall in love with another girl, with her best friend of all people? Even now, she wasn't quite sure how and when it happened.

It had to be sometime after they cleared up their stupid misunderstanding. An error that had cost them a whole year of friendship. Once they made up, a spark was lit in Kanade's heart. It was so tiny, so fragile in the beginning that she didn't even notice it.

But as they fought and made up, again and again, the spark grew. And before she knew it, it was consuming her from the inside. A fire she couldn't control, she couldn't put out. There was no way she wouldn't notice.

That she wasn't looking at Hibiki the same way she used to. That the way she saw her changed from someone that was simply her best friend to someone she wanted to be with. Helpless and not knowing what to do with those feelings, she locked them away.

But with time, they grew stronger. So strong, that they broke out of the box they had been locked in, refusing to be locked away again. Secretly, she was looking at Hibiki with eyes of passion, eyes of desire. And that never changed again.

She turned sixteen and her feelings for Hibiki were like a wild fire. No matter how many hints she gave, no matter how much she tried to make Hibiki aware of what she felt, it was all fruitless. The girl had no interest in romance at all. Hibiki saw her only as her best friend.

Deep down, Kanade was both happy and sad. Nobody would take the cheery girl from her if things stayed like that. But could she truly be content with how things were? Just seeing Hibiki in a swimsuit drove the red to her cheeks. Thinking of Hibiki at night when she attended to her own needs. Talking to Hibiki made her painfully aware of her beautiful lips, her eyes, her skin. She wanted to jump at her and kiss her.

But she couldn't. The one thought that held Kanade's heart tightly in it's grasp was the fear that Hibiki might reject her. Might leave her life. It was weird to like another girl, and even weirder to like the one person you spent half your life with.

"Hibiki..." Kanade was in her own room, curled up inside her bed. The words Sunshine had spoken earlier rang true, no matter how much they hurt. If she didn't get her act together now, she would lose her chance to be with Hibiki forever. And there was nothing in the world that she feared more than that.

But how would she do it? Talking to her face to face, saying 'I love you'. Could she really do that? Would the words really come out of her mouth when she needed them to? She... had to. Sunshine would not sit around and wait for her to get her act together.

And there it was. The fear that Hibiki might turn away. Look disgusted. Leave her alone. Choose someone else. That she might have to spent the rest of her life without ever talking to Hibiki again. Living with the knowledge that she was with someone else. That she ruined the most important friendship in her life.

Just staring at thin air, the other end of her room, Kanade opened her mouth. "I lo... lo..." Why were those three words so hard to say? Was she really that weak? No, that wasn't really the reason. She was insecure. She didn't think it was possible for Hibiki to feel the same way. She didn't think Hibiki could accept her.

Risk everything and confess or let things stay as they are and keep quiet. It came down to one choice or another. Both paths held the potential for a horrible bad end. But only one of them had her suffering regardless. Her choice was made.

=== Dissonance ===

Hibiki wasn't quite sure what she was supposed to say. Woken up in the middle of the, supposedly, night by Kanade, who didn't even seem surprised in the least to find her sleeping right next to Itsuki.

And now, they were standing out in one of the many hallways, Hibiki yawning constantly. Kanade was facing Hibiki. Her heart was beating like a jackhammer, her throat was dry and she was unable to keep her hands from moving unless she put them together and kept them on her back..

"Hibiki." Kanade figured she had to start somewhere. Having gotten the pink Cure's attention, she tried to breathe calmly, which failed spectacularly. She was quickly turning pale.

"Kanade... are you okay? You're acting kinda weird." What else was she supposed to say? She didn't really want to explain her situation with Itsuki to Kanade. It would be really awkward.

"I'm fine." Kanade wasn't fine at all. After having asked Hibiki out here, she couldn't pull out. She had made her decision. "About... Sunshine. You don't mind she's a woman?" And still, she couldn't get straight to the part she needed to say.

"I don't really think about that... I like her, it doesn't really matter if she's a woman..." Hibiki couldn't say it without looking away. It was quite embarrassing to talk with Kanade about things like that.

"So... if you like a person you don't care if they're a guy or a girl?"

"I don't think it matters. It may be a little weird but... yeah, I think it doesn't matter. Why are we talking about this Kanade?" Hibiki really didn't feel comfortable talking to Kanade about her love life.

"Because... I..." Her throat refused to let go of the words, refused to let her say it. She was still afraid. Her resolve was shaking, about to fall apart. She couldn't do it. She couldn't risk Hibiki.

"Can't we talk about this tomorrow? I'm really tired..." Hibiki walked towards Kanade, eager to go back to bed and leave the awkward discussion behind. But she was stopped by her friend.

Kanade grabbed Hibiki's shoulders and looked right at her face. "Don't go." There was more than just a trace of desperation in her voice. "Don't leave me."

Hibiki could only watch in bewilderment as Kanade seemed to swallow something poisonous. "When I see you, my heart skips a beat. When I talk to you, I feel happy." Gritting her teeth, eyes twitching and her lips forming a crude smile. "And I am jealous when I see you with Sunshine."

"What... are you saying?" Hibiki looked at her friend with big eyes.

"I love you," Kanade said as a single tear rolled down her cheek.

"What?" Hibiki blinked twice and took a few steps back. She must have misheard. "I think I'm still asleep... I'm hearing you say weird things."

"Don't make me say it again!" Kanade turned around, her back facing Hibiki. "Is it really that odd a thought for you? That I might think of you as more than just a friend?"

Hibiki didn't know what to say. It was too much. First, Itsuki took her heart, and now Kanade was telling her that she was in love with her? She couldn't process it. All she managed to say when her mouth opened were stuttered fragments of disbelief.

"I'm so scared to lose you. When I noticed that you and Sunshine were always together, I got jealous and really scared. I thought she would take you away from me. So..." Kanade lowered her head. Her voice became a little muffled. "I told you how I feel. I want to be with you Hibiki. Not just as your friend. Not even as your best friend. I want to be your partner, I want to be with the person I love."

Hibiki felt her heart ache. It was a pain she had never felt before. She was already with Sunshine. "But... I'm already..."

"With Sunshine? Don't you get it Hibiki? I want you back. I want you at my side. Not at hers. Leave her and be with me." Once she had said the first few words, everything she had stored up was just flowing out. There was no going back after those words, it was all or nothing now.

"I don't want to be alone. I won't ask you for an answer right now but... please think about it. Think about me, us." Kanade felt like she was about to cry, unable to deal with the emotions she kept hidden flowing out. If she was rejected, her relationship with Hibiki was in tatters. But she had to try. She had to try instead of regretting it for the rest of her life.

"You're... not joking, right?" Hibiki had an instinctive feeling that Kanade would never joke about something like that but she needed to make sure.

"Who would joke about this?" Kanade shouted and turned around, facing Hibiki again. Her face was dominated by a deep blush, a fire lit in her eyes.

"Then... you really..." Hibiki looked on the ground. A lot of things made sense all of a sudden. Just thinking about it made her realize that there had been signs all along. Subtle, hidden signs she only noticed now that Kanade told her what she felt. "Since when do you feel like that?"

"What does it matter?" Kanade looked to the side. Her stubborn streak was coming through again.

"It matters to me! Tell me, how long have you felt like that?" Hibiki had to know just how long she had been ignoring Kanade's feelings.

"Before Ako joined us as Cure Muse." Kanade's voice was timid, almost a whisper. She stated it like a simple matter of fact but she could see the reaction on Hibiki's face from the corner of her eyes.

Hibiki couldn't say anything. Over two years had Kanade kept her feelings hidden from her, trying to make her aware of what she felt. And she had been oblivious to it all that time.

There had been moments in her life when she felt terrible and hated the world for being unfair. But right then was the first time she felt truly miserable because of guilt. Lowering her head, Hibiki hid her face from her friend. "Why didn't you tell me..."

"Isn't that obvious?"

"No. It's not. I don't get it. I don't get it at all. So tell me Kanade." Hibiki raised her voice and shouted the next few words. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"Because I was afraid I'd be rejected, stupid! I was scared you'd leave me all alone! Think a second about how I felt!" Kanade shouted back.

"I'm thinking about it right now. And just thinking about it makes me angry. You must have felt terrible all this time. And you didn't say anything because..." Hibiki made a meaningful pause. "Because you were afraid I'd stop being your friend?"

Hibiki walked towards Kanade and right past her. "I need some time alone." She needed to get out of there before she said something stupid or started to argue with Kanade.

Leaving behind her best friend, Hibiki only walked around the corner, stopping briefly, only to start running as hard as she could. What was she supposed to do now? Her head was hurting, her mind in total chaos.

She ran and ran until her face was flushed, her legs refusing to listen to her, her breathing rapid and heavy, her lungs hurting, her throat dry. Leaning against a wall, she had to catch her breath, had to rest her body. Even she knew very well what was asked of her.

To turn Kanade down and stay with Itsuki. To leave Itsuki and be with Kanade. One way or another, there was no good outcome. And of all people, she had to make that decision.

She liked Itsuki. She always spoke her mind, always said things in a way Hibiki would understand. No subtle hints, no round about way of doing things. She was beautiful too, an adult that made her realize the pleasures of romance, of love. Hibiki couldn't tell if she really loved her. There was no dispute over liking her or not. But loving someone and liking someone had to be different things. It was hard for Hibiki to put her thumb on exactly what she liked about Itsuki beyond these things.

And for Kanade... the more she thought about her, the less clear her image of Kanade got. Did she really only feel friendship for her? Hibiki's heart stung when Kanade confessed to her. She felt both happy and shocked. It was different from how she felt about Itsuki, completely so.

"What do I do..." She couldn't think. If only she had her piano so she could play. It helped her to put her words, her thoughts, her feelings into something she herself could understand. Standing up and slowly getting back to her room, Hibiki longed to play the piano even more.

How much time had passed since she ran from Kanade? Since she was faced with a decision that couldn't possibly end well. And never mind the decision itself, she wasn't even able to figure out her feelings for either Kanade or Itsuki at this point.

Did she love Itsuki? Did she have feelings for Kanade beyond friendship she just didn't know about? What if both of these were true? What if she loved Itsuki and yet had feelings for Kanade? Her stomach was turned upside down and her head felt like a swarm of bee's were using it as a nest.

She was exhausted when she finally got back to her room, hoping to be able to fall asleep right away, able to forget about the situation at hand. But that was a futile hope. The second she laid down, memories of her days spent with Kanade dominated her mind.

The times they fought Noise. The times they had fun together, fought, made up, played music. How did Kanade feel during all of that? How horrible must it have been for her to just sit there, right next to the person she loved, without being able to say anything. "Kanade, you idiot..." Hibiki covered her eyes as she laid on her back.

Her resolve to not cry broke when she realized just how much had happened since then. How many days Kanade had spent with a fake smile, how many night she must have spent feeling lonely. And despite all, she never said anything. Kanade wanted her to figure it out by herself. "I guess I really am dense..."

Turning over, she noticed the bowl filled with coins. She had completely forgotten about that. For fighting in the last battle, she had gained some favor. She didn't need to think twice about what she wanted. Grabbing the bowl and leaving her room again, she headed into the depths of the labyrinth of hallways and rooms, until she found a wide open space.

"How did this work again?" Hibiki tried to recall. "Close your eyes and wish for it... I think." There was only one piano she really wanted. That very same one she had practiced on with Kanade all that time. The one she protected and loved.

With a golden flash, more than half of the content of her bowl vanished and in exchange, an exact replica of the grand piano she loved so much appeared before her. Her eyes were shining, her heart jumping as she looked upon it. It was exactly the same. Even little scratches, tiny marks from years of use, they were all there.

Unable to wait, she sat down, testing the sound of it. And it too was just like she remembered. How she had missed that familiar feel of ivory and black wood under her fingers. The smell of the aged wood the piano itself was made of. The feeling of power to produce beautiful sounds at her fingertips.

But as quickly as her mood that risen by getting her Piano back, as quickly it fell when she remembered the reason she had wished for it in the first place. But now things were different. Not succumbing to her feelings, she played the first note from a song she remembered well.

The main theme of a famous musical. She had heard the song once on a recital and ever since then practiced it. While slow and with a hint of sadness to it, it was a beautiful melody that moved one's heart. The piano version of the main theme of Fairy Tail, a musical that told a story of magic and friendship.

She could play the song with her eyes closed. With every note she played, every key she hit, every minute, she calmed down more. So much even, that she didn't notice she had gained a small but appreciative audience.

After playing the song so many times that she had lost track of time, Hibiki finally stopped and took a deep breather, looking down on the keyboard with fond eyes.

"I've never seen you perform this song so beautifully Hibiki." Her audience stood up and walked up to her, having spent most of the performance hidden behind her.

"Ellen?" Hibiki was surprised to see one of her closest friends in the middle of the night, so far out there.

"I was playing something myself when I heard someone play the piano. I thought right away that was you. But why are you playing this late at night?" Ellen sat down on the chair next to Hibiki, leaving her guitar on the ground.

Hibiki didn't say a word for almost a minute. A silence that felt like days for Ellen. For that cheerful Hibiki to act like that, something had to be wrong.

"Say, Ellen... what am I supposed to do?" Hibiki played a series of unconnected notes, displaying how worried and confused she was. "Kanade told me she loves me... how am I supposed to respond to that?" Hibiki trusted Ellen. Hiding what had happened wouldn't get her anything. "I'm... you know... I'm with Sunshine right now." Hibiki blushed a little but that was overshadowed by her sorrowful gaze towards the piano.

"I don't know what to do. Kanade wants to be with me... and I don't know what I feel for her. She looked so sad... I could tell she went through a lot because of me. But I don't want to just leave Itsuki like that... if only Kanade had said something sooner."

"Do you love Sunshine?" Ellen wasn't sure what she was supposed to say. She was stuck in a pretty bad situation herself, although fundamentally different from Hibiki's.

"I don't know! She's the first person to ever actually treat me... you know. Like I'm the one that needs to be protected. With Kanade, that's just not there. I like her a lot too but... I can't tell if I love her. I'm so confused..."

"So regardless of what you do, one of them is gonna be sad..." Ellen was a little distant, partially because she couldn't relate to the moral dilemma Hibiki was facing.

"It feels like the more I think about this, the more I move away from a solution." Hibiki sighed and played a few more random notes.

"Want me to accompany you on the piece you played just now? I could use the distraction." Ellen offered her help but Hibiki declined by shaking her head slightly.

"No, it's fine. I think I'll just go and get some sleep. Thanks anyway." Hibiki stood up, her hand moving over the top of the piano as she walked past it. "I'll just leave it here. This room is really nice for playing." Grabbing her bowl with favor, Hibiki turned around to face Ellen. "Good night."

The fight, Kanade's confession, the running and then playing piano. Her body was reaching it's limits, even as a Cure. No matter how worried, how confused she might be now, sleep would eventually catch up to her.

Reaching her room, Hibiki found someone waiting for her.

"She got over herself and told you?" Itsuki could guess just by the face the pink Cure was making. "I just want you to know that I'm not angry or disappointed. I think it's wonderful that she managed to jump over her shadow and tell you what she really feels. Not many people can do that. I know you have a difficult decision to make."

Sunshine walked up to the girl she liked so much and patted her head. "No matter who you decide to be with... I'll still be your friend. It'll be awkward for a while if you chose Kanade, but you need to follow your heart in this matter Hibiki." A subtle pointer. She liked the girl, but she didn't want a friendship of years, a love of years, to be ruined because she followed her own desires.

Sometimes, it was necessary to make a little sacrifice. Making sure that Hibiki made a decision by following her feelings and not doing what her head told her was one of these sacrifices. She didn't want to stay with Hibiki if it meant to rob the girl of her chance to make a fair decision she wouldn't regret.

"I'm old enough to deal with being rejected if it comes down to that. I like you enough that I want you to be happy. And it's you who has to figure out what makes you happier." Itsuki showed a gentle smile to the girl and turned around. "Sleep well. I'll see you tomorrow."

Hibiki found herself to be even more confused than before. If only she could handle things as well as Itsuki did. Mature, composed, in charge of things. But that was only the surface.

Itsuki held true to her ideals and still, she didn't want their relationship to end. She treasured the time she spent with Hibiki so much, she enjoyed talking, laughing and playing with her. Even without hearing it straight from her mouth, Itsuki knew that if she should be rejected, it would hurt.

Because she was already hurting. Acting mature and like an adult was the right thing to do, but it was not what she really felt. She was scared of Hibiki choosing Kanade over her. She didn't want things to change.

"There I go saying all those things... I know it was the right thing to do. I guess I understand now what people mean when they say that sometimes, you don't want to do the right thing. Life is complicated..."

=== Dissonance ===

"We won the last round, but this time, we'll be narrowed down to just a few people. Who will do negotiations? We should take votes for the exile after that. And most importantly, where is everyone?" Honoka was looking at the only other residents that had shown up for breakfast, Miki and Inori.

"I'll do the negotiations. I have no idea where the others are. Love is probably still asleep." Miki was emptying a bowl of rice with some miso soup and natto. Not her favorite type of breakfast, but they couldn't be picky until they got a kitchen. "Honoka, I think we should get a kitchen before we do anything else with the teams favor. We have over seven-hundred right now, that should suffice for a decent kitchen.

"People could take turns cooking. I think I'll stick to helping out though, I usually eat at my parents house. I don't have a lot of practice." Inori had already finished her breakfast and was just as curious as White as to where everyone was.

"We'll create the kitchen as soon as we have approval from the others. I have no problem with you doing the negotiations, Miki. Lemonade was going to leave after Rouge. Where is she?"

"Just finished a shower in case they don't have one over there." Speaking of the devil, the yellow Cure entered the room and sat down on the table. "I stand by my word, I'll run for exile. No matter what, that leaves you with four people that are unable to leave and the rest is part of teams. I'm not really looking forward to collecting votes after the next battle." Urara had her own view of things.

"So you will leave? That makes things easier. I'm not looking forward to meeting you in the arena though." Honoka had seen a bit of how the witty Cure fought. It would be a real problem to take her out by usual means.

"That argument goes both ways. Regardless, the exile run is not for another few hours, so I'll rest for the time being. Looking at Kurumi really scares me. I don't want to get stuck there." Urara ate her food in a perfectly relaxed manner. Keeping a poker-face was essential in keeping up her reputation.

In truth, she was really scared of getting stuck as exile and experiencing whatever Kurumi went through. And there was something she had to finish up before she left.

One after another, people who were being talked about entered the room. Kurumi showed up, looking very tired and a little depressed. Considering what she went through in the last seventy-two hours, that was pretty understandable.

"Morning." She still tried her best to put on a smile and greet the people present. With the sole exception of Urara, she didn't remember any of the others. And she didn't exactly know a lot about how the life of her former teammate had went.

"You look terrible Kurumi." Urara treated her like she treated everyone else. With brutal truth and not exactly a lot of respect.

"Fits with how I feel then." Kurumi rolled eyes and sat down at the upper end of the table. Awkward silence dominated the room. Urara didn't expect an honest answer like that.

"Honoka." Hikari showed up and looked rather confused. "Why is Nagisa wrapped into a blanket and wriggling across the floor?" She stopped briefly next to the white Cure.

"She woke up like that. And I woke up feeling pretty cold. So I left her like that." Completely nonchalantly, Honoka took her cup of tea and had a sip, paying no attention at all to Hikari's awkward expression. White could be pretty cruel when Black did something wrong. Not that it was hurting Nagisa, but it was pretty amusing to watch.

Walking up to Kurumi, Hikari sat down. At roughly the same time, the whole room could hear a weird sliding sound, like someone was dragging a huge bag over the ground. It took a few more seconds before they could see an orange tuft poke out from the corner. "Honoka... forgive me already... this is embarrassing!"

=== Dissonance ===

"Dark." "Pitch Black." The two Kiryuu's, Egret, Rouge and Moonlight were the first to wake up and get breakfast but none of those were talkative by any means that early in the morning. And so, the Kiryuu's were bored again.

"You two should get yourself some kind of game to play. You're way too fixated on other people." Mai commented as she munched away on toast, fighting a headache. "Curse you Honoka... I can still feel it." Rubbing her cheeks, the purple haired girl was surprised to see Kaoru up and well. "Kaoru, are you feeling alright?"

"Got a headache. But I'm fine. Thanks for asking." Kaoru actually smiled and leaned on the table, bored to hell. "Is Saki still sleeping?"

"Taking a shower. I already took one before I came here." Mai was wearing a specific type of smile on her face. Kaoru didn't need another hint. They must have spent either the early morning or the night together. Sometimes Kaoru wondered if she could enjoy things like that with her sister.

"I'm surprised how similar things are on this side. I suppose I'm not allowed to give any details about the team constellation and things, but I guess telling you that we have about the same facilities just a little better is not breaking any rules." Rouge commented over putting away her third toast. For some inexplicable reason, she felt as hungry as a bear.

"It's to be expected. A bathroom, showers, a table to eat, chairs to sit. The next step would be a kitchen, but I guess we're a little short on money." Michiru replied to the new face.

"Money? I don't think it's right to call it that." Mai interjected but found herself thinking that it was actually pretty accurate.

"They're coins we trade in for things. I'd say that's as close as you can get to money." Rouge shared Michiru's opinion.

"I don't think it matters. More importantly, what do we do about negotiations and the exile? Do we have any volunteers?" Moonlight interrupted their conversation.

"I'll do the negotiations if you don't mind." Mai looked at Yuri but there was no tension between them. The older Cure nodded briefly to acknowledge Mai's request.

"We can't vote..." "...for Dream yet," The two sisters said. It was the obvious choice. Nobody else was resiting the fighting that much.

"Considering probably half of our team is on the other side, maybe it is time for us to leave." Yuri knew that it would be difficult to get people to agree with that. She was one of the three that had assumed the role of the leader.

"Morning. Ah that felt good." Saki had finally finished up her shower and showed up in the living room. Sitting down next to her partner, she looked briefly at everyone. "What were you talking about?"

"The next switch." Rouge explained. "Considering that Rhythm, Dream and I can't be voted out, and from what I can tell, it doesn't make sense for one of the four people combo over there to leave. That doesn't leave a whole lot of candidates."

"I don't think anyone from the Suite team will leave, but we should ask just in case. I'll do it after breakfast." Yuri took another cup of coffee. She really wanted to have a full night worth of sleep. She wasn't exactly in any condition to fight or negotiate.

=== Dissonance ===

Hibiki was facing the ceiling in her room, deep in thought. It was until then the hardest decision she had to make in her whole life. Even deciding to not become a professional pianist had not been this hard on her.

While she might have been a little dense about some things, she now knew what both girls felt. Dragging the decision with her would only make everyone involved feel miserable for days.

First, she thought about Itsuki, Cure Sunshine. She was tall, beautiful, mature and always said what she thought. No subtle hints, no roundabout way to talk about things that were embarrassing. No matter what happened, Itsuki always told her things in a way that she understood them.

And then, there was the one thing that drew Hibiki to her more than anything else. The reversal of what she was usually like. With Kanade, with anyone else, she was the one to help out. She was the one to set things straight. The leader, the one that protected others. Having never experienced what it was like to be on the receiving end of that, it lit a fire on Hibiki's heart when it happened.

Itsuki was stronger, more responsible and mature, more experienced than her. It wasn't Hibiki who protected Itsuki but the other way around. An alien, a completely new sensation for her. To feel like someone treasured her safety, to feel that someone led her on. It felt good to be cared about in that way. It felt so incredibly good to know that someone cared enough to take her into their arms, hold them close, like something fragile.

They shared many interests. Martial arts, sports, their sense of humor, even the way they thought about romance. Before Itsuki came into her life, she had never spent a single thought about what it would be like to kiss a guy or girl. It just didn't seem to be related to her at all.

And Itsuki just came into her life, took her by storm and made her part of her own life, even if it was only for a short time. If Kanade had never confessed, she would have stayed with the yellow Cure. It was impossible to say for how long, but things would have continued the way they were.

Itsuki took her first kiss, her first night. While Hibiki didn't care much about these things, she would always remember her gentle touch, her soft lips. That fiery night where they first slept with each other rushed past Hibiki's eyes as she thought about it. Itsuki's smooth skin, her large breasts, her silky hair, golden eyes and gentle lips.

Just thinking about it made her face flush. There were no words to accurately describe how much she had enjoyed that night. How much she had enjoyed being with Itsuki.

And then, there was Kanade. Her best friend for so many years, she couldn't remember everything they did together, everything they experienced together. She fought with her at times but always made up with her. She knew Kanade's dreams, her ambition and fears. What she liked, what she hated. Her favorite style of clothing, her favorite and least favorite food.

She could go on and on, because she knew everything about Kanade. Until just a few days ago, there had been no secrets between them. Kanade was a gentle and caring person, who could just be a little scary when she got angry. Hibiki trusted nobody in the world more than her.

But that was Kanade her friend. Things had changed. Right now, she was thinking of Kanade as someone she wanted to be with. To kiss and sleep with her. Who wanted to be that one special person in her life. In a way, Kanade already was special, but not the way she wanted to be.

She had hidden her feelings for so long, Hibiki felt guilty about never realizing the way she really felt. But she couldn't let her guilt influence her decision. To compare Kanade with Itsuki wouldn't be fair. Kanade was beautiful too, even though Hibiki found it hard to think about her that way.

In her head, Kanade was still her friend. In her heart, that had already changed. Realizing the way Kanade felt for her, Hibiki looked at herself, looked deep into her heart, exploring the depths she never dared to touch before, because they might reveal things about herself she didn't want to know. And deep down, she found something that made her hate herself.

Feelings for Kanade. She didn't know when or how, but she must have locked them away unconsciously, scared about the same thing Kanade had been so scared of. Rejection. The ruination of their friendship. It only made her feel worse about not realizing what Kanade felt.

What purpose was there to Kanade being scared, to herself being scared, if they had both felt the same way about each other all this time? It was so stupid, she could cry.

Kanade was someone she couldn't imagine to be not a part of her life. She literally couldn't imagine it. The year she spent without Kanade by her side seemed like a bad dream. The thought of losing Kanade scared her.

"Looking at it just from that way, it feels like a real no brainer... but..." Hibiki turned over in her bed, talking to herself, in need of venting her thoughts. "I don't want to lose Itsuki either. If I hadn't met her, I probably would have freaked out completely when Kanade confessed... and I really would've turned her down."

"So what do I do? I hate this... I realize this isn't a game, where I just bring victory to one team and the losing team sulks for a bit and get's over it. Either I break Kanade's heart, or Itsuki's heart." Hibiki covered her eyes and bit her lower lip.

"Picking Kanade will make things really awkward between me and Itsuki... she said she'd still be my friend, but it'll be different from now. Picking Itsuki... I don't know how Kanade would react. I don't even **want** to know."

"It feels like I'm moving in circles. Leaving Itsuki scares me, leaving Kanade scares me too. I don't want to hurt either. I'm never going to make a decision like this." Hibiki turned over again and buried her face in the pillow.

"'Make your decision with your heart, not with your mind.' she says. But how am I supposed to do that? I can't just ignore the consequences. I'm not a child anymore." Hibiki punched the mattress and sighed.

"If it was so easy to decide with your heart, I would've done it already... I'm not stupid. I know Itsuki will be hurt if I choose Kanade. But that's the only decision I can get to... Kanade has been part of my life for almost a decade... and now that I know how she feels, I get to realize that it's been mutual. I really suck... She must think I'm the worst."

"I wonder if Itsuki knew I'd think things through like this... it wouldn't surprise me. She always seemed to know what I was thinking. Differently from the way Kanade and I get along but... Ah, my head hurts!" Hibiki ruffled her hair and got up. Her stomach was growling, but she didn't have an appetite.

Leaving her room regardless, Hibiki confirmed with herself that she had the worst possible timing. Itsuki was walking past her just as she stepped outside. Only glancing in her direction, Itsuki smiled and continued to walk towards the living room, only to collide with Kanade, who just left the showers.

The two of them glared at each other for a moment and entered the living room together. Now, that room had suddenly become the place Hibiki wanted to be the least. Walking off towards labyrinth, she wondered what it must feel like for either of them to wait for her decision. What would their reaction be?

"The more I think about this, the further away I get from actually deciding..." Hibiki wanted to feel sorry for herself, but just thinking about how Kanade and Itsuki must feel stopped her from doing so.

"I guess I understand now what it means when they say that love can be painful..." Having never bothered with romance before, Hibiki had been completely oblivious to the dangers and emotional pitfalls involved. And now she was right in the middle of it all.

=== Dissonance ===

When Erika came to, she wasn't in her own room. And she couldn't move her arms or legs. "Finally come to, sleeping beauty?" A voice she recognized. Lemonade's voice. Looking to the right, she saw the woman sitting on the edge of the bed she was laying on.

"That was quite the rude interruption from your friend last time. But I doubt she'll try and burst into my room." Urara had a devilish smile on her face, moving her left hand to her lips, licking the top of her index finger seductively.

Erika tried to move her arms and legs again, only to find them tied by golden chains. "You can stop trying. Nobody can break those." Urara moved on the bed, kneeling over the blue Cure. "I don't like tying people up for sex but I had to make sure you won't run away in the middle of it."

"You had your fun with me already. What more do you want?" Erika wasn't particularly happy about getting involved into some weird bondage play.

"Like I said, I wasn't done last time." Leaning down, the former actress' face was only centimeters apart from Marine's. "If you play nice, you'll get to enjoy this too. Otherwise, I just might to have use a little more force."

"Raping me sure is a nice thing to do. Why wouldn't I enjoy that? Oh sorry, was my sarcasm too much for you?" Erika tried to get her arms free, but they were tied with golden chains at her wrists, the chain itself extending into the wall. Her ankles were tied together as well, again, the chain extending into a wall. She couldn't move at all.

"That's rich, coming from the girl that sneaks up on others in the shower and gropes them." Lemonade stuck out her tongue, leaned further down and briefly licked the side of Erika's neck. One of her hands on the mattress to support herself, the other slowly moving up Erika's smooth legs.

"You're a little short but you got a surprisingly big chest for your size. And a really nice figure. Good genes or hard work?" Urara kissed and caressed Erika's neck with her lips and tongue, her hand moving from her legs to her skirt to her waist and finally her stomach.

Trying to resist seemed really pointless. Lemonade wasn't hurting her despite tying her up. And she seemed pretty gentle, which surprised Marine even more. "I guess it runs in the family. I'm the only one that's short though."

"It adds to your charm," Lemonade said as she backed up a little, moving to sit on Marine's waist. She was pretty light herself, so there was no problem in doing that. With a single yellow flash, Urara got rid of most of her outfit. All that remained was the chest piece and the skirt. Moving one hand over the stomach of her prey, she grinned when she noticed that Marine was blushing a little.

Standing up, Lemonade clicked with her fingers and the chains loosened just enough for Erika to turn over if she wanted to. "Want to do it yourself or should I flip you like a pancake?" There was only playfulness in her voice, not even a hint of anger or thirst for revenge. She was genuinely amused by what she was doing.

Rolling over, Erika could feel the chains tighten again, restricting her movement. She could feel Lemonade part her long cyan colored hair over her back, revealing the almost bare back of her outfit. "Fancy. I always wanted to design my costume like this, but that seems to be beyond my abilities. You got nice sense."

"Well I **am** a fashion designer. Of course my outfit needs to look good!" Erika boasted only to realize that she was further falling for Lemonade's scheme. It still felt wrong what she was doing to her but at least she wasn't treating her rough. Yelling for help would only complicate everything and the next time, she wouldn't be treated that well. It was best to endure... well... get it over with at this point.

Erika felt the four strings on her back snap. She couldn't tell what Lemonade was doing, but her outfit lost most of it's support. It became pretty loose. If she stood up like that, it would be bad.

"Your breasts are bigger than mine, despite me being taller. I'm jealous." Lemonade sat down on Erika's back, leaned down and kissed her neck again, her tongue drawing a thin, wet line downwards over Marine's back.

The blue Cure felt herself get turned on quite a bit by that. Forgetting about the chains, Lemonade seemed like a real romantic when it came to sex. It seemed so very out of character for the otherwise cynical woman. "I'm surprised you're not just having your way with me... you're pretty gentle. I didn't expect you to be."

"You enjoy rough play? I really don't like that, but if you insist I could do it some other time." Lemonade had reached the lowest part of the back cut in Marine's outfit and sat back up. Pulling off her chest piece, the only thing remaining was her skirt. Throwing it on the ground, Urara shivered slightly before she laid down, pushing her breasts against Erika's bare back.

Erika was actually thankful that she didn't have to look at Lemonade's face right that moment. Then she was blushing quite heavily. Groping someone was one thing, having fun with Tsubomi another. And then, there was what Lemonade was doing to her right now. She was getting really horny just from the way Lemonade touched her.

"They're not as big as Karen's or Komachi's, but they feel nice don't they?" Urara had no problem setting the mood for what she was doing. She wanted to be n actress for a long time, so things like that would flow right out without a hint of embarrassment.

Rubbing her breasts on Marine's back just a little, she could tell that it didn't make much to excite the blue Cure. Her breathing was becoming irregular and faster, she was blushing and her body was getting warmer. Getting up and standing over Marine, Urara clicked with her fingers.

Loosening the chains again, Erika was allowed to turn over once again. Looking at the almost naked yellow Cure, she couldn't hide how horny she was feeling. Her nipples were poking through the white cloth below her ribbon. She was starting to feel pretty uncomfortable wearing her whole costume.

Kneeling over Erika, Urara crawled slowly to the lower end of the bed and sat down next to Erika. Clicking her fingers a third time, the chains around her ankles moved, separated, tying each leg loosely to the wall by itself. Lifting the left leg of the blue haired girl, Urara slowly pulled down the white stocking with two of her fingers, watching Erika's face from the corner of her eye.

The chain moved briefly to allow Lemonade to take off Marine's stocking together with her half boot. Lifting her leg to her face, Urara kissed her ankle, licking it in excessive slowness. Erika watched with a bright red face as the older Cure caressed her skin.

Repeating the play with Marine's right leg, Lemonade secretly loosened the chain enough so that Erika could move her legs about a little. She didn't want her to suffer from the binding. Just as she put the second stocking and boot aside, completely exposing Marine's legs, Lemonade sat down on Erika's waist, smiling seductively. "Want me to take off the rest too?"

Erika didn't even see it as punishment anymore. She was the one that fooled around with people, and she was a lot more crude than Lemonade was now. She really started to enjoy their little game, even though the binding was still annoying her a little.

Getting closer to Erika, Urara knelt over her chest and leaned down, her face so close to Marine's that she could feel her hot breath. There was no doubt that she was excited, both from being touched and seeing her exposed chest. She was excited herself too, so it fit well together.

Leaning down further and moving just a little to the right, Lemonade's lips reached the left ear of the younger Cure. Pinching the ear with just her lips, she heard Marine gasp and let out a surprised moan. Her left hand moved to the girls forehead and further up, taking off the small ribbon in her hair.

Only the wrist gloves remained and Erika was quite excited already. "I'll take the rest off myself...!" She gasped and a blue whirl engulfed the two, the outfit completely vanishing, leaving Marine naked, with Lemonade laying right on top of her.

Urara smiled and the chains that tied down Erika vanished. She was able to set a single condition for just a few chains at a time. Finally free, Erika didn't even think about running away. As soon as Urara tried to get up, Marine grabbed her cheeks, pulling her face closer.

The blue Cure had her eyes already closed, finding the soft and wet lips of the blond Cure by instinct. A fierce kiss, not gentle or reluctant, but full of passion and desire. Marine almost broke off the kiss when her partner groped her left breast. Using the brief confusion, Lemonade slid her tongue into Marine's mouth, intensifying the kiss even further.

Their tongues fighting each other in a wild struggle for dominance, Marine moved her arms and laid them around Lemonade, pulling her closer, pushing the songstress body against her own, feeling the bare, hot skin. Unable to see but feeling it, Lemonade's skirt vanished completely.

When they finally broke up the kiss and Urara emerged victorious, the yellow Cure was breathing just as heavy as the girl she had caught. "Enjoying it?"

"Shut up and kiss me." Marine tried to turn her captors game against herself but found herself unable to do so. A single finger put on her lips silenced her.

"No need to be in such a hurry. We barely started." Lemonade grinned as she backed up a little, both of her hands moving slowly over Erika's sides, drawing circles, tickling her just a little, finally coming to a s top on her breasts. They were just a little too big to fit whole into Urara's hands. "Enjoy this, Marine."

=== Dissonance ===

Two Cures stood on a large tower, the central one that was the largest of all. The tower that Sunshine destroyed was still broken. The platform they were on was separated by a large glowing barrier.

"There isn't much choice for the next battle. There is a maximum of four people participating. And we're getting to the point where we will end up fighting former team mates regularly now." Egret was opening negotiations. She was facing Berry, who didn't seem especially pleased to see her.

"I hoped Moonlight would come out for the negotiations but oh well. Regardless, most of us have gotten used to the situation at hand for the bigger part. Those who still refuse to accept the situation at hand just have to learn it the hard way. All four that didn't fight should fight this time around. A four versus four. The last battle was huge and a mess, so I'd like to postpone the battle until tomorrow. We only need to have one every two days after all. Hopefully, the arena will have changed by then," Miki said while she walked up and down in front of Egret.

"I see a problem with the rules in this case. What if one of the four on our side that didn't fight were to switch to your team and someone that fought from your side to ours? We would be stuck with three people that haven't fought, you with five." Mai assumed that was how things would go down.

"I assume there is no problem as long as they didn't fight for your side at the time. If someone comes out of exile or switches from our side to yours, they should be able to fight just fine, without violating the rules." Berry tried to apply logic.

"I hope so. Just to be on the save side, let's make it a three versus three battle. Regardless of who switches, both sides should be fine then." Mai was satisfied that the other side had enough brain to send someone rational to do negotiations. She would have preferred Honoka, but there was nothing she could do.

"I don't like switching from my plans but it wouldn't hurt to play this face I guess. Three versus three it is then. What about the arena? I only heard about the state it is in, and I am not eager to send anyone fighting in that mess."

"It's chaotic, true. I suppose we should delay the next battle until tomorrow in hope of there being a shift in the structure. It'll be bad enough for the exile runners to get through at this point." Mai took a deep breath. It was time to wrap up negotiations.

"Participants, three." Mai looked at Berry who confirmed with a nod. "Participants. Three."

"Time, in twenty-eight hours." That was the latest possible time for the next battle to be scheduled. "Time. In twenty-eight hours."

As the number of participants and the time was set, the two Cures faced each other for a few seconds in silence. "You are coping well." It wasn't her style to make useless small talk, but Berry was surprised how well thought out everything Egret said was.

"So are you. Greet White for me when you see her." Mai turned around and stood in the middle of a glowing circle. Berry did the same.

=== Dissonance ===

Hibiki's fingers were sore from playing. Playing almost every song she knew by heart, how many hours had she spent at her piano now? Losing track of time was nothing new for her, but at least this time, she hadn't lost herself entirely in thought.

Her decision was made. Thinking about it, going back and forth between the two girls that wanted to be with her, debating who would react how and trying to gauge just how strong her feelings for each of them were, Hibiki had done everything she could to make it a fair decision.

In the end, it was still the one she had first thought about. The one, her heart had told her to pick. After traveling down the road of what if for a long time, she knew it was the right choice. A choice she wouldn't regret making. Of course she, and her, would feel terrible for some time, but that was a given, regardless of who she picked in the end.

"Hibiki." The orange haired girl turned around and saw Ellen slowly walk up to her. "I'm going to switch. I thought you wanted to know before I went. The exchange is pretty soon, so... there is something I wanted to show you."

"You're not going to ask me about last night?" It seemed like the first thing anyone would do in that situation.

"We're not kids anymore Hibiki. I trust you to handle your own problems. There is something I want to show you before I go. Watch this." Ellen took a few steps back and focused, closing her eyes, breathing in deeply.

Hibiki watched with big eyes when a blue sphere deployed around Beat, swarming with notes. She stood up and she noticed that something was wrong. Hitting a single note on the piano, she confirmed a hunch. There was no sound.

And then Ellen opened her mouth. But instead of just her voice, music started to resonate thorough the room, engulfing Hibiki. She had never experienced something like that. Instead of her guitar, Ellen was strumming the very notes that floated around her. They formed a melody, formed a rhythm and beat, a symphony on it's own.

And then her voice hit. It sounded so alien to Hibiki, a language she didn't quite grasp, and yet she fully understood the meaning of the words. They weren't just there for her to hear. They went through her, filled the room, elevated her to a different place.

"Faura yewe murfan anw sol ciel. Faura sonwe murfan anw sol ciel ee." It was repeated twice. "Ridalmae sol ciel yanyaue manaf. Presia yasra lusye enclone anw omnis." A beautiful, serene song that was soothing to the soul. Hibiki could feel her body almost float. The sphere was extending with every verse Ellen sung. But as she continued, something felt off. Something was lacking. "Faura selena anw Metafalica." She repeated the verse twice. The sphere increased with a burst and it changed from soothing to tensing up. Ellen was silent during the change.

The sphere broke apart seconds later as the music tried to change into a new, much more powerful version. Ellen was panting and sweating. "This is something I heard about in Major Land a long time ago. The 'Hymns of Symphony'. They're like the melody of happiness or the melody of sorrow, just that they have no score. They're soul songs. I just sort of... did this last night after I talked to you. It just came up inside me and I had to let it out. But I don't think I can do this on my own." Ellen was not as oblivious to such things as she had been in the past.

"I've never seen anything like that. It was completely different from the melody of happiness. I felt really calm for a moment and then it changed to... I can't quite describe it. I... sort of understand what you were saying, but what language was that?" Hibiki was so taken by what she had just seen, everything else could wait for a few minutes.

"I don't know. Maybe they're some ancient language that was spoken in Major Land a long time ago. I wanted to show this to you before I leave. I wanted to show it to Rhythm and Muse too, but Ako was off with Moonlight according to Egret and and I couldn't find Kanade either." Ellen sighed.

And it finally sunk into Hibiki what Ellen had said. "You're going to leave? Why? We four finally got to be together."

"I'm going after Passion. I need to talk to her." Ellen didn't want to give the full reason of why she was going after the red Cure.

"You already decided you'll go?" Hibiki walked up to her friend and took her hands. "I think we should stay together... but if you're set on going, I won't stop you. You seem like you have your reasons."

"I'm not going far away Hibiki. We might end up fighting each other, but we'll be on the same team again eventually." Ellen smiled. She didn't like leaving her friend behind either, but she couldn't just ignore the way things were between her and Setsuna. "Did you want me to ask you about last night?"

"I made my decision. It won't help anyone if I think about this for days and days, so I went over everything and made up my mind. I have a horrible headache now though." Melody smiled.

"Then you should go and tell the two. I'm sure they're waiting. The exile exchange is still a few hours away, so maybe I should try and find Ako in the meantime. She's the queen-to-be of Major Land, I'm sure she knows something about these Hymns."

"Don't leave without telling me! I'll see you off." Hibiki grinned and stretched her arms out, feeling a little sore from playing for so long.

"Don't worry about that." Ellen turned around and walked in the general direction of their rooms and the facilities. Hibiki joined her side quickly.

"But it was a really beautiful song. I knew you could sing really well, but when did you learn singing like **that**?"

"Now look Hibiki, I was once supposed to sing the Melody of Happiness and the Melody of Sorrow. I'd be disappointed if I couldn't sing at least this well. I just... don't really sing stuff like that for my fans or anyone really." Ellen was a little sensible about her pride as a songstress.

"I wish I could sing like that..." Hibiki could play the piano extremely well but she had never really bothered to learn singing the way Ellen did.

"When we all sung for Otokichi, you weren't bad at all. You just need some practice." Beat praised her friend, pointing with one finger to her throat. "It's all about practice and stamina. Singing burns a lot of energy. And calories."

"I'm already playing the piano, I don't really want to spent so much time learning how to sing. We have you for that. Ako is singing really well too, but I don't have the talent."

They reached the hallway, the two of them walking towards the living room. Hibiki felt anxiety grow in her chest. She had made up her mind alright, but she felt sick approaching the moment she had to actually say it out loud.

There was no way for such a situation to be pretty or nice. It would hurt her and there was no way around that. At the very least, she wanted to have a quiet moment with the two to tell them.

Hibiki was slowly losing the color in her face when they stepped into the living room. Kanade and Itsuki were both there, glaring at each other from across the table. Ako and Yuri were there as well, which was Beat's cue to leave Hibiki to her own devices. She was old enough to not need her holding her hand.

Hibiki walked up to the two, now the center of their looks. Everyone else had the decency to ignore the obvious trouble the three were having. Hibiki was grateful that nobody was asking any questions or making a scene."Kanade. Itsuki. Can I talk to you for a bit? Alone." Despite all, her voice and she herself were trembling.

=== Dissonance ===

"That was amazing..." Erika was laying on her bed, her long hair covering her breasts, her lower half hidden under the blanket. "I thought you were a real sadist. I was pretty wrong."

Lemonade was sitting on the edge of the bed, combing her hair with what looked like a really expensive and nice comb. The two twin-tails fallen apart, her long golden hair was flowing down her back like a waterfall.

"I seem to give that impression a lot. I tied you up because you'd have run away without me doing anything. Don't misunderstand though. I did this because you groped me in the shower. I don''t intent to date you or anything. You were really nice, but I think I'd prefer a girl with less spunk to her personality." Looking over her shoulder, Lemonade grinned. "You're one hell of a wild girl."

Erika blushed heavily as Urara said those words. She had lost herself a little in the moment back there and got a little too excited. Thank god Tsubomi really didn't come bursting in. "Do you do this a lot? Just sleeping with one girl and then leaving her? I... could tell you were... experienced."

"Not all the time, but sometimes, yes. If there's a really cute girl among my fans, I take her backstage. I also sleep with Rouge, if you care to know. We're not in a relationship though, so if you want to take a shot at her, go ahead. I think she'll literally burn you though." Urara finished combing her hair, canceled her transformation briefly and transformed again, a brand new set of Cure costume on her body.

"I'm fine since I don't sweat easily, but you should take a shower sometime soon." Lemonade stood up and looked at Erika. "Get up, I'm heading out and I don't want anyone in my room while I'm out. At least nobody conscious." Urara grinned and watched Erika give her a hot look before she did the same thing as the yellow Cure and spawned a new set of clothes.

"I think you shouldn't tell your friend you slept with me by the way. This might just be my hunch, but I'm pretty sure she's a little interested in you." Urara waited for Erika to walk past her before she too left the room and closed the door.

"You mean Tsubomi? I can't imagine her being interested in me... she liked Sunshine a while back, but nothing came of that." Erika just couldn't imagine Tsubomi being romantically interested in her. The more she thought about the idea, the more she seemed to like the perspective of being with her though.

"I could be completely wrong but it won't hurt to keep this a secret. It was supposed to be punishment too, but I can't help it if you liked it."

"If only punishment for missing deadlines was this nice." Marine shrugged and sighed, getting a laugh out of Lemonade.

"See you around. Most likely in battle. I'll be leaving for the other team in a few hours," Urara said seconds before she took a turn and walked towards the labyrinth, away from the living room.

Erika could hear that something was going on in the living room and headed over there. From the looks of it, they were holding some sort of meeting. Everyone except Lemonade was there, herself not included.

"Marine is here. We already taken votes and ten out of twelve are in favor, so we'll proceed with it. Just in case, do you have any objections to the team using the accumulated favor to get a kitchen? We're sick of ready-made meals." Berry turned to the blue Cure that had just joined the room.

"Sounds good to me." Erika was instantly approached by Tsubomi, when the pink Cure noticed her friend.

"Erika! Where were you the whole time? I've been looking for you since this morning! What's that smell? Did you run around?" Tsubomi couldn't get closer than about a meter of Erika. There was some kind of sweaty smell coming from her that wasn't quite like actual sweat. It was much sweeter and had a bit of an actual fragrance.

"Yeah, I was running around, looking for something. I wanted to see if there's a way to get to the other team. I was curious." Erika didn't like lying to Tsubomi, but she followed Lemonade's advice in not telling her she had spent the morning passed out in the yellow Cure's room and the noon by sleeping with her.

Honoka walked past Erika at that exact moment, stopped briefly and gave her a knowing look. She knew that fragrance, that smell. It was the exact smell that stuck to Nagisa and herself after a fiery night. She didn't say anything, only smiled.

=== Dissonance ===

The two blond women had followed her in silence. Leaving the hallway, they made to an empty room not too far away from the rooms. The two of them looked at Hibiki, standing a few meters away from each other. Hibiki could tell that those two didn't like each other for reasons even a blind man could have seen.

"I... decided." Hibiki had thought about the way she would say it. Had thought about it so much that she had prepared a dozen different ways to say it. And now, all of that preparation burned away in the heat of their expectant faces. There really was no easy way of turning someone down. But she felt that the two of them deserved the truth.

"I hated making this decision. I hate the way this whole situation came to be. Because it's all my fault. Blaming myself won't make this any better though, so I won't bother."

Itsuki gave an approving nod while Kanade seemed pretty unfazed.

"I thought about it a lot. I tried to think about it with just my heart, then with just my head. Neither really worked. I had to use both of them to finally make a decision." Hibiki intuitively beat around the bush a little.

"Itsuki." She turned to the older woman and forced a smile. "You showed me what romance was. How nice it feels to be with someone you care for. You made me feel like someone who wanted to be protected. Like someone who wanted to have all of your love. You even made me aware of some of my faults."

Hibiki felt her throat dry up. She couldn't really delay the inevitable any longer. Taking a deep breath, a single tear ran down her cheek.

"That's why I'm sorry... I like you, but Kanade is who has been in my life for longer than I can remember. When she told me last night she loves me... when I realized how I've caused this whole situation by being dense... I found something buried deep within me. Feelings I had locked away without me ever knowing. I loved Kanade and was afraid of the same thing she was. Rejection."

"I can't imagine a life without her. And while I like you a lot... Kanade is more important to me than anyone else in the world. I don't just want to be with her, I need to. This might sound really unfair and hard to you... but... I tell you the truth exactly because I liked... love you. I did fall in love with you. That's why you deserve the truth." Hibiki turned to Kanade and lowered her head. "I'm sorry Kanade. I'll... need a little time to let go of Itsuki before I can be with you."

"I'm actually happy you managed to tell me this straight out what you feel. It hurts to be turned down. It hurts a lot. But I can live with it because you were honest. I think... I'd have never talked to you again if you had just lied to me or used some excuse." Itsuki closed her eyes and looked at Kanade, who seemed to fear she would jump at her any second. "Treat her well. If you don't, I'll take her back."

"I don't even need to answer that, do I?" Kanade exhaled deeply and looked at Itsuki. "I might have never gotten over myself and tell Hibiki if you hadn't been there. For just that, I'm thankful."

"I'll want to be alone for a bit." Itsuki turned around and walked up to Hibiki, whispering a last few words. "I'm happy you love me. I love you too." Then she was gone, leaving behind Hibiki and Kanade.

"I'm.. so sorry about this whole mess Kanade. If only I'd have realized sooner that this feeling was mutual... but I was just as scared as you in the end. I must have sounded like a total hypocrite last night." Melody couldn't face Kanade anymore.

"It's not going to make anything better to regret it now." Walking up to the girl she loved, Kanade put a hand on her cheek. She knew that kissing her right now would probably cause problems, so she didn't even try to. "I'm happy you feel the same way. So incredibly happy." Hibiki looked up and saw Kanade shedding tears of joy. "I wouldn't have known what to do if you decided to stay with Itsuki. I was so scared..."

"Kanade..." Hibiki laid her own hand on the girls cheek. "Don't cry. I won't leave you ever again. We can be really together this time."

=== End of Event IX ===


	10. Repercussion

**Dissonance**

_Event X_

**Repercussion**

Why was she even alive? Why had her consciousness not faded yet? Why was she forced to endure a reality she thought a dream, she being a dream from what she thought reality. Or was reality the dream and she was real, inside a dream that was...

She couldn't move, not even lift a single finger. Her body was not hers to begin with. She was merely the remains of a dream. She was floating in darkness, inside her own mind, unable to do anything, unable to accept or reject what had transpired. She was trapped between denial and acceptance, in doubt.

Doubt so powerful that her mind couldn't handle it. Trying to think about it resulted in endlessly running in a circle of doubt. Trying to accept what she had seen resulted in her very being refusing to do so. Trying to reject what she had seen was not allowed. The smell, the sound, the touch, the sensations were all there, more real than any dream she had ever seen.

Eas was asleep, resting from formulating plans to crush the remaining two Cures. But Setsuna was not given any such privilege. She had to watch, had to share Eas thoughts, unable to avoid even a single one of them.

Her hands were sticky with the blood of the one girl that had once brought salvation to her pained soul. It would stick there forever, reminding her of the greatest deed she had ever done in the name of Labyrinth. Love's very life had been in her hands, and she crushed it without hesitation.

A nightmare that was reality. Or was she the nightmare? Was it her who pained Eas, who was a thorn in her side, who showed her what could have been? But there was no doubt in Eas mind. Only cold and absolute loyalty. She didn't remember herself to be like that. Blindly following every order, mercilessly killing a Cure.

She never thought she could do that. The feeling of ending life was special. Like a big burly beast of shadows that ripped out part of her soul with it's big claws, to crush and maim it, devour it and spit it out, only to leave a crumbling self behind.

That was Setsuna. She was the crumbling self. Trying to resist was useless. No matter how much she tried, Eas would not let her move as much as a finger, won't let her utter even a single word of regret over killing Love. Her will was beyond iron, confining Setsuna to the worst prison there could be: Inside the body of the murderer of her loved one.

Her conscience was slowly fading, growing weaker with each passing hour. The inside of Eas' mind was cold, ruthless, trying to slowly get rid of her so that only loyalty to Moebius remained. She was just a ghost of a dream. Less real than even the afterglow of the memories one had after waking up.

There was just one thought that kept her 'alive' in there. That kept her awake, resisting total elimination.

"Help me, Love."

=== Dissonance ===

Lemonade didn't trust the quiet and peace. Not only did the exile not make a move yet, but the other Cure was also nowhere to be seen. And the oddities didn't stop there. The destroyed battlefield was changed. Not the way it did before but in a clearly sinister way.

"I feel like some kind of beast is gonna jump out at me any second." Lemonade stopped on one of the highest towers and looked around. It was much darker than she remembered from the day before. And worse yet, darker than when she first started running.

Something was not right. An eerie feeling, like she was wading through a deep swamp where every step could be her last one. There was danger in the air. And it wasn't just the treat of becoming stuck out there. It was actual blood lust.

"Who the fuck is stuck out here? Gives me the creeps..." Lemonade had barely finished her line when she felt someone staring at her. Turning around, she only saw shadows slowly obscuring the field. Whatever was lurking there, it was out to get her. And it was smart.

She was a skilled fighter and could hold her own in both a one versus one and a group battle. But she wasn't one to deal well being pressurized like that. Creating a chain in her hand, Lemonade's eyes tried to penetrate the darkness ahead. The light was fading with every second. She had to get out of there.

Jumping to the next platform, Lemonade felt something grab her ankle. Using her chain like a whip, she lashed out below her but hit nothing. There had definitely been something. Definitely. "What the hell is going on?" Lemonade was shivering. For the first time since they all arrived in that god forsaken place, she was afraid.

Her eyes moved hastily from one side to the other. She turned constantly, moving backwards only a few steps at a time. It was close. It was so very close, she could swear there was something wheezing out there, covered by the shadows.

It had gotten so dark, she could barely see five meters in front of her. None of the previous exile runners mentioned anything like that. Kurumi had been crazed, but this was different. "This is like a cheap horror movie... a cheap but very effective horror movie. I hate those." Lemonade tried to joke around to relieve some of her fear but it wasn't working. The wheezing was coming from every side. A pack of somethings was out there. She was certain of that.

Beasts that lived far outside the world, lurking between the stars. Maybe she read too much science-fiction, but it seemed all too real at the time. What was she supposed to do? She was confident she could win any one to one fight, confident she was able to defend herself long enough to get away. But that was only against an enemy she could actually see.

A sudden movement in a corner. Lashing out with her chain, she only hit air, missing whatever there might have been again. Urara looked from side to side and took two more steps backwards. It was too dark to see anything now. She was trapped.

Her brain stopped working when she bounced against something. Turning about and trying to capture whatever it was, she faced another Cure. One that surprisingly looked scared shitless. The face pale, an expression of horror on it, there was no doubt that it was the Cure from the other team and not the exile. A blue Cure.

"What is going on?" Lemonade looked at Ellen, who had trouble even standing straight. She was trembling, looking at the yellow Cure like she was a ghost. "I don't care about the dumb exile race right now. Here." Urara dropped her chain and looked at Beat, who seemed to recover just a tiny bit. "I'm Lemonade. From the light team."

"Beat. From the dark team. I... is this how the exile runs are? I didn't expect it to be like-" Ellen felt something touch her ankle. Something slimy, liquid like. With a squeak, she jumped at Urara, holding on to her.

"Get a grip! I know it's damn scary, but freaking out won't help us!" Lemonade wished that the runner from the other side had been someone with a little more composure. Though she couldn't really blame her. It was so dark, it was difficult to even see each other. And there was one hundred percent something lurking out there, ready to... do something to them.

"I don't give a crap about the exile at this point. I just want to get out of here in one piece. We need to get rid of whatever is out there." Creating two chains, one in each hand, Lemonade turned around. "Cover my back. I'll cover yours." Beat followed the order almost in trance, too confused and scared to object. She had never been good with scary things.

"My, my, aren't you the crafty one." A woman's voice was penetrating the shadows, seemingly from every direction all at once. "But do you really think you'll have much of a chance against me?"

"Seems to be that way. Why else would you be hiding? There only reason you're hiding in the shadows would be that you can't take both of us on at once."

"You have a sharp tongue. But I'm not foolish enough to give up my advantage." The voice echoed through the black mist around them.

Lemonade was confused. That was definitely not someone crazy or insane. Was that the exile or not? And was there a Cure who could hide so well in the shadows? As a warrior of light, that wasn't exactly typical. "You are foolish enough to face two of us in this desolate place, without knowing anything about us."

"Then we are on equal ground. For you know nothing about me either."

"I know you're a Cure. One driven mad by this place." Urara took the bet and hoped. Even if it turned out false, it would discern the identity of their attacker. "You're not Rouge, I know that much. So you have to be from the other team. Beat." Lemonade had to take control of the situation in order to get Beat to stop shaking. Kurumi had been the one to return from exile after Rouge left. That meant, the Cure that left before Beat was the one they were facing. Hopefully. But again, in this place, everything was possible.

"Setsuna." Ellen was watching both sides the front on her part, her eyes twitching as she tried to never leave a single part of it out of sight. "Cure Passion left before me."

Lemonade grit her teeth. She might have met her at some point but couldn't remember. Going by purely the exclusion method, Passion had to belong to Peach's team. Whispering, in hope of hiding her voice from whoever was lurking in the shadows around them, Urara asked Ellen another question. "Do you know anything about her powers? Could she do this?"

"I haven't seen her fight. But... this..." Ellen had a very, very bad feeling about the situation at hand. It reminded her of something she really wanted to forget and never remember again. The days she pursued the Melody of Sadness. "Passion and I both were enemies to us Cures at a time." Beat whispered and took a deep breath, trying to ignore the grim atmosphere.

"Eas." Beat said in a loud and clear voice. Silence followed. The shadows were wading in front of the two, like they were in a small hole at the bottom of a swamp, the thick and deadly moor ready to swallow them up. "Higashi Setsuna." Beat used Passion's other name.

Lemonade was confused and needed an explanation. "What are you doing?" She was still whispering, not taking her eyes off the shadowy walls.

"Passion originally belonged to the enemy. She told me. Her real name is Eas. Her human name is Higashi Setsuna." Ellen wasn't comfortable telling that just anyone, but the situation at hand didn't really leave her much choice.

"If this place woke her memories of that time... it would make sense." Lemonade bit her lip. "What a horrifying place." Raising her voice to almost shouting, Urara was ready to play a bit of mind games with whoever was attacking them.

"Makes you wonder how we know your name, doesn't it?" Lemonade grinned wide. It was a fake grin but she was quite convincing in her acting. "Not so scary now, are you?"

"Who the hell are you?" The voice was clearly agitated. "Nobody should know that Eas and Higashi Setsuna are the same."

Lemonade reacted barely in time, turning a little and extending her arm to Beat's chest, pushing her down as she let herself drop to the ground. A handful of small but razor sharp looking black jewels rushed right through the air where their throats had been a second ago.

"Who's scared of who now?" Urara lashed out with her chain to the point where the crystals had come from and actually hit something. "Got you."

Pulling on the chain, a silver haired woman with a hateful expression on her face was dragged out of the shadows, trying to break free. The golden chain was wrapped thrice around her, binding her arms to her torso. Urara was relieved she didn't have to fight out there. But there was something else that scared her quite a lot. The condition the enemy was in.

Every single speck of skin not hidden by the black clothes she was wearing was littered with deep cuts. Lemonade added one and one together and arrived at Milky Rose's special attack, the Abbadon. Given the way she had been when she got out, it wasn't out of the way to assume she attacked someone with it.

And the wounds didn't vanish like after a battle. Lemonade made quite the shocking discovery. Injuries sustained in exile were carried over in full. One more reason to absolutely avoid fighting to the blood out there.

No angry screams, no demands to be let free, Eas cursed herself for letting herself be taunted by the yellow Cure's sharp tongue. They would kill her, just as she had killed Peach. "Go ahead and finish me off. Others will take my place. Moebius has many who serve him."

Eas and Urara both looked surprised when Ellen slapped Eas face so hard that the black hairband she wore was thrown out of her hair. "Finish you off? Moebius? Get a grip Setsuna." Ellen wasn't going to let her new found love succumb to the demons of her past.

Eas looked unfazed by the outburst, but something was stirred on inside her mind. Something she had already forgotten. "Setsuna! Remember who you are! You were betrayed by Moebius, died and were revived because Love cared for you!"

"Don't be silly, girl. I am Lord Moebius most faithful servant, why would he betray me?. I was saved by Peach? Are you mad? **I killed Cure Peach! With my own hands!**" Eas shouted at Ellen, angry at the accusations the blue Cure was making.

"What is she saying? I saw Peach just a few hours ago. She was plenty alive and kicking. And annoying." Urara tightened the chain, making Eas groan in pain. "I don't know what kind of shit you went through or how strong the horror out here is, but you're wrong. Peach is alive."

"I'm not going to believe your lies." Eas wasn't going to fall for such a simple trick. Peach was alive? What nonsense. She had witnessed her last moments... her... death...

Her head started to hurt. How did she kill her? Had she not seen her own memories of fighting her? Yes... yes they were there. The battle. The exchange of blows. But how did she kill her? How? Why couldn't she remember? _"Because I didn't do it."_ A voice in her head. **She** was still there? That annoying remnant from her dream.

Her memories were showing her conflicting images. One moment, she struck Peach down. The next, it was her who was struck down. The bloody corpse of Peach. The happy smiling face of a grown up Peach. Her head was trying to burst.

"She's fighting it." Urara could tell from the painful expression on Eas face that she was literally fighting herself.

"Take her out of here. I'll stay, so you two can leave. I can't just leave her here just to get away myself." beat looked on the ground, horrified by what happened to Setsuna. The way she spoke about Love and her past, it had been clear that she held bad memories. But she didn't know they were strong enough to cause something like that to happen.

"Are you mad? Look at her! The same thing is gonna happen to you! Milky Rose was on the edge of becoming a nutcase after being out here?" Lemonade wasn't oblivious to her intentions, but she still had to object.

"I know!" Ellen shouted at Lemonade and turned around to look at Eas, who was still fighting with her inner demons. "I can't imagine anything more horrible than knowing she'll still think she killed the one person she loves most. It hurts me to just look at her. Take her to the other gate. I'll go with you. You can chain me up to make sure I'm not going to pull one over you if you want." Beat was surprisingly serious when it came down to it. But she had always had an obsession with protecting those she loved.

Urara slowly shook her head in disbelief. "You're already crazy. But it's your sanity you're betting. I'll tie her up nicely. It's not my job what happens after that. Take her to the gate yourself." Clicking her fingers, Lemonade created a dozen more chains that wrapped Eas up quite nicely. "Take her. Do whatever you want. Leave her or stay here. It's your choice."

Jumping though the shadowy mist, Lemonade vanished, not without feeling incredibly bad about what she just did. But in times like these, she had to put herself first. Reality had screwed her over one time too many in the past. No more self righteous sacrifices.

Eas couldn't speak or even recognize what was going on around her. Memories were overriding each other, merging and becoming something indistinguishable from grotesque nightmares. She was... Eas... Passion... Eas... Passion. Her head felt like it was about to explode.

Picking up the woman covered in golden chains, Beat carried the shadow of the woman she had fallen in love with like a princess. Eas. The demons of her past she had left behind. "Setsuna... I'll get you out of here." Ellen knew that she too, had things she wanted to forget and how dangerous it was to stay behind to let Setsuna escape. But it was a decision she wouldn't doubt even for one second.

=== Dissonance ===

"You look terrible Urara. What's wrong?" Rouge was one of the people that had waited for the exile runner at the gate.

"Exile is a terrifying place. I saw what it did to Kurumi and Passion." Lemonade just stood there and shook her head. "I need a drink. A hard one. Which room is mine?"

Rouge knew Urara quite well and when that usually tough woman needed a drink, then things were really looking bad. She had met Kurumi too, but Urara must have seen something even worse than that. "I'll show you."

The other Cures present and now left behind were Egret, Moonlight and Muse. "This makes one thing absolutely clear. There is something out there in the exile that's tormenting whoever gets stuck. I guess it's supposed to ensure that everyone wants to be as useful as possible to their team and therefore least likely to be voted out." Muse looked at the gate with a hint of disgust. It was effective, but not good, motivation.

"It's effective. I absolutely don't want to get stuck out there," Egret said, earning an agreeing nod from Moonlight. "From what Lemonade said, both Milky Rose and Passion seem to have gotten stuck at some point. Passion was the one to leave before this... so she failed to get through when Rouge showed up here." They were not allowed to directly tell the other team such things, but it wasn't too hard to put pieces together and bend the rules that way.

"Beat left today, going after Passion," Muse said. She had talked to Ellen just before Hibiki and Kanade joined them to see their friend off. Ako had a feeling that Beat's decision to follow Passion was based on something specific.

"So either she or Passion are stuck now." Moonlight summarized. "You're looking really worried Muse. Do you think something will happen to Beat?"

"No. But I fear things might get really bad if Ellen gets stuck out there. She went through a pretty dark phase in the past. She used to belong to my kingdom, Major Land, so naturally I'm worried about one of my subjects."

"Spoken like a real queen." Moonlight turned around and looked at the now closed gate. The battles were one thing. A necessary evil so to speak. But the exile was nothing of the sort.

"There's no point in brooding over this." Egret looked back towards the living room. "Right now, we can't do anything about this."

"What about the wish granting?" Moonlight came up with an idea. "The rules didn't specify what we can wish for or not. It might be possible to change the nature of the exile with enough power. I don't think they purposely torment us. Human values, emotions and fears are simply alien to them. They must have created it as motivation for cases like Dream. That's what I think."

"Possible. But there is no real way to confirm this, is there? I don't think they'll just answer us if we ask." Muse faced Moonlight, intrigued by the theory.

"How about we just wish to know? Use the favor system and wish to know if it is possible to change the exile system with favor." Egret offered another idea. "I'm not sure it'll work. I didn't think about the favor system, but I believe it's better to try than give up. It's not like we want to use it to escape this place. It's simply to remove what makes the exile horrifying. It'll still suck really badly to be stuck out there all alone."

"It's worth a try. I'll try this later and tell you the results."

=== Dissonance ===

"She's still not responsive. She just wrings in pain and says random things. How's Love?" Inori let out a heavy sigh. The situation was really bad.

About twenty minutes ago, Miki barged into her room and dragged her to the gate. What Inori saw there left her speechless. Eas was laying on the ground, twitching and flailing, grabbing her head in pain. Love was right next to her, trying to hold her, trying to calm her down, without success.

Before either of them could interfere, Eas hit Love right violently in the stomach, knocking her flat out. It wasn't an aimed hit. It was just coincidence. Miki was quick witted and called Mint. But there was nothing she could do. The pain wasn't caused by her visible injuries but by something different.

She didn't seem to pose a threat, so they confined her simply to Passion's room, with someone always looking over her. Mint had relieved her from watch duty for now, so she could talk to Miki.

"She hasn't come to yet, but I think she'll take it badly. She always puts others first, you know that. How in the world did Setsuna turn into Eas to begin with?" Miki shook her head. To some things, she just didn't have an answer.

"I don't know. Maybe she never lost the ability to do so. I mean, she left for a while and went to Labyrinth to help them rebuild. Love was pretty sad back then. When she came back to live with Love, she was Setsuna. I never saw her transform into Eas, but that doesn't mean she couldn't." Inori shared her own theory with Miki.

"I bet Westar and Soular sent her back because she was missing Love. I think she was already having feelings for her back then. Regardless, what do we do? I can't really say for sure, but from the way she's acting, it seems like she's having an identity crisis."

"We don't know what happened to her out there. How did she even get out of exile? She couldn't even walk or talk." Inori was quite perplexed by it.

"You don't think someone..." Miki stopped talking midways. Their whole team was on the light side. Who else would sacrifice themselves to get her out of there?

"I don't want to think about it." Inori looked up when the door behind Miki opened. Love was still weak on her feet, holding on to the wall. "Love, are you okay?"

Being a Cure, they could take quite the punishment and damage. But that only applied when they were transformed. Without that power, a simple blow like the one Eas landed could cause quite a bit damage.

"How's Setsuna?" Love didn't care about the pain in her stomach. About feeling sick and wanting to throw up. About the burning headache. Her thoughts were only with the girl she loved. That was suffering much more than she was.

"Same as before." Inori barely said those words as the door behind her literally exploded. Three flashes of light and several more from the living room, more than half a dozen Cures stared at the blown out door.

"I'm... not... letting you... screw around... with my... mind..." Eas voice reached out to them. The hostility in it was tangible in the air, like a thick poisonous smoke. There was no doubt she was planning to attack them. And going for a kill. "I'm... Eas... Servant of Moebius."

"She's out of control. Restrain her!" White was the first to act and gave orders. Black and Blossom were the first to heed the command and jumped into the smoke. Not even a second passed between them entering and Black coming flying back out, crashing into the wall of the hallway.

The smoke dissipated slowly and revealed Eas trying to over power Blossom, who surprisingly managed to keep her in check just barely, being forced back slowly. "She's crazy strong...!" Tsubomi pressed out between gritted teeth while Eas forced her on her knee.

There was something unnaturally horrifying about Eas. Not the tears of blood she was crying. Not the insane look in her eyes. Not the distorted air around her. The true source of what terrified the others was that her body itself seemed unstable, constantly switching between Eas and Cure Passion.

"Stop her somehow! Dammit, if you could use Lemonade, she's not here!" White shouted more orders and prepared herself to take down Passion if necessary. She really didn't want to go that far, hoping to only knock her unconscious, but if she had to, she would prioritize the safety of many over one.

Aqua and Mint went up against her next. "Aqua, one my command, fill the shield."

Blossom was forced on the ground, Eas grabbed her by her hair and throwing her right at Milky Rose who was coming running down the hallway. "Multiplying... like roaches..."

"Now!" Mint created a spherical shield right around Eas, completely locking her in. Not a second passed before the silver haired woman tried to shatter the shield. Mint went on her knees the second the first punch connected. "What the... she's beyond strong!"

Aqua stood in front of the barrier and concentrated. She didn't have any specific attack to just spawn water, so she manipulated one of her usual attacks to collect much more energy, just to discard it constantly, creating water inside the barrier. Eas was quickly submerged.

And yet she didn't give up. Punching the barrier again, a thin trickle of blood started to run from her forehead. "I can't hold her...!" The third punch shattered the barrier completely, forcing Mint on her knees. Nobody wanted to use lethal force and they were much more reluctant to fight than when on the battlefield. Eas on the other hand was aiming to kill them.

Soaked to the bone, Eas stood up, her whole body shaking, her hands grabbing her temple, the woman screamed out in pain. Passion seemed to get control of the body for just a few seconds, then returned to Eas.

White saw no other choice. If she had to live with guilt in order to protect others, she would do so. "Everyone back off!" White aimed straight at the black clad woman. "I'm sorry. Whitelight Illu-" She hesitated. Not because there was doubt stopping her. But because Peach was walking straight up to Eas, without making any attempt to defend herself.

"You... **You**? **I killed you**! You're dead! What is this insanity? What is going on?" Eas face was distorted in pain as she looked at Love. "Stay away.. stay away!" Trying to back off, her legs refused to listen. Passion was resisting her will.

Peach was just within range when Eas brutally hit her in the stomach, followed by putting her hands together and swinging them down on Peach's back, smashing her into the wet ground. Biting her lip so hard that she started to bleed from it, Eas lifted her right leg and kicked Peach. But the pink Cure still didn't defend herself. She simply took the damage and got up, slowly. Only one of the others could see Peach's face at the time and that was White. She was smiling.

"Get away from her Peach! That's no longer Passion!" White yelled, attempting to activate her blast attack. Berry stopped her, shaking her head.

Peach was now standing right in front of Eas, slowly laying her arms around the silver haired woman. "Remember who I am?" The world was standing still between Love and Eas. The words of the pink Cure reached the girl locked inside the cage of a nightmare, a prison she was trying to escape with all of her power. "You do remember. I know you do. We fought so many times, you hid who you truly were beyond a facade of loyalty. Your doubts buried by blind obedience, your desires locked away in a cage of fear of rejection. Eas is a part of you. A part you should never forget, you can't forget. She will always be there, the fierce girl who served only her nation. But you are not just her. Because that is not who you are, Setsuna."

"It is time to wake up Setsuna. Wake up and be yourself again. Moebius is long gone and Labyrinth is a much better place now. You don't need to serve anymore. There is no one to take your loyalty and bind you. There are many who accept you just the way you are. And I am here, to be by your side no matter what happens."

Just as she finished talking, Eas body went limp. She didn't return to Setsuna or Passion, but her violent onslaught stopped. Falling to her knees, Peach fell with her. Raising her head slightly, Love rose with her. "Love... I'm so sorry..."

"I know. It's over now. The nightmare is gone." As to seal her words with magic, Peach kissed her partner in front of several perplexed Cures, only to lose consciousness during it.

Nobody knew when Setsuna passed out, but the two of them were carried to Peach Room by their friends Miki and Inori.

Left behind were a few women who were quite happy that things were ended peacefully. Honoka knew that she would have blamed herself for the rest of her life if she accidentally used too much power and killed Passion.

"She was the exile. Has to be." White spoke to herself. "We can't leave things like that. Milky Rose. Passion. They both became real dangers to us and themselves after they were stuck out there." White shook her head and went to care for Black, who had already come to, rubbing her forehead.

"What happened?" Nagisa had been out the whole time. "I felt something grab me and throw me and then it went all dark."

"You looked really uncool, sweetheart. But you're not hurt, so I forgive you." Honoka was smiling gently and helped her partner up, looking at the ruined room. "Be happy you didn't have to see what happened. Eas, Cure Passion, was, well... brought down I guess, by Peach. They're both alive."

"Is everyone else okay?" Nagisa looked around. Aqua was caring for Mint, Hikari for Kurumi, Marine for Blossom.

"Physically, I guess so. But those who weren't afraid of the exile before, now they're scared for sure." And she was no exception.

=== Dissonance ===

Moonlight stood in the middle of her room, her eyes closed, concentrating on the one thing she wanted to know most right then. "Is there a way to change the exile?" A handful of coins in her hand, she was prepared to make a sacrifice to learn about it.

The coins itself started to heat up, too hot to hold. Yuri dropped them as soon as they started to burn her hand. But they did not fall. Floating, flying, like a dragonfly still in air, they kept their position, slowly melting, as if a invisible flame was heating them.

The liquid metal took shapes, curvy and wild, but clearly roman letters. Yuri had studied English before. But why English? It was one of the most commonly spoken languages in the world and sometimes considered to be the most universal language by people. Regardless, the burning hot metal spelled just three words. 'Yes, it's possible'

"How much favor do we need? In which way can we change it?" Yuri was ready to grab more coins as the existing letters were molten down again and changed shape to spell new words.

"Many. A person's life worth." The words remained only for seconds before they changed yet again, this time only building a single word. "Unknown."

Having exhausted the worth of the favor, the letters vanished like smoke into thin air, dissipating in seconds. Yuri wasn't exactly pleased with the answers. A lot of favor and the way they could change it was unknown.

On one hand, it made a lot of sense. The favor system had not been setup to interfere with the other systems and therefore even the powers had no answer to how it could be changed. Or they were just teasing her. Moonlight dismissed that possibility as nonsense and left her room, not very pleased with what she learned regardless.

The four Cures forming Splash Star as well as Muse were present in the living room. Itsuki was nowhere to be seen, which was also true for Rouge, Lemonade, Melody and Rhythm. It didn't quite matter at the time. The five present were playing a card game that Yuri didn't recognize.

"I just made the wish to learn about the possibility of changing the way the exile works," Yuri said in her usual calm voice as she sat down next to Muse, looking at her hands of cards. Four of a kind and a joker. Were they playing some variety of poker? "The answers were just as vague as I expected. It's possible to change the exile, but when I asked how much favor we need, it just answered 'Many, a person's life worth' and 'Unknown' as to what can be changed."

"At least that tells us that we can do something about it. Full House." Egret put down her cards. Three kings and two queens.

Saki and Michiru didn't even bother showing their cards. "Three of a kind plus joker." Kaoru looked at Egret who clicked with her tongue, visibly displeased with that turn of events.

"Four of a kind plus joker. My win." The adult Muse earned surprised and annoyed faces from the others. "That makes three in a row. You guys are terrible at this game." Ako's mean side was shining through again. "But if you want I could show you some tricks."

"The card game aside, what do we do about the exile?" Moonlight was intrigued by the game but wanted to have the matter at hand done with before she focused on anything else.

"I don't think we can do anything right now. A person's life doesn't come cheap. I guess it'll cost at least thousands of favor if not much more than that." Egret said and sighed. "Considering we still need a lot of other things, that's quite an exorbitant price. I assume the other side already has gotten a kitchen and most of us are pretty sick of eating the same thing every day. Changing the exile is important, but we have no idea how much favor we'll need. I hate to be the one to be materialistic in this situation, but it'll help our team quite a bit if we get some basic facilities before we save up to some unknown amount."

"I can't really argue with that. However, I think we should utilize as many people to fight as possible and disregard unfavorable areas or such. This isn't an issue we can just ignore. It concerns us all." Nobody opposed Moonlight's idea. Nobody was thrilled or looking forward to getting to be the exile. More fights meant more exchanges, but also more favor. It was a double edged blade.

"You could almost think this is one of their plans... Make us afraid of the exile so we aim to change it by amassing favor through a lot of fighting. That's the ultimate goal. To make us fight to create more energy that will be used to restore balance." Muse didn't like the idea of the powers setting up such an elaborate plan.

"If you think about it like that, it does make sense. I'd rather not believe that though. The exile really is the only unreasonable part of this. We're not running in danger of starving or dying of thirst. Each of us has a room. We get favor regardless of winning or losing. Facilities aren't cheap but not unreasonably expensive either. Disregarding the exile, it's not as bad as I first thought. Sure, it bad to be cut off in some otherworldly place with no contact to friends or family, but at least they won't be in any danger." Egret replied, the others giving consenting nods.

"While we're here, who should fight? I will go in any case, but there are only three others that can fight, and I'm not sure Lemonade is in any condition to do so." Yuri knew what exactly that implied. Dream had to fight. That would likely end in real chaos.

"Are you sure about this? Making Dream fight doesn't sound like a good idea." Muse looked at Yuri while she dealt cards for the next round.

"She's not going to get around it forever. She has to accept the situation, she's not fourteen anymore," Moonlight said what everyone was thinking. True enough, the only one obstinate enough to refuse to accept the situation at hand was Dream. "If necessary, I will drag her out of her room to the battlefield. The red light should do the rest." Yuri wasn't going to compromise.

=== Dissonance ===

Setsuna felt like her head was on fire. She knew exactly what happened. Every little detail of how she had acted, of how she had let herself be controlled by a nightmare. How she hurt the others. How she hurt Love.

Opening her eyes, she looked straight at Love's sleeping face. As if she hadn't felt bad enough on her own, guilt was making her truly miserable. Moving about and trying to get up, she had problems making her body listen to her. Every muscle, every tendon, every bit of her body was aching and sore.

"You should rest." It was Miki's voice, coming from behind her. She was sitting on a chair she had brought from the living room. "Do you remember what happened?" Berry wasn't going to blame her friend for what happened, but she wasn't going to let her forget about it either.

"I remember everything. It was worse than hell. I'm not going to make any excuses, but it was horrible beyond anything I could have imagined." Setsuna shook her head, a single strand of silver hair falling in her face. Looking down on herself, she was still Eas but in control of her own body and mind.

"I was surprised. I didn't know you could still take that form." Miki noticed that Setsuna was clearly a little disturbed that she was still in her original body.

"For some time, I thought I couldn't turn back. Ironically enough, one of my abilities as Passion allow me to use abilities of the past. I call it 'Memory'. I can turn into Eas when I use it, but I can't use any of my Cure abilities like this." Setsuna sighed. "Love knew all along. She told me that Eas was a part of me I could never let go of. Back when I first became Passion, I thought Eas was truly gone. But with the years, I discovered that it was just me locking her away." Setsuna shook her head. "I don't want to talk about this anymore."

"I'm surprised you're not blaming yourself for what happened. I expected you to be really distraught over hurting Love." Miki could be tactful when she needed to, but she preferred to be honest with her friends.

"How long do you think I've been with her Miki? I know her so well now... probably better than either you or Inori. Of course I blame myself for attacking her and the others. I hate myself for giving in to the nightmare. But being miserable over it will only make Love feel even worse. She always puts others first. You should know that well."

"You changed since I last saw you. Love is still the same as ever, so I thought you would be too. But you're thinking like an adult now." Miki smiled and looked down. She was impressed.

"Love once told me, she'll be happy as long as I am happy. How is she? I hit her pretty hard and I can barely move." Setsuna tried to lift her arm, but the pain that came with it stopped her pretty quickly.

"She was transformed, so she didn't take a lot of damage. She'll be back on her feet in no time. I never expected I'd see Eas fighting Peach again. One time was really enough."

Setsuna was quiet for a few minutes, not moving, only breathing calmly. Miki first thought she fell back asleep. "The exile is beyond horrifying Miki. I woke up, inside Eas mind. An Eas that still served Moebius, that killed Love. Do you know what it felt like when I had to watch that?"

Miki didn't answer. That exceeded her worst imaginations. Setsuna took another deep breath. "It felt like someone ripped my heart out and crushed it. I was told my entire life as Passion had been a dream I had during a long rest after killing Peach. It was so incredibly real. No nightmare can compare to this Miki. I've never been so scared in my entire life. I never want to go through that again."

"I knew it was bad... but that..." Miki remembered something. "Setsuna, how did you leave the exile area?"

Setsuna gasped, her eyes going wide. She had completely forgotten about her during all the chaos. "I was... chained up by Lemonade. Beat took me to the exit and stayed behind... Ellen... why did you have to do that..." Setsuna buried her face in the pillow. Wasn't it enough that she had feeling towards her that made her feel guilty of violating Love's trust? Why did she have to prove how much she cared by sacrificing herself to stay behind in a place like that?

"Beat?" Miki tried to recall which Cure that was and to which team she belonged. "Is that one of the Cures on Rhythm's team?"

"She belongs to the Suite team. All four of them were there and she still followed me... what should I do..." Setsuna didn't want to tell Miki about the forbidden kiss she had shared with Ellen in a moment of weakness.

"This sounds like something I shouldn't pry into. But if that girl followed you and sacrificed herself to get you out of the exile, I can tell you must mean quite a bit to her. Talk to Love about this when she wakes up. I'll need to get some fresh air. Figuratively." Miki stood up and left the couple alone in the bed. It didn't bother her at all to see Love and Setsuna sleep together. She had always thought they were doing it at home.

Going outside, Miki found Inori leaned against the wall next to the door. "Eavesdropping?" Miki grinned and watched Inori pout.

"It's stuffy with so many people to be in the same room. Anyway, what do you think?" Inori had that one look in her eyes and Miki knew right away what she as getting at.

"I wasn't going to pry into this but with you and Love as my friends, it'll be impossible not to anyway. Beat, huh... I don't think I've ever seen her. Setsuna called her Ellen. I'm not sure what to think. If she knew Setsuna well enough to make the sacrifice, it's odd that she stayed behind after seeing what happened to her out there."

"I can't imagine what Setsuna must have felt like during all of this." Inori had heard everything. About the horrible sights Setsuna had to endure. About how she remembered everything.

"Maybe that's for the best." Miki turned around when she heard someone walk down the hallway. It was Honoka.

"Are they up yet? One of them will need to go with you two to the fight tomorrow. I'm worried about their health, but we already decided the number of participants." White had been in charge of making quite a few difficult decisions in her life. She was used to it.

"Setsuna won't be able to go anywhere today. I don't know about tomorrow. The battle is still about twenty hours away, give or take, so they should have enough time to recover." Miki was worried about the two. More about their relationship than their participation in the upcoming match.

"We're going to start making dinner in a bit. Kurumi and Hikari offered to make pasta for everyone. The kitchen is pretty decent, I have to say. It cost the team an arm and a leg, but we can finally get some real food." Honoka could cook but wasn't really all that good at it.

"I wonder how long we're going to be here." Inori sighed and walked past Honoka, in the direction of the living room. After several days of ready made food, she wanted to see someone cooking.

"Who knows. For the time being, we should get things fixed up so that we're set to stay a while." Miki followed her friend, White walking next to her.

"I wonder if we can't do something about the exile. I don't want another accident like today." Honoka was reminded closely of how she almost blasted Eas to bits every time she saw one of the Fresh team.

"Everyone is scared of the exile now. As if it wasn't enough to be stuck all alone out there, no, they also torment you psychologically. I think it's taking things too far. It's almost as- **watch out**!" Miki was not quick enough to react.

Inori had walked just a bit ahead of them, looking back and listening to their conversation. That she didn't watch where she was going had resulted in a huge crash. At the same time as Inori reached the corner to the living room and, now too, the kitchen, Nagisa had collided with the yellow Cure, both of them going down.

"Nagisa... watch where you're going." Honoka was scolding her partner after helping her up. The black Cure had a huge red mark on her forehead.

"Sorry Pine... I was kind of in a hurry." Nagisa smiled awkwardly and vanished in the general direction of the bathroom.

The vet was rubbing her forehead, groaning. "What is her head made of? Concrete? She could run against a wall and be fine."

"A little exaggerated, but Nagisa's really, really tough. Out of everyone here, probably the toughest. She's a little dense sometimes." Honoka smiled at Inori. "Don't hold it against her please."

"I'm not that kind of person, don't worry. Is that just me or does it smell really good from the kitchen?" The living room had previously had a huge open space, which was now completely taken up by the kitchen. A simple wall with two windows and a large door separated the cooking from the living area.

"I smell it too. Honoka, you said they were gonna make pasta?" Miki had barely finished talking when their attention was shifted to the kitchen door. An angry looking Milky Rose, complete with head cloth and apron, was kicking out Marine.

"I told you twice not to touch the sauce. Now stay out of the kitchen." Slamming the door shut, Marine walked over to the table where Blossom, Mint and Aqua were sitting and talking.

"I win." Tsubomi smiled, each of the other two handing her one coin.

"I didn't think she'd get kicked out that quickly." Mint looked at Erika, who sat down next to Tsubomi, looking a little bit annoyed.

"Erika's really good at anything if she puts her mind to it, but she's hard to work with if you're trying to follow your own pace." Tsubomi smiled while Erika started to pout.

"What are you doing?" Honoka, together with Miki and Inori, had arrived at the table. "Making bets how long Marine can stay in the kitchen without getting the cooks angry?"

"Sure, just make fun of me. It's not like I have feelings or anything." Erika was pouting even more now.

"Nobody's gonna fall for that Marine. Everyone here knows you're not the type to pout." Karen leaned back and had a confident grin on her face. "Thinking about it, I never expected to just sit down with eleven other Cures and have dinner. If we disregard the environment we're in, it's actually quite fun."

"Karen get's lonely really quickly, so this is perfect for her." Karen achieved heavy blush status just as Komachi finished babbling out her secrets.

"Komachi! Why you!" Komachi simply covered her mouth and giggled, with everyone else looking amused at Karen's embarrassed antics.

"Karen is right. Disregarding the fighting and the exile, this isn't so bad. Everyone is mature enough to not hold grudges over the fighting, and it's fun to get to know everyone better. Despite all of us being Cures, we didn't really know anything about each other. I would've never expected Karen to be a big eater for example." Marine commented, a malicious grin on her face as she looked at the other blue Cure at the table.

"Komachi! You've been telling people all about me, haven't you!" Karen's face was now closely resembling a tomato, with Komachi almost bending from laughter.

"There is still time till dinner. Want to play something to pass the time?" Miki sat down next to Karen, who was hiding her face in her hands, getting patted on the back by Komachi.

"I wanna hear how you and Nagisa hooked up, Honoka." Marine blurted out, making Tsubomi blush. She really was straight forward when it came to those things.

"Sure. It's not something we hide anyway. We live together, and it's pretty obvious to anyone who sees us, I guess." Honoka sat down one seat away from Tsubomi.

"I'm kind of interested as well. You two get along so well, was it always like that?" Inori sat down next to Mint, putting her elbows on the table and resting her head on her hands.

"It's not that fascinating a story, really. Where do I start? I guess I can give you a brief summary of the beginning." Honoka was the center of attention now. "We went to the same school but really didn't know each other when we became Cures. I had never really had a thing for guys, even back then, but Nagisa seemed to have a crush on one. I really liked her even back then, but I thought nothing would ever come of it. I mean, she was liking a guy, and when you're fourteen years old, it's seems pretty crazy to like another girl."

"But things just went on and on. We got stronger and eventually beat Valdez, the boss of the bad guys we were fighting, Hikari became part of the team and I was approaching my sixteenth birthday. Nagisa had seemingly given up on her crush a long time ago at that point and we were literally doing everything together. She worked really, really hard to go to the same high school as me. I had to tutor her for weeks, every day, for hours. Just remembering it gives me a headache. But it was really sweet how she pulled through because she wanted to be with me." Honoka made a break. "I'll get something to drink." Standing up and walking over to the kitchen, Honoka realized they had forgotten to include tableware into their wish for the kitchen.

Hikari and Kurumi had thought ahead and gotten some from the team favor. Two dozen glasses, just as many dishes, knifes, forks, spoons and trays. Drinks were still limited to tea, coffee and water, but that was already much better than before. It was almost... comfortable.

The kitchen was rich with the smell of sauce and noodles, Kurumi and Hikari both only giving Honoka a brief glance before they continued their work. Honoka was very surprised to see Milky Rose working as hard as that, considering what she heard from Nagisa after Karen had talked to her.

"Looking forward to the result." White smiled and watched the two of them prepare quite the amount. Well, there were twelve people to feed after all. Grabbing a tray and putting twelve glasses on it, Honoka then put the same tray at one of the windows, opened it and called out to the table. "Can someone get this? I'll bring the tea. Or does someone want coffee?"

Miki stood up right away and went to get the glasses, with nobody saying a peep about wanting coffee. Returning to the table with three large cans of hot tea, White sat down and had a drink first of all things.

"Where did I stop?" Honoka looked in the round. Inori was the first to answer.

"Nagisa studied hard to go to the same high school as you." The yellow Cure answered just as the kitchen door opened.

"Can someone that actually knows how to cook come and help out? We underestimated the amount of work a little." Kurumi seemed rather humble, which surprised Karen so much that she just stared at the purple haired girl.

"I'll go. I'll get the story from Miki later." Inori got up and waved, vanishing into the kitchen.

"As soon as we started our first year of high school, I knew I wanted to go out with Nagisa. I just didn't know how I should make her realize that I was interested. Around that time, Mai and Saki, Bloom and Egret from the other team, got together so I asked Mai all about it, since Saki and Nagisa are kind of similar in a lot of aspects. Like how they are a bit slow on the uptake when it comes to romantic stuff." Honoka grinned and took a sip of tea. It was actually quite fun to tell people of how she got Nagisa to go out with her.

"Mai simply took Saki to a specific spot, kissed her and asked her out, but I knew that wasn't really an ideal way to get Nagisa to notice. The school we attended was Matsudaira High private academy. Nagisa almost literally spent every other night at my place to study because she wasn't able to keep up with class." White was watching everyone's faces. They were actually looking pretty interested.

"I can see where this is going." Miki grinned and looked to Karen, who shared her grin.

"Just after the first mid terms, and Nagisa barely making the cut, I asked my parents for my own place. It was kind of becoming a bother to them that Nagisa was staying over so often, and I started to want some privacy." Honoka continued.

"I can really understand that. Although I still don't have any privacy when Love is around. None at all." Miki shook her head with the last few words and earned laughs from around the table.

"Because my parents were pretty proud that I kept getting grades that made the top of my class and managed Nagisa's grades on top of that, they actually paid for my apartment. Wasn't that much or big, but it was my own place. You can probably guess that it didn't take a month before half of my drawers and closets were actually full of Nagisa's stuff and she stayed over just about every single day because it was much closer to the school. We practically lived together back then."

"Sounds like a lot of stress for you." Karen said and thought how it was all but easy to live with Kurumi.

"Nagisa's pretty chaotic, but she does tidy up when I tell her to. She's not lazy at least. Though, I was having a really hard time restraining myself. I really just wanted to go and jump Nagisa and have it over with. But I couldn't do that. So I used a really mean trick on her." Honoka lowered her head, faking an evil expression.

"One morning, Nagisa woke up with a real headache from studying too much. And I told her she was talking in her sleep. Of course, people would ask what kind of things they've been saying. I told Nagisa that she was asking me out in her sleep. Her face was so fiercely red, I really believed she would explode any second. I was just doing it to actually hit on the topic and tell her I wouldn't mind going out with her, but she actually came on to me, grabbed my hands and confessed to me. She turned my own game on me without even realizing."

"That's funny but also... sort of anti-climatic." Karen wasn't too impressed with that end.

"I didn't say it was an exciting story. It's just... I guess mostly normal. Since we already kind of lived together, we just kept things as they were. Except we had more space, now that Nagisa was sharing the bed with me. Since then, we moved twice, still live in the same town, and had a couple big fights. I can't imagine my life without her though." Honoka looked in the direction of the hallway, where the object of her undying love was just joining the group.

Sitting down next to Honoka, Nagisa found everyone to be staring at her. "Honoka... why is everyone staring at me? What did you tell them?"

"Just how we met and got together, sweetheart." Honoka smiled, laid one hand on Nagisa's cheek and kissed her right in front of everyone, without even the tiniest amount of shame. She loved Nagisa and would freely admit that to everyone.

"It was horrible that you lied to me like that. I confessed on the spot and everything." Nagisa pouted after they stopped their kiss and looked at the table. "But I don't regret it. I love you, Honoka, I don't mind saying so."

"They're a really great couple." Komachi was whispering to Karen while Marine was bugging Honoka with some rather person questions and Miki just watched, amused at Blossoms somewhat useless attempts to stop her friend.

"Yeah. I wish we could be like them." Karen was smiling with her eyes closed, holding the green haired woman's hand under the table. Being able to openly talk about their relationship like that was really nice.

"Enough questions. What about you Marine? No special someone in your life?" Honoka shoved the girl away, giving her a knowing look.

"I bet she'd just scare everyone off that showed genuine interest." Nagisa was making a pretty mean comment, having not forgotten the sight of Erika carrying away the passed out Tsubomi.

"Takes one to know one." Marine sneered, completely dodging the subject, and watched Black lower her head.

Inside the kitchen, three women were hard at work, having their own talk topics. "I was surprised when I heard you two would cook for us. You're a really quiet person Hikari so I didn't think you'd volunteer. It's... a lot better than Marine cooking I guess. I can only imagine what kind of weird result her cooking would end up as." Inori was crying rivers, cutting one onion after another.

"Ah... I work in a shop that sells takoyaki to people. I'm used to cooking for people. I also cook often for Akane. She's the woman who took care of me when I first got to the human world. Well she still takes care of me." Hikari was tasting the sauce for the pasta again, still not quite satisfied.

"I learned a trick or two from the chefs at the royal court of Palmier. I just don't have a lot of practice, but this isn't really a hard meal to make." Kurumi was watching over three different pots with noodles, paying close attention that none would boil over. She didn't want to be the first to cause an accident in the kitchen.

"Say Kurumi. You went out with Karen, didn't you? Aren't you going to try and get her back?" Pine put the hacked onions aside and got another one. Her tears were running down her cheeks like miniature rivers.

The purple haired woman was quiet for a while, Inori realizing a little late that it was likely a very sensitive topic for her. Both Hikari and Inori looked at Kurumi, who seemed to be deep in thought over something.

"I think even if I tried, it wouldn't work. I blew my chance. I love her, but..." An awkward silence dominated the room, only disturbed by the sound of boiling water, sauce in a fry pan and onions being chopped. "What about you Inori? No tragic drama in your life?"

"Aside from the occasional emergency when a puppy swallowed a kids toy, no. No drama in my life. Sometimes I wish there was, but I seem to have real problems finding the right person." Inori didn't pry further into the situation with Karen. "What about you Hikari? With friends like Nagisa and Honoka, there should be someone."

"Kurumi," Hikari replied, not quite following the conversation. She looked up and watched her friend turn completely scarlet. Inori was whistling in respect and grinning wide, fully aware that it was probably not intended to sound the way it did. "What's wrong?"

"Hikari, you should pay a little attention to the conversation." Inori could barely contain herself when she looked at Milky Rose.

"Eh? What did I say?" Hikari started to get flustered while Milk was focusing her attention back on the pots. "Kurumi, what did I say?" The blond woman tried to get one of the two to answer her, but neither seemed in any condition to do so. "Geez, you're both mean!"

=== Dissonance ===

"I wonder if it was the right thing to do to get a kitchen. Well, I can't say I regret it. I haven't had french fries in forever." Itsuki picked up a single fry and put it between her lips. "They're really good. Who made these?"

"Saki and I did." Just as she replied, Mai stole a fry from Saki's plate with a single lightning fast move. "If you want it back, come and get it." Imitating Sunshine, Mai put the fry between her lips, copying the old game with chocolate sticks.

"Keep it." Saki gave Mai an amused look. "I still have enough."

"You two remind me of that one time when Hibiki and Kanade couldn't agree on who got the last mikado stick. So they-" Ako was in the middle of talking when Hibiki and Kanade both started to shout, stand up and wave at Muse, trying to stop her, both of them vehemently blushing.

"Stop it Ako!" "Don't tell them that, it's embarrassing!" The two of them were in total harmony, much to the amusement of almost everyone else.

Beyond the laughing, Urara and Rouge were sitting left and right of Nozomi, whom they had pulled out of her solitary self imprisonment and forced to eat with everyone else. From where the two stood, they both thought that Nozomi must have secretly wanted to join the others as she didn't resist at all. She was still looking gloomy because of the situation everyone was in, but at least she didn't make a fuss.

"You need to get a grip Nozomi. Everyone else has accepted the situation is making the best out of it. Sure, it sucks to fight the others, it sucks to get stuck in the exile, but we're working on fixing the second issue, and we won't fight forever. Stop behaving like you're fourteen already." Urara didn't put it quite as nicely as Rin would have, but the redhead certainly agreed with what she was saying.

"It's crazy how you two can accept a situation like this." Dream didn't even look at her two friends, just calmly picking up fries with her fork. She had skipped more than just one meal since they arrived, so she was really hungry.

"Don't you see that it's crazy to resist it? They wouldn't put us here without any kind of security if it was so easy to get out. It's not fun to beat up other Cures, but it sure could be a lot worse than this."

"Like what?" Nozomi didn't believe in any situation that could be worse than the one she was in.

"Fight to the death. No favor system. Everyone separated from each other. And that's just the first three that come to mind." Rin was joining the argument now, supporting Urara. They had to get Dream to accept the situation or things would be really messy very soon. She was scheduled to participate in the next fight together with Rouge and Moonlight. Lemonade didn't want to fight because she had been in the last fight and two in a row were a little much.

Nozomi said nothing and just looked at her empty plate in front of her. "Thanks for the meal." Taking her dish and walking to the kitchen to put it away, she left without another word. She wouldn't fight. Even if the majority voted to decide her as one of the combatants, she wouldn't fight.

"I already feel sorry for you Rin." Urara sighed and picked up a fry with just her fingers, slowly munching on it. "She'll be a real deadweight, or worse, if she keeps it up like this. The next chance, they'll vote her out."

"I hope it won't come to that." Rin emptied her glass of water and rubbed her forehead. She was getting a headache just thinking about it.

Ako was happily telling everyone else on the table about the little accident Hibiki and Kanade had when they were deciding who got the last chocolate stick. "So Ellen suggested that they'd just eat half each. Instead of just breaking it in half, Kanade put it in her mouth, thinking that Hibiki wouldn't dare to get half of it that way. And she was so completely wrong." Muse grinned, watching Kanade blush even more.

"Hibiki snapped after the stick like a real predator. And with a little too much momentum. Instead of just getting half the stick, she got all of it, Kanade's lips and who knows what else as she pushed her down. Leaving Kanade like a ripe tomato, Hibiki didn't even notice. It was hilarious to watch." Ako watched the two girls, who looked just like they had been caught after a runaway marriage.

"Saki and I have plenty of these stories too. Who is gonna wash dishes? Any volunteers? A dish washing machine wasn't included with the kitchen.

"I'm used to it, so I'll do it." Hibiki just wanted the dinner to be over with before Ako got the idea of telling any more embarrassing stories.

"I'll help." Kanade shared that notion wholeheartedly. Apparently it hadn't taken long for the news that they were now a couple to spread.

"For some reason I'm really sleepy..." Saki handed her dish over as Kanade collected those of the other row, resting her arms and head on the table.

"Oh, is that so? I guess you'll go straight to sleep today then." Mai moved her lips in a seductive way to say the last few words. The entire table broke out in laughter when Saki moved up like a switch that had been flipped. The purple haired woman was really excellent at manipulating her partner a little.

Taking her hands and walking off with her, they wished everyone a good night. The group dissipated rather quickly, Muse leaving with Moonlight and the Kiryuu's, Lemonade and Rouge talking a bit more at the table, Itsuki leaving on her own.

Even though Kanade and Hibiki were all alone now, they couldn't get a single word out. Despite the two of them loving each other, they were all of a sudden embarrassed, not quite ready to act the way Saki and Mai did.

"I wonder how Ellen is doing. Lemonade said she met her in exile..." Hibiki knew how skilled a fighter Lemonade was, so that statement worried her. What if Ellen was stuck out there, all alone?

"If it's not her, someone else will be stuck. I really hope it's not Ellen but I don't feel comfortable knowing someone will have to spend the night out there, all alone."

=== Dissonance ===

Ellen was trying to play her guitar, sitting on the edge of the highest tower. Not even once had she been so scared of the night. There was barely any light to begin with, but now, the shadows were towering over her. Alone in that vast a place, Ellen was scared to the core.

Even though she expected it, even though she knew it would come, the magnitude of what was happening shocked her. Dozens of people were appearing right beside her, a large crowd, filling the tower platform. She could touch them, hear them, smell them. They almost pushed her down the edge, excited to see something, the mob flocking to the front. And then Ellen saw what she didn't want to see.

Herself. Far above the tower was another platform, having seemingly appeared out of nowhere. And on it was an apparition, a mirror image of herself. Glowing golden eyes, a vicious grin on her face, she looked down on the people that looked up to her. Her face was full of contempt. She didn't see the people wanting to hear her singing as anything but insects.

Ellen grabbed her head in pain as the fake spawned a massive transparent black sphere around her, wild with notes. And the music started. Mirror Ellen whirled around, touching, ripping, strumming notes, moving them in packs, creating streams inside the sphere.

A chorus started just as she opened her mouth. And Ellen found herself to be no longer on the ground but far above the tower, looking down upon the insects, tiny like dust, worthless like dirt. She was smiling, singing with all her power. It was another song she didn't know, she had never learned. The same otherworldly language.

Strumming a single loud tone, she started to sing.

"Rrha ki ra harr exec, En yehar~, Rrha ki ra harr exec hymmnos PAJA, En yehar nha near yor!"

A powerful intro that was making the masses cheer and shout, rising their hands. The climax was reached as she finished her line. Ellen slammed the ground with her right fist, grabbed a string of notes and whirled it around, accelerating the music to a higher level. Not standing still, she continued to whirl, arrange and reject notes, a massive chaos extending around her. A chaos completely under her control.

"Was ki ra selena anw hymmnos PAJA - En ma ki ga chs syec van nel an hymme endia – _En ma ki ra ks syec parge tes ar hymme mea_ – Was ki ra exec hymmnos PAJA – Was ki ra exec syec parge tie, gott yor!"

Ellen watched in horror as the first people started to drop to the ground. Shew exactly exact what that song was doing. It was literally removing the heart, the souls, of people that heard it. She was purging them from the world.

Ellen and the fake spun around even quicker, playing the notes like they were part of her body. Ellen had never been scared of music before, but a song that could rip out the souls of people was changing that rapidly.

"I'll dance _dance_" The language no longer alien, the pain in her head was getting worse. The more difficult the song became, the more it hurt. She could feel blood run out of her nose, and her throat was on fire. She continued to dance, sing and laugh at the fools that would listen. "I'll dance in this feast unto death. _Dance in this evils' night._"

"I'm a dancing Song Princess - _You're my sacrifice_ – enjoy the show – g_ive yourself to me_ – _**Now**_! Dancing to the countdown of your death, it's your fate!" More people were dropping rapidly, but more kept appearing, stomping on the corpses below their feet. The masses were mad, only listening to her voice, to her song, completely ignorant of the dangers. Ellen was smiling on the outside, but inside, she was sick from the horrifying scene.

"If exhausted, you'll be dragged into the darkness with this sealing song of mine. Beg your god, to take your body and soul. Pray, for my song shall purge you now." Ellen could barely see anything now. The pain was obscuring her sight, and the music was slowly getting quieter. It took her a few more seconds before she realized what was going on. And the voice inside her own head, the voice of the fake, told her it was true. 'You shall be purged. And I shall be you'.

"Purge the heavens, purge the earth, purge the world, purge myself. The gods in heaven, the gods on earth, the gods of all things, hear my prayer. Purge away all those impure, make the world clean." The song was becoming incredibly violent, a chaotic chorus accompanying the fake, empowering her song.

"In this melody of this hymn, in echoes of nothingness, be enchanted and sleep forever, purged ones! Leave from this world, and dream eternally under Hades." Ellen tried to resist, tried to stop her voice from working, but she was powerless against the Hymn. What fearsome power it had. Just as the next verse started, she passed out, her mind no longer able to function, her sanity no longer able to watch the sacrifices listen to her song, dying a pointless death.

=== End of Event X ===


	11. Scheme

**A/N: As general note, the early releases are always full of typos, spelling errors and the like simply because I do not run this through any kind of beta reader and release as is. People then make a list of the errors and I fix them, so the mostly fixed release takes about half a day or a day to come out after the original one. There is nothing I can really do about the initial mess except writing more and trying to get better. I hope you can still enjoy the story.  
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**Dissonance**

_Event XI_

**Scheme**

No matter what Urara and Rin said to her, she wouldn't change her mind. Their thoughts were being poisoned by the situation. They gave up too fast on finding another way out. There had to be something that was disrupting their rational thinking.

Dream had spent so many nights awake and looked for a solution, all the while she was hiding her efforts. The way everyone was acting, they'd have tried to stop her or worse. Probing the area with her ability, testing the reactions of others during their sleep, meticulously keeping track of whose mood changed how when the effect of her ability stopped.

It wasn't her usual way of doing things. But what choice did she really have, now of all times? The others would stop her from going through with her plans. The first day, right after White had lectured her in front of everyone, she decided she would find a way to stop the madness. Her resolution was only strengthened further when she met Kurumi in exile, seeing what she had become.

Even Rin had been taken over by whatever was possessing everyone, clouding their judgment. But now, it had become very clear to her. They would never listen to her as long as they could walk away or ignore her. If she used her ability in a battle, there was no way for them to get out.

Hiding from the others, sleeping during the day and staying awake during the night. Isolating herself from everyone else, not talking to anyone. If they caught wind of her plan, she would never be chosen for a fight. Not that she wanted to fight against the others, but her plan required her to join them on the battlefield.

How could they all accept a situation like that? Fighting as proxies for light and shadow? What nonsense that was. If those powers were so powerful, why didn't they fix things themselves? What did she and the others do to deserve being locked up in a horrible place like this?

She only needed to lift the influence the place had on them. Then they would surely join her. From there, it was only a matter of time before they would all work together to get out of there and back home.

Nozomi endured the suffering of isolating herself from everyone else to save them. Life never went the way she wanted it to go. Not back then with Coco, and not now with her friends. And still, she wasn't going to give up. Accepting reality was one thing, but accepting a situation she could change another entirely.

She was betting everything on her ability. Working harder than everyone else on her powers, she was the only one to retain the red rose, the only one of the five that could still go to the Cure Rose Garden.

The way she saw it, this dimension was manipulating everyone. Her link to the Rose Garden must protect her from whatever influence existed to make the others accept the situation at hand. Fighting each other was crazy. There had to be some alternative solution to whatever problem existed. If there was one to begin with. It was still possible some kind of villain like Black Hole was behind it all and the whole purpose was to keep them locked up under the premise of restoring balance or whatever.

What hurt her the most was that not even Rin, who had known her for ages, was trusting her. Even she wanted her to accept it and fight. She had been in worse situations than that, but now it was up to her to save her friends. If talking didn't work, then there were always other ways.

Utopia. The ability to make someone think of their own ultimate happiness in their dreams. It took her months until she had it fully under control. And in the last few days, she had made a few adjustments to it. Though it was really tiring and put a lot of stress on her mind, she was able to literally place the mind of whoever was inside the abilities effective radius into a dimension of their own. They didn't just see their Utopia in their dreams, they really were there. In their mind.

A different version of Utopia, specifically developed to counter the effects of the horrid place they were in. It had taken her much too long. They were already close to being a full week in that place. Nozomi's sense of time had gone completely whack on her but considering the number of fights and exile runs...

It was crazy that she had to go as far as put her friends under the influence of her ability. Utopia might be a wonderful place to look at, but the realization that one can never really attain it afterwards was bound to bring about depression. Dream knew that. That's why she didn't like the idea of using it on her friends. But it was still a much better choice than to try and beat some sense into them.

From the way everyone behaved, it was roughly evening. The last night she had finally finished her preparations. The battle was the next day and then her chance would come. She returned to her room to get some rest, exhausted from living nocturnal for a few days. The moment she laid down, something started gnawing at her mind. Looking at the relaxed and amused faces of the others, she found it hard to believe they were being manipulated or controlled. But that too, could be a farce to throw her off.

She wasn't really the smartest out of everyone present, but she knew that something was off. The behavior of everyone was contradicting with itself. On one hand, it was extremely odd that they just accepted the situation as is. On the other hand, she couldn't imagine they would behave like that outside the fights if they were influenced or controlled by something. She just couldn't make sense of it.

Laying in her bed, she felt a lot better than the days before. Even though she didn't talk to anyone at the table, it felt good to at least have a meal with everyone. The hardest thing was not that she stood alone against everyone but that she had to isolate herself from them to prevent them from catching on to her plan.

Sometimes, she really wished the world would have stayed as easy as it was back when she was a child and had just become a Cure. Whenever she remembered those past days, she also remembered the day when Coco left her. Even though Nuts ruled Palmier, even though he had come back from his travels to her, he was still going to leave her again. There had been an very unfortunate death in the royal family of Crepe Kingdom. The king had fallen sick with an unknown illness and shortly after perished, despite the best efforts of the kingdoms surrounding Palmier. That left the throne vacant, the queen having died of old age years ago.

The kingdom was facing both political and civil unrest. Crepe was not fit to rule the country alone, and both she and her people knew that much. That's when she took the chance to settle an old score. Coco, still a prince of Palmier, was more than fit to rule as king. Pleading to him to become king of Crepe Kingdom, she was not entirely acting out of self interest. Of course she still loved Coco, but a capable ruler was even more important than that. That Coco was spending his time with a human girl didn't really stick well with her either way.

Knowing that civil unrest in one of the five kingdoms would essentially bring out turmoil and much suffering in all five, Coco reluctantly agreed to see how bad things were there for himself under the condition that Nozomi would be allowed to accompany him there.

What they saw there was beyond their imagination. The people were beyond melancholic, they were suffering and desperate for a new king. Knowing that Crepe alone could not rule and even if she tried, she'd make a terrible ruler alone. No other kingdom had a spare prince to fill the vacant spot, so Crepe said she came to him as a last resort.

Seeing the situation with his own eyes, Coco felt a strong obligation to help. But something stopped him. The this time absolute separation from Nozomi. They loved each other a lot and despite their different origins and races, they planned to stay together. If he became king, he really had to say goodbye to Nozomi. As king, he could not keep a mistress around, for it would defeat the whole purpose of becoming king, namely bringing stability to the kingdom that was now on the edge of a catastrophe. If he declined and no new ruler was found or Crepe tried to rule on her own, civil war might break out. In the worst case, the other kingdoms would become involved and it may even lead to war between those.

Coco also knew that Crepe was jealous of Nozomi and that her love for him was genuine. The people of Palmier would talk about them, think he was unfaithful to the queen, if he went to see her on Earth. It all boiled down to him leaving her for good, once and for all. And she seemed to know that as well.

"Do you think our happiness is more important than those of all of those people? If you can make them happy by becoming their king, you should. I love you, more than anything, but if you staying with me means that these people will continue to be like this..." Nozomi couldn't face Coco. She was making a very difficult decision. She wanted to be with him, she really did. But not at the expense of thousands of suffering people that were desperate for a king.

"I probably won't be able to see you for a very, very long time Nozomi. This isn't something I can do for just a few years and then quit and come back. If I decide to do this-"

"You want to do it. I know you do. You don't want these people to be sad either, you're not like that. I realize it's not because you don't love me but because you can't ignore these people. Tell me... what would happen here if you say no and go back with me? I need to know."

"It will most likely lead to civil war. Crepe alone cannot rule and the local nobles will start to fight over who becomes king. In the worst case and if other kingdoms decide to intervene and support different nobles, it might even escalate into a war between kingdoms. I'd love to say that we fairies have no wars and that we all live in a happy world, but it's not quite like that. There have been wars in the past."

"War... and you can prevent that by becoming their king?"

"There will be people who won't like that, most likely some of the ambitious nobles, but in the end, they will adapt or lose their ranking and fall in disgrace with the royal house. As prince of Palmier, I'm well known in all of the five kingdoms, so there shouldn't be too many objections. There won't be a war."

"I think you should do it then. It... really hurts to say this Coco. I don't want to say goodbye. But I couldn't live with myself if I let these people suffer because I love you."

"Are you really sure about this Nozomi? Are you really okay with this?"

"You know the answer to that Coco. Just as I know that you really want to help these people."

Soon after, Nozomi returned to Earth alone, her heart broken but knowing she did the right thing. No matter how much she may love Coco or how much he may love her, he was now married to Crepe and king of her kingdom. They would likely never meet again, even if only for the sake of the kingdom.

"Why are you so stubborn about this Nozomi?" Without letting the pink Cure notice, Rin had slipped into her friends room, being concerned about her. "Everyone is doing their best to adapt to the situation. I know you and that's why I realize this must be really, really hard for you. But you're not a child anymore Nozomi. I'm worried and though she didn't say anything, I know Urara is too."

"I could ask you the same. How can you just accept this Rin? Doesn't it seem odd that after all these years we're put here and told we have to fight each other because of some nonsense?" Nozomi was not eager to have that conversation with Rin. She won't be able to see her point.

"I understand why you would think that way. But if this was some ploy, we'd know by now, especially with people like Moonlight, Aqua, White.. there are some really smart and careful people here with us. Don't you think they'd realize if they walked into a trap?" Rin was falling on deaf ears, she could tell from the face Nozomi was making. Looking at Rin from the corner of her half closed eyes, her mouth closed shut. "Fine. You'll see for yourself. I'm your oldest and best friend, Nozomi. I know that you're not going to change your mind. That's something you never grew out of. I'm going back to the others." Rin shrugged in disappointment and left, hesitating for a second when she closed the door.

"No luck?" Urara was waiting outside the living room, leaned against the wall with her arms crossed, curious if Rin had achieved anything.

"More stubborn than an old donkey. She's been like this even as child, but at least it didn't cause any huge problems back then. She'll learn the heard way tomorrow." Rin shook her head as she walked towards Lemonade. "I just hope she gets a grip after that."

"She's been like this ever since she lost Coco."

"Don't talk like that Urara. You know just as well as I that ever since then, she's been even more crazy about her friends and being around them than before. Who can blame her though?"

"A wise man once said, Time heals all wounds. I think that's incorrect. Time heals many wounds, and those it doesn't heal, it will bury deep below. Nozomi still thinks of him and loves him, it's no wonder she suffers from being apart. But she has no one to blame for that except herself." Lemonade sighed.

"It's not fair to blame Nozomi for that. Coco didn't have much of a choice there. Imagine if he came back with her and left the kingdom as is. Just think what Nozomi would feel like right now, after they went through civil war and maybe even worse."

"Rin, It was a lose and lose situation for her. Let him go and never see him again and live with that. Or try to convince him to go back with her and burden her conscience with the fact that she basically single-handedly caused a civil war. But that's something she has to deal with herself. She'll accept this situation one way or another. Either she copes, or she is made to cope."

Lemonade shrugged and walked towards her own room, sleepy now that she was full. "Go get some sleep Rin. Or do you want to spent the night with me?" It wasn't a joke offer.

"Not today, not in the mood. I can tell you did it with someone else though. Who was it?" Rouge only received a mysterious grin as her friend walked off and waved her good night.

=== Dissonance ===

"How do you feel?" Setsuna sat on the bed, looking down on her partner, caressing Love's right cheek.

"Like a truck ran me over. How about you?" Love remembered quite clearly what happened but she didn't fault Setsuna for it.

"Back to how I was before my little detour into exile, thanks to you. I don't know what would have happened if you didn't stop me there." Setsuna lowered her head, staring at the blanket that still covered Love.

"I was a little surprised to see Eas again. I didn't know you could still take that form." Love had thought the girl from Labyrinth dead, letting only Setsuna remain.

"I couldn't transform back for a long time. Eventually I developed an ability that lets me access things from my memories. Like Eas." Setsuna stood up and a red light enveloped her, transforming her into Passion. Taking a deep breath, closing her eyes and putting her hands together in front of her chest, she uttered a single word. "Memento."

There was no visible change at all but Love could just about tell that her breathing changed and the way she moved was slightly different. "Switch over." Forming fists and putting them together in that same motion she had used so many times in her past, Passion became Eas. "I can only switch from Passion since Memento is canceled when I become Setsuna. I... didn't think I'd ever voluntarily take this form again. I thought I was finished with that part of my life."

Love waved the silver haired girl to sit down on the bed, getting up and kissing her just as she sat down. "You say some silly things sometimes Setsuna. I'm just used to calling you that, but I always knew that your real looks, your real name, are those of Eas. I never forgot about that. But it doesn't matter what you look like. All three sides of you are beautiful, and I love them all. So don't worry about this. I personally wouldn't mind seeing and talking to Eas a bit every now and then."

"There's... something else I need to tell you Love. And it's a lot worse than me being able to take my original body." Eas didn't bother standing up, knowing that Love would just come after her anyway.

"As long as you tell me, it's not that bad. The only thing that would really make me angry is if you kept secrets from me or told me to stay away from you." Love was happy just being with Eas.

"It's a little bit of a longer story. You probably realized by now that I started on the other side and took quite a while to get here. That's because I met someone really interesting on the other side. A girl called Kurokawa Ellen, Cure Beat. I didn't really think we'd have anything in common, but we started to talk. We got along really well and before I really knew what I was doing, I was telling her how I used to work for the enemy, Moebius, and would be dead now if not for you."

"That's rare. We met other Cures in the past, but you never really even hinted at something like that. You always told me you didn't want others to know. I understand why, so how come you told her?" Love was only curious, not confused. It was entirely up to Setsuna who she told what.

"She is the same as me. Although she is not from Labyrinth, she used to work for the enemy and was saved because of the feelings of the Cures she was fighting at the time. We went through the same thing. Not knowing what we should do, where we belonged. That connection was like a link between us. We got along really well, understood each other. Despite everything we went through together, she might understand me just as well as Miki or Inori." Eas lowered her head again, staring on Love's hands. She didn't feel comfortable hiding it from Love, but telling was quite painful too.

She knew her well enough to realize that nothing big would come of telling her. She'd forgive her, maybe get a little angry.

"So, the night before I left for the exile run, we were far out in the hallways. She was playing some music for me. It was just a spur of the moment thing but... I kissed her. I did it because I like her, not to cheat on you. I know it was wrong so I stopped it and ran away. The next day I left. You know the rest."

"You were always so devoted to me, I never expected someone could get you interested. It kind of makes me happy. I'm not really worried about a single kiss Setsuna. What I'm worried about is that you felt forced to run away because you thought you were cheating on me."

"But that's exactly what I was doing! Kissing another girl... I felt awful the whole time. I love you more than anything else in the world, so I was angry with myself too."

"If you really like her and didn't just kiss her to make me jealous, I don't see it like that. I know you love me, but I want you to be happy too. If kissing this girl made you feel good, I don't mind you doing it. As long as you still kiss me too, of course." Love grinned at Eas with closed eyes.

Eas had known her for a few years now and spent so much time with her, she had been sure to know everything about Love. And thinking about it, she should have expected a reaction like that. Love was always overly concerned with the happiness of others and put herself behind that. It had lessened a bit over the years when they traveled, but it was still there.

"I'd really like to meet this Ellen, get to know her. Do you still like her, even with me knowing about it? I want you to be honest. You know I despise it when you lie to me." Love's expression changed, her stern eyes drilling right to Eas soul.

"I do. And I still feel awful about my lack of control over my emo-" Eas felt Love lay both her hands on her cheeks.

"Control over your emotions? You don't really want to say that, do you?" Love never took kindly to such things as trying to control ones emotions. It reminded her a lot of Moebius. Only computers had control over what they felt. "If you like her, embrace it. You're not going to love me any less because of that. Feelings don't come in limited quantities. It might be a little weird, but I'm sure we can work something out once I meet her. Is she still on the other team?"

Love would never forget the sudden expression of horror and terror in Eas face. Startled, she let go of her cheeks. Eas red eyes were widened in fear, all color vanishing from her face, leaving only pale skin behind.

"She's in exile. She voluntarily became the exile to get me out of there." Eas had suppressed that knowledge until now. That Ellen would go that far for her... that was more than just a small crush on someone who went through similar events.

It was rare that Love was speechless. To sacrifice herself, after seeing what happened to Setsuna, must have been quite a difficult decision. Love wanted to go and save her, her, the girl who saved Setsuna. But there was nothing she could do. The next fight was only the next day and before that was over with, there was no chance for any exile runs to take place.

"The way this is going, she'll be stuck there for tonight and tomorrow night. I've seen what happens to people who were stuck there for two days. Milky Rose was... I was happy that Lemonade was there to restrain her. That was not how a sane person acted." Eas felt worse with every word she said. That Love would take her unfaithfulness this particular way was unexpected. And now she realized that Ellen, despite knowing she'd be stuck in Exile for two days, voluntarily stayed there to make her escape her own nightmare.

The two of them were interrupted at the worst possible moment. Someone knocked twice on the door, quickly. "Love, Setsuna, are you still up?" It was Miki's voice. She had been concerned about the two earlier, and came back to check on them.

"Come in," Love replied and looked at Eas right next to her. She didn't care to transform back, Miki would understand.

Just as she walked in, Miki looked at Eas, not very surprised to see her after what she had witnessed earlier. It didn't bother her at all. Setsuna was kind of modest, but Eas clothes were pretty fancy. She liked them.

"Inori managed to knock herself out flat with the food. I guess it was a little too much greasy stuff. But she did wolf down quite a bit. Long story short, she won't be able to fight tomorrow. I know you had a really rough time, both of you, but unless we force Inori out of bed, it'll be us three fighting. Setsuna, did you have any fights on the other side?"

Miki sighed heavily and leaned against the wall next to the door. "I fought twice before, once against Moonlight by myself and once against a group. I'm not too thrilled that Lemonade is on their side now. She'll be a real pain. Even worse if Moonlight is going to be fighting. If she's there, leave her to me. I might not be able to use my ability on her, but I have a fairly good idea of what her weakness is."

"You're pretty into this Miki. It almost sounds like you enjoy it. And no, I didn't participate in any fights yet," Eas said and thought that her original form might come in handy.

"It's not as bad as everyone makes it out to be. Nobody gets permanently hurt. We're all old enough to realize that is isn't just personal quarrels and so we don't hold grudges. It's nice to get along with others, but a little competition among Cures is actually fairly interesting when you think about it. I really did enjoy being able to fight one versus one with Moonlight."

"You have the glow Miki." Love grinned wide, her eyes locked on her long time friend. Eas knew right away what Love meant. There was only one thing she referred to like that.

"You're interested in Moonlight, Miki? Her name is Yuri by the way." Eas smiled briefly. "Switch over." Turning back into Passion, she leaned back against Love. They had Miki cornered now.

"You're going to drill me with questions until I tell you everything, aren't you? Fine, fine. Yes, I'm interested in Moonlight. Are you satisfied?"

"Want me to tell you what she is like outside a battle?" Passion offered and looked at Love. It was quite hard to get Miki to tell people about her love life.

"I'll find out myself, thanks. Coming back to the topic of the fight tomorrow, do you think you can handle it?" Berry really didn't like it when people were prying into her private life, even if it was Love or Setsuna.

"I can't really tell. Walking around is no problem, but a fight might be pushing it. I guess I'll see after I get a good nights rest." Passion looked at Love as she talked, who gave an agreeing nod.

"Kanade and Hibiki are finishing up in the kitchen. If you want something to eat, you can probably just get something from them." Miki changed the topic again, in hope to get away before they started asking more questions, like why she was still up at this hour. "I'll go and get some rest as well then. See you tomorrow." Leaving the room in a hurry, she heard the two of them talk loudly about Moonlight and her. What kind of devil had she unleashed?

=== Dissonance ===

Nozomi woke up with a headache, having trouble flipping her sleeping schedule completely over. Her legs were stinging and her hair was a catastrophe. To see the barren room every time she woke up didn't help to improve her mood at all.

The fight was in roughly ten hours. Everyone seemed to know exactly when it was time to get to the door when they had business there. As one of the people chosen to fight in the next battle, she too knew when she had to be there.

Leaving her room, Dream ran straight into Melody and Rhythm, who were talking to each other, Rhythm looked still sleepy and Melody a little too upbeat for her taste, considering her headache. "Morning." There was no more purpose to hiding and isolating herself. Once the battle was over, she could go back to being friends with everyone.

With a surprised look, the pink and the white Cure looked at Dream before Rhythm got out a polite "Good morning" followed by a less polite "Morning" from Melody. "I'm surprised to see you out of your room. Everyone was starting to think you're becoming a hermit." Hibiki was quick to befriend people and she knew that. Trying to do the same with Dream, the senior Cure happily joined the conversation.

"I had some business to take care of and didn't want to bother everyone. I'm actually happier with many people around." Dream lied a little bit but neither of the two noticed that. "You two seem to be in a rather good mood. Anything good happen?"

"I'm always like this. I think I've finally gotten used to being in this place. It's not all awful once you start thinking of the fights as intense sparring. Sure, it hurts when you get beaten, but it's not really any different from falling during a soccer match or losing a game. Nobody gets seriously hurt."

"She didn't ask you for an analysis of this place Hibiki. Sorry... Dream, was it? Hibiki sometimes talks a little too much." Kanade mostly agreed with the way Hibiki saw things though she could well do without the fighting. If only they had other contests.

"That's an interesting view." Nozomi didn't launch into argument mode and explain how she thought the fights were a horrible thing and everyone was being manipulated into accepting them, she kept those thoughts to herself. The way Hibiki talked about it, it didn't really look like she accepted them at the start but...

"Oh, rare guest." Lemonade already sat at the table, which had yet to be prepared for breakfast. She was leaned back on her chair, her legs crossed over under the table and her arms behind the back of the chair. Nobody else was in the living room, but there was some noise coming from the kitchen. "Bloom was saying something about making fresh bread rolls. She's been in there for at least half an hour. That's when I woke up. What's gotten into you Nozomi, finally gotten tired of living the hermit life?"

"Spare me your cynical talk Urara. I'm surprised to see you up this early, couldn't sleep?" Dream sat down next to her friend, watching Hibiki and Kanade scurry to the other side of the table, giving each other that specific look only couples that just hooked up had. Nozomi was sitting upright on the chair, moved it parallel to the table and leaned on it, putting her elbow on the stone surface and supporting her head with her hand. She was still feeling the headache.

"I'm used to long nights and the like. They're cute, those two, aren't they? Remind me of Kurumi and Karen back in the day. Except Kurumi was a lot more pushy than that." Urara was quite fond of the days she spent with everyone, despite what she went through. She didn't want to go back to her old personality, she was quite content with being a little cynical and harsh at times. "I wonder if Kurumi will try to go back to Palmier, now that she and Karen are through. Have you ever been back Nozomi? I know what happened but I wasn't really there to say anything at the time." Lemonade crossed her arms in front and crossed her legs the other way around.

"No, I've never gone back. I can't see him and I know that. I've been thinking about visiting Natts at least, to see how he and Coco are doing, but I've been really busy with my jobs and studying. It's a lot harder to get a teaching qualification than I thought." Nozomi watched Hibiki pull an exaggerated expression and smiled. "And Karen and Kurumi are really through? I've been holed up in my room for most of the time, so..."

"Karen put the nail in it, yeah. I think she should tell you about this herself though. I know what it's like when people tell other people half-truths about your private life. It's not funny, not even a bit." Turning her head slightly and following Nozomi's gaze, Urara watched Kanade fidget at something Hibiki must have said. "I always found it surprising you went after a guy. Most of us had their moments there, but in the end, I don't know of any other Cure who got in a lasting relationship with a guy. But you were always a little special, _Leader_." Urara put emphasis on the last word and watched Nozomi cringe. It had been a long time since they worked together as team on anything.

"How's work treating you?" Nozomi wanted to revive old friendships that had dried up over the course of years of growing up and finding their own place in life.

"We do well enough. I guess it's still entertainment media business but it's completely different from being an idol or an actress. In the end, what I do now suits me a lot. I'd only make a good villain at this point." Lemonade let out a short laugh, then shook her head. "Despite all, I think I profited from going through all that shit. Sure, it changed me and that broke me apart from you guys, but I can't imagine what I would be like if that hadn't happened."

"Looking back in time, when we were fifteen, I'd have never thought we'd still be Cures with almost twenty. That time when we went to Palmier after everything was restored, I really thought it would be great to just stay there, work there, live our lives." Nozomi had been the biggest advocate of bringing fruition to that idea.

"We all thought that Nozomi. But reality isn't as kind as to allow people to just live in their personal fairyland. We all had things to do in the real world, school to attend, friends to meet and eventually bills to pay and jobs to work. Palmier is a different world, we didn't really belong there permanently. I know you realized that as well when Rin asked you what in the world would you teach the children in Palmier." Urara shrugged and looked at the ceiling. Those were some of her fondest memories.

"You'd slap me with irony if I said something like 'Let me dream for a bit', isn't that so?" Nozomi was making quite the corny pun, in turn making Lemonade cringe and give her an annoyed look. "Back then, I was really surprised that Kurumi told us that she would stay with Karen. I expected her to go back to Palmier. It came as a real surprise that they were dating when word finally got out."

"Only a surprise to you, Nozomi. Komachi was all too painfully aware, Rin knew about it from me and I knew about it from Komachi. We left you purposefully out of the loop because we knew you wouldn't be able to stop yourself from trying to fix things between Karen and Komachi."

"You people are horrible. I do realize when I need to stay out of things." Nozomi shook her head and sighed. A hand was placed on her left shoulder and as she turned her head, Rouge was greeting her. "Morning Rin."

"Yo. Slept well?" Urara watched Rin walk past her, grabbing a chair and putting it right between her two friends, turning the chair around and sitting on it like a delinquent, the arms resting on top of the backrest, her head resting on her arms, looking first at Urara, then at Nozomi. "Picking up from before, no, you definitely don't know when you shouldn't meddle. You'd definitely have tried to patch things up somehow."

"You two are seriously mean. Who was it that tried to patch things up between us six when Urara changed so much, huh?" Nozomi was smiling again, teasing Rouge a little was quite a lot of fun.

"Rin, have you ever been back to Palmier after we all came back to graduate and decide what we would do with our lives? I was asking Nozomi about it earlier." Lemonade looked to Rin, who just shook her head.

"You know I was super busy at the time. I wasn't good enough at making accessories to pursue a career but I noticed that way too late. The next best thing I liked and had some talent for was soccer so I went for that. It was really hard to get into a regional club just like that. I want to play for the national eleven one day and win the world championship. What about you Urara? Any grandiose dreams of your own? And to answer your question, no, haven't been back. I don't know what I would even do there alone."

"We moved on with our lives I guess. Well, except our little lovebird here." Urara pointed at Nozomi, who shot her a glare. She didn't like being made fun of. "Oh, scary. Dreams huh. I guess playing in a really big arena in front of a million people would be really great. Speaking of the future, how is your teaching license thing coming along Nozomi?" Lemonade nodded in Dream's general direction.

"It's a lot harder than I thought. The time I don't spent working one of my three part-time jobs, I study or attend class. The things you need to know to be a teacher, even for elementary school, it's quite a lot. But I'm getting there."

"I'd never have guessed that you would eventually become a teacher Nozomi. You used to be quite a horrible klutz. I guess you still are somewhat though. I saw you break a plate the other day at work." Rin grinned and took a peek towards Hibiki and Kanade, who were arguing over something, both of their faces red like tomatoes.

"And I'd never have guessed you'd become the vocalist in a punk rock band. Really, of all the things you could have done. But I guess that's how life goes. I still wish I had the talent or patience to get good enough in accessories designing to make a living off it. Lets talk about something else. I'm always getting moody when I think about this stuff. You still haven't told me who you seduced Urara. Who was it?" Rouge's remark got the attention of everyone in the room. Hibiki and Kanade put their little meaningless argument on break and Nozomi was quite interested as well.

"It's a secret. There's eleven candidates, make a lucky guess." Urara shot down the tension in the air and stretched on her chair. "I'll see what Bloom is up to. It'll be a disaster if I help out so I'll just look." Walking past Melody and Rhythm, the two of them eying the yellow Cure with obvious interest in her little story.

Ignoring them and walking into the kitchen, Lemonade's presence in the living room was quickly replaced by a new face, Saki's partner, Egret. Still yawning and covering her mouth with her hand, she looked a little sleep deprived. "Bloom kept you up all night?" Rin wasn't exactly a master of tactfulness. Not by any stretch of the imagination.

"Judging by how much energy you have already, **you** definitely didn't have any problems sleeping." Mai was always a little cranky when she didn't get enough sleep, just like now. "Saki got up early to bake bread. And it's quite difficult to get out of those small beds if there's two people in them."

"Are you this open about your relationship in the normal world too?" Dream was a little curious. She knew that Karen kept her relationship with Kurumi largely a secret though word did get out eventually about it.

"For the bigger part, yes. We don't hide it, but we're not going around and cuddle in public or tell everyone we've just met. It's still a bit of a not well looked upon thing in Japan after all. But since we don't work with children, nobody pays a lot of attention." Egret sat down on the empty chair that Lemonade had left behind, carefully putting the large ponytail behind the actual chair. "I wonder if I should cut my hair... Saki always throws a fit when I even mention this, but it's rather ridiculous in Cure form..."

"I think it looks pretty nice actually. I'd look horrible with long hair. Just imagine if I had hair as long as you or Dream here and they went all up like they do when I stay as Rouge. I'd look really ridiculous." Rouge laughed it off and shrugged, waving her hand at Egret. "I think Bloom is right in making you keep it like this."

"I have a hard time picturing you with shorter hair to be honest. It fits Rin, but I would look utterly ridiculous too with short hair. One of our team let her hair grow out over the years and it worked for her, but... I guess she's the exception." Dream rejoined the conversation.

"To be fair, she had a fairly ridiculous haircut as Mint. It wasn't as bad as Urara and her... I don't even know what to call it, when she became Lemonade, but still. It looked rather silly. I don't really know exactly, but didn't Urara's hairdo change when her personality changed too?" Rin gave Nozomi a questioning look.

"Might be. We didn't exactly meet up or see each other as Cures a lot. There was really no need to. It's the complete opposite to now, where we stay as Cures basically indefinitely."

"That's only because nobody has a change of clothes, and we haven't gotten machinery for washing clothes yet. I transform back when I go to bed though. Don't you too?" Mai was sure the implications of staying in civil form were pretty obvious and she didn't have to spell it out for these two. They were old enough to understand.

"I do sleep naked but it's more of a recent habit though. It's really darn hot in summer and since I train a lot, I sweat easily. You know, it's necessary to cool down and stuff. Speaking of summer, isn't waiting tables pretty terrible this time of the year?" Rin looked at her oldest friend again.

"It sometimes can get pretty icky. I don't sleep naked though. I just really don't want to. I do go back to civil for showering and then become a Cure again. Thankfully, the outfits always restore themselves, so they don't smell or get worn out. I sometimes wish they were easier to take off though."

"I doubt they were really designed for situations like these. Something I noticed is that the older you get, the more the costume adapts to your individual style. I'm speed and agility based, so my outfit is really light and breathes well. Saki is a brute, only in a fight, don't get me wrong, so her costume is more durable and reflects her style. She's also a bit of a tomboy."

"What do you do for a living?" Rin was starting to really get along with Mai. "I play pro soccer and Nozomi is aiming to become a teacher and part-timing as waitress until then." The red Cure pointed at her friend when she explained about her.

"I'm a painter. I paint commissions and also for galleries. I always had a knack for drawing so I made it my career. I do love my job though. It pays well enough so I can support Saki. She was training for triathlons but is doubting her decision since we see each other so little because of it. I suggested baseball to her, but I wonder if that will make her happy." Putting her left hand on her cheek and resting her chin on her palm, Egret looked a bit lost in thought.

"Telling everyone about me?" Egret always fell down the chair when two completely white and somewhat dusty hands reached out to her from behind. "If you have enough energy to tell stories, come and help me in the kitchen. This is a lot more work than I thought."

"When she's in the kitchen, she really takes control. Usually, it's the other way around but I just can't tell her off when she's like this." Mai smiled and looked up, right at Saki's face. Lifting herself off the chair with her arms, Mai kissed Saki right in front of Rin and Nozomi, embarrassed not even in the slightest.

The two of them walking off, Nozomi watched Rhythm talk to Bloom, nod a few times and join the two. Just as they entered the kitchen, Lemonade escaped through the backdoor, put a finger to her lips so that nobody made a single sound, and went up and away to be never seen again. At least not until breakfast was done.

Melody, now on her own, took the spot that Egret left and filled it. She hadn't really talked to Rouge or Dream before so she was just a bit nervous. She was thankful that Nozomi started the conversation. "You're one of the younger Cures, right? How old are you?"

"Not quite that young. I'm sixteen, about halfway to seventeen. Kanade, Rhythm, just turned seventeen. What do you mean with younger Cures, though?" Hibiki knew that most of the others were over eighteen, but she couldn't see any specific hierarchy among them.

"It's pretty easy. If you go by sheer time of who has been a Cure for how long, you and Rhythm are probably on the bottom end. It's been about five years for me and Nozomi. It's really just curiosity." Nozomi explained and Hibiki seemed to think for a couple seconds.

"Two years and a little for us maybe. We were both fourteen then. I'm not sure about Ako, Muse, since she was already a Cure when we met her. Ellen, Beat, came a little bit after us. Five years sounds like a really long time."

"I heard that Black and White are close to hitting the seven years mark. They're the most experienced ones among all of us I think." Rin threw that piece of info quickly and didn't think much of it. "Speaking of them, they're really, really strong. We all have our own special abilities, but what I saw of theirs was really powerful."

"Your ability is pretty horrible Rin. Why did you develop something like that to begin with?" Nozomi wasn't really sure how an ability like that would help her in a fight against monsters.

"Remember Mucardia? Opponents like him are at an extreme disadvantage against my ability. Originally, it set everything around me on fire and was called 'Hellfire'. I then eliminated the burning part, kept the heat, and just called it 'Hell'. You know, the opposite to Heaven. It's designed to sap my opponents concentration, stamina and the like. If they get close enough, they'll be burned really badly too, so it's a really handy ability. Though it's not very good in a team fight with limited space." Rin launched in a full scale explanation of her ability.

"You have a really scary sounding ability. Mine is a lot more subtle than that. I can use a lot of music based attacks but everyone from my team has some kind of song based special attack. Ako told us not to give away what exactly each song does, so I'm sorry I can't tell you." Hibiki purposefully kept it hidden that Ellen had managed to tap into something much greater than just her original ability.

"I don't mind. A little mystery makes a woman interesting. Speaking of mystery, where are the others? Counting Bloom, Egret, Lemonade and Rhythm, that's only seven of us. Where are the other five?" Nozomi looked over her shoulder, almost expecting to see the other five just standing there. But there was nobody.

=== Dissonance ===

"You two look awful. Didn't you get any sleep? Are you still hurt?" Tsubomi was a bit worried about both Peach and Passion, the two of them looked almost like zombies.

"Give them a break. They haven't seen each other for like a week. They probably spent all night doing it." Marine commented, a brazen grin on her face as she looked at the blushing Tsubomi, who squeezed Erika's cheek. "Alright, alright, I won't say anything!" Tsubomi had not been in the best of moods after finding that weird smell on Erika. She had her suspicions but no proof.

It bothered her the most that such a thing bothered her at all. She wasn't dating Erika or even in love with her, so it was supposed to be none of her business what her friend did. Yet she was in quite a nasty mood ever since then.

Hikari and Kurumi, the two of them faithfully resuming their self obligated kitchen duty, were bringing small baskets filled with bread rolls and sliced bread to the table, along with some really simple toppings. A bit of cheese, butter, some basic marmalade. Kurumi actually felt fairly good doing some work for others and she started to see just how much of an ass she had been when living with Karen.

People, given the chance, would let others spoil them, become arrogant and ignorant of others needs and in the end, become extremely lazy. She had fallen into that trap. Preparing breakfast for a dozen people with just Hikari to help her was a new experience for her, but a nice one at that.

Despite their harsh breakup, Karen didn't act weird towards her. She didn't say so out loud, but she must really want to be still friends with her even if they were not lovers anymore. Mint didn't show any sign of schadenfreude either and she was a lot nicer to Kurumi than she had been before. They also had enough tact to not be too close in front of her.

Peach and Passion on the other hand were basically inseparable. They looked awfully sleep deprived but still stuck together, looking at each other like newlyweds.

"So you were involved into developing Eltavinan eight-thousand? I'm really impressed." Inori was leaned back on her chair and looked at Honoka, who sat to her right. Nagisa was both practically and figuratively still asleep in her chair, and there was not a doubt as to why. Honoka seemed to be quite fit on the other hand.

"It was developed at the lab I work, yes. I didn't do very much on the actual process but I helped develop the formula. It was a commission we got over a year ago. So you work in an animal clinic as vet? I like animals, I'm just not very good at taking care of them all on my own. I had a dog at my grandmothers place, but I let it stay with her. We started with a pretty small apartment and they didn't allow pets."

"We have a lot of animals even at home. I really love them. Being a vet was always something I wanted. I didn't expect a Cure to be a scientist. Isn't that kind of weird for you? I mean science and magic." Inori was not too big on the whole science thing and preferred to explain things in a way that her customers could understand her. The whole technical lingo for medicine didn't mean anything to a normal person.

"The fairies always call us legendary warriors, but with so many of us, it's not very legendary. It's the same way with magic. The universe basically runs on science, but some of it is so complicated, advanced or otherwise alien to our logic, that we can only understand it as magic. At least that's the common explanation I give people when they ask me how I would explain magic with science. In truth, I really don't worry about this at all. Magic exists, I'm living, walking, talking proof of that. That's all I need to know." Honoka closed her eyes and smiled at Inori as she explained it. She didn't really care at all about whether it was science or magic. She loved to explain specific phenomena with science but being a Cure was completely out of that range. She simply was and that was that.

"I knew the whole time that you were really smart Honoka, but I didn't think you'd be a scientist." Aqua, who sat across White at the table, was joining the conversation, Mint gone to the bathroom for the time being. "That explains a lot."

"You're flattering me. I think you're smarter than you give yourself credit for Karen," Honoka replied and watched Inori lean forward to ask the blue Cure something.

"What do you do for work Karen? And I'm just curious, but for how long have you been a Cure? And did being a Cure affect your choice of career in any way?" Inori could be pretty curious if she wanted to be.

"I'm a violinist. I play mostly in japan but I got a few offers to play in Taiwan and China. How long have I been a Cure? I'd say it's been about five years. Komachi and me are a year older than the others from our team, so things were always a little different for us. I don't think being Cure Aqua really affected my career in any way. I thought about studying medicine at some point, but it wasn't really what I wanted. At the high school I attended, there was a classical club and they were looking for someone who could play the violin. Komachi was really busy at the time, trying to win an award whose name escapes me right now, and Kurumi was really busy too with working as tour guide in the Cure Rose Garden to help Nozomi out, so I joined the club. I used to play the violin since I was a child but so picked playing back up very easily, and eventually became so good at it, that I decided to try and go pro."

"Telling them how you decided to become a violinist?" Komachi had returned from the bathroom. Inori was the only one that was still impressed by how Mint looked. Her costume was similar to Aqua's and then entirely different again. In places bulky, a long skirt and knee-high boots, it looked really protective. From what she knew, Mint was a extremely defensive type too, so it fit very well with her character. And despite the bulkiness, the jacket couldn't conceal her large chest. Inori was a little jealous of Mint's great figure.

Aqua was similar but her costume was much lighter and yet radiated an aura of elegance. An even longer skirt than Mint, higher boots and the long gloves gave her a high-class look. Her massive ponytail was something one had to get used to, but it only added to her looks. They made a very nice match, those two.

"I was really surprised back then. I always knew Karen could play but when I first heard her, she was really, really good. Karen's a genius." Komachi smiled happily, as if she was bragging about her own achievements. In a way, being with Karen was her biggest achievement. At least for Komachi.

"Sounds very promising. Will you play for us sometime? I really like classical music and you should be able to get your instrument from the favor system." Honoka was a fan of classical music. Nagisa not so much, but she never objected when Honoka asked her to accompany her to a concert. Amazingly, she never even yawned, fell asleep or complained. She could even comment on things at the end. She was either very devoted to not disappointing Honoka or just showing some interest in her partners hobby.

"I don't mind. As it looks, we'll be stuck here for a while. Otherwise, there would be no reason for a system like this to be in place and there to be conveniently rooms that fit our needs. I'm not sure how expensive this is going to be, so I'll think about it. I like playing, but I can think of a few other matters which are a little more pressing. Like clothes." Saying these last two words, Karen looked at Komachi, who let out a quiet sigh.

"I've only been in one fight and I didn't get a lot of coins. Maybe it's because of my fighting style." Mint was a little depressed, slowly getting sick of constantly walking around in Cure form. The costume was designed for battle and protecting, not for wearing it all day, every day.

"I got a hundred and seventeen for my last fight. Nagisa got a hundred and two. You can't have gotten much less than that." Honoka wasn't bragging, at least not from her point of view, but analyzing the situation. It was a really bad habit of hers.

"I got ninety-one. Karen got eighty. That's quite a difference." Mint wasn't too happy about it, but there was nothing she could do. She was a team player and a defensive orientated fighter to begin with, so she wasn't a powerhouse like White or Black.

"Seeing that Karen got less than you, it's definitely not your fighting style. I didn't get quite as much either when I fought in the first battle. I think the reward may depend a lot on how well you perform and the area the fight happens in. The less favorable and more complicated the arena, the higher the reward. I think. It's just a theory, but it would fit. We'll find out more if we ask the three that will fight later today after they get their reward. If the arena is still a massive hub of platforms, that should solidify my theory." White noticed a little late she was going full steam down the scientist path and stopped with a smile.

"Komachi." Inori's curiosity was seemingly not satisfied yet. "What do you do for work? I've been trying to picture you playing an instrument like Karen but that seems kinda off." Pine found it relatively easy to talk to those two, simply because Karen reminded her of Miki and Komachi reminded her a little of Setsuna.

"I'm a novelist. I always liked to write but was too shy to show people my work. Natts, one of the fairies from Palmier, was one of the first people to read a novel I wrote. It was a really tacky thing too, I'd be way too embarrassed to show it anyone now. We were pretty close and I trusted him to give me honest feedback." Komachi was putting a finger to her chin, trying to think of something she had forgotten.

"For a while, I thought you two would start going out any time then. I was really surprised when nothing came of it. In retrospect, I'm pretty happy about that, though." Karen took Mint's hand under the table and played with her fingers. She was still coping with the breakup with Kurumi, and as far as social interaction was concerned, she was fine. Being intimate with Komachi was still too much for her though.

"There never really was a spark or anything between us. I respected him and liked him but only as friend. It's completely different from Nozomi and Coco too, since Natts was to be king of Palmier and he couldn't possibly have a human mistress. I think that's also part of the reason why he didn't like it when someone tried to get too close to him. I was fine since he felt there was no romantic interest from me," Komachi explained and looked at the amused face Honoka was making, slightly confused.

"You two are such a nice couple. You both have known each other for a long time, right?" Honoka made a not quite so wild guess and got an confirming nod from the two. "It's surprising you two didn't hook up before."

Karen didn't really want to talk about that. She had been really lonely and even though her friends filled most of that, there was still a hole in her heart. Kurumi eventually came along and filled that spot, but as it turned out, that wasn't going to last forever. Komachi had been really shy, so even if she had been in love with Karen all that time, she wouldn't have said anything.

She had read all four novels that Komachi published, the Sacred Lily Garden series. A tale about a girl living in modern japan, shunned for her undying love of an upper-class girl that was betrothed to someone else already. Four books spanning her journey overcoming social stigma, differences in life style and even the fiancee. Despite how clever she was, Karen never realized that the story was a love letter to her in the form of a book.

"Unwelcome topic I guess. Sorry for asking. We all have things we don't want to talk about." Honoka remembered quite vividly the one occasions she didn't want to relive ever again. Fighting Nagisa was the worst thing she ever had to do.

"Breakfast is ready. Get some before Karen here vanquishes it all." Marine had sat down next to Inori, Tsubomi right next to Erika and at the end of the table. Karen shot her an angry glare before she grabbed a bread roll from the basket Hikari put left of her.

=== Dissonance ===

In the end, Pine had already completely recovered by morning, so there was no need for both Peach and Passion to fight. Love had already fought once and Setsuna wanted to see for herself just what it was like, which resulted in the final team of Pine, Berry and Passion.

"We have about ten seconds to see who our opponents are before the barrier goes down and we have to fight. If Moonlight is among them, leave her to me. If any of the extremely fast types are there, they're yours Pine. Passion, I know this might not be the best time to tell you this, but if it becomes necessary, don't hesitate to fight as Eas. You should be able to go head to head with other strong types, such as Bloom." Miki finished her explanations and the other two nodded.

Passion turned around to see Love one last time before she went to fight. Obviously worried about her, Peach kissed her partner passionately as a good luck charm. "Don't come back all beaten up Setsuna." She cared so much for the girl that she wanted to go in her stead, but Setsuna was old and strong enough to fight her own battles.

"You don't need to treat me like a little girl Love. I'm pretty sure I could beat you in a fair fight." Passion grinned and caressed the right cheek of her partner.

The door opened, the red light greeting them with the same intensity as always. Miki stepped through first, followed by Pine and then Passion. What greeted them was a view of a seemingly endless, bottomless hole out of which two dozen pillars peaked, each carrying a platform at it's top. The battlefield had not changed from what the others told them. That wasn't good.

And what was even less good was who their opponents were. Miki's guess had been right on the spot, Moonlight was there, standing in front of the others as the one leading them. "I'll take her." She only knew one of the other two from meeting her when she was on the light team. Rouge. The third one she didn't know anything about but that had to be Dream, the leader of the group Mint and Aqua belonged to.

"I'll take Rouge, the red one." Pine announced and created a set of golden brass knuckles, going into a battle stance.

Passion could feel just how intense the amplification of the desire to battle was. It was even beyond the level she had felt when she was still serving Moebius. The reminder was unnecessary but the aggression was drowning memory anyway.

The barrier on the center tower vanished. Passion, Pine, Rouge and Dream almost cowered when the two tall Cures virtually shot through the air, causing the air to whirl through the hair of their allies, confronting each other at high speed. A blue whirl, Moonlight was the first to back off from a wide kick, dropping down to the platform. Rouge was the first to act, using her high speed to reach the middle platform in a heartbeat.

But Pine was even faster than that. Rouge only saw a golden flash before Pine's brass knuckles hit her face, sending her flying all the way back to where Dream was, who just stood there, frozen like an inanimate object.

Passion wanted to ignore Dream and back up Miki but she couldn't find an opening at all to join the fight. The two of them were moving rapidly from tower to tower, dodging each others blows, taking the odd hit here and there, their skill about even.

"Queen of Spades, Impact!" Berry shouted, the large blue spade suit forming above her fist just as she hit the ground, making Moonlight back up. But Miki knew very well just how agile Moonlight was. The platform as a whole crumbled under the dispersed force of the skill and both Cures lost their footing, now in free fall towards oblivion.

Moonlight turned towards Berry, closed her eyes for not even half a second and unleashed a large silver blast right at the enemy. Miki didn't even pretend to block, took the blast unguarded and was whirled wild through the air. Moonlight cleverly used the recoil of the attack to shoot herself against one of the nearby pillars, using it as stepping stone to get back up. But Miki had planned that far ahead.

Instead of smashing against the pillar with full force, she charged her fist with energy and grabbed the stone wall, using the massive stone pillar like a small steel bar that would swing her back to where she came from. It completely ruined her fingernails but that was a necessary evil.

Moonlight barely saw the blow coming and failed to raise her defenses in time. Taking a full power blow to the stomach and then a kick to the chest, Yuri coughed up blood, ignoring her own defense and hitting Berry at point blank range with another energy blast. "Silver Light Burst!" The explosion enveloped both of them, throwing them high into the air.

At the same time, Rouge and Pine had reduced themselves in the eyes of everyone else to a golden and fiery line that raced through the air and from tower to tower. Passion saw no way to enter either of those specialized battles and help her allies out. At least she could take out the Cure that just stood still on the spot they had entered.

Passion approached Dream, not feeling too well about striking down someone that wasn't even registering that she was being attacked. Her punch was just about to connect when the pink Cure in front of her vanished and appeared right behind her with a powerful roundhouse kick about to hit Passion, who evaded the blow by ducking, using a low sweeping kick to take Dream off her feet.

Not even hitting the ground, Nozomi used her hands to push herself off the ground and flipped once over in mid-air, landing right on her feet. She was finally wide awake. Escaping from Passion, Dream approached the center tower. The battlefield was a disadvantage to her so she had to maximize her chances. If she didn't get all five of them at once, she would fail. And it was extremely difficult to resist the urge to go back and fight with Passion. She was by nature a peaceful person and hated fighting her friends, but the red light had tremendous power.

Arriving on the center platform, Passion hot on her heels, Dream turned around and crossed her arms in front of her face, blocking a spinning kick from the pink haired Cure. Pine and Rouge luckily arrived on the center platform at the same time, the two of them bleeding from multiple spots. Pine had heavy burns on both arms and her back, while Rouge was bleeding heavily from her forehead and her right arm.

It was now or never. "Utopia!" Dream lifted her arms, shouted and felt a massive shock in the atmosphere and an horrible screeching noise as she activated the ability. Like one of Mint's barriers, a sphere extended from herself, quickly extending to the others and enveloping them. In a matter of two seconds, the sphere reached more than a hundred meters radius.

Seconds passed before both Pine and Rouge were on their knees, their faces distorted in pain. Passion was clenching her head, in pain as well. "What... what are you doing? What is this?" Passion shouted to Dream and went on her knees. The pink Cure took a step back. That was completely different from what she had planned.

"Are you... crazy? You're suspending the fighting! You're disrupting the system" Pine was looking up and yelling at Dream, her face as pale as a ghost. Rin couldn't even talk, she was just covering her face with both hands in pain.

"What... are you doing?" Berry jumped on the platform from another, unable to keep her balance, falling and sliding over the ground. She had taken quite a beating and dealt quite a bit of damage to Moonlight in exchange. Losing track of her the instant the sphere hit them, she was suddenly feeling the pain of every injury tenfold.

"What is happening? Utopia is supposed to make people see where they want to be the most. It's not supposed to do **this**!" Dream took another step back, her legs starting to give in. Instead of convincing everyone that they were being manipulated into fighting, she was causing them pain far worse than any of the fights did. "I was trying to get you out of whatever is possessing you to fight your friends! This Utopia is supposed to counter whatever is stopping you from thinking normally!"

"You dammed fool! We're not being manipulated! We accepted that we messed things up and that we're being held responsible! Stop acting like a goddamn five year old and accept that you. Are. Part. Of this." Berry started coughing up blood just as she finished shouting. Dream was dangerous. Very dangerous. If she didn't release the sphere, they were all going to die.

"You're lying! The Rin I know would never agree to fighting her friends! I don't believe the others would either!" Dream still couldn't accept what she was being told. The sphere was still there, growing more and more. That too had not been in her plan. It was leeching much more power from her that it should. If anyone attacked her now, she wouldn't stand a chance. She couldn't even run away.

"Fine, be that way! When we all die, you can tell the others that it's your damn stubbornness what caused it! And then you'll see just how **manipulated** they are, you obstinate child!" Berry spit a last few hateful words before she fell over, having difficulty breathing and tasting ever more blood in her mouth.

Dream shook her head, unable to comprehend the situation. "No... no... no... this can't be right. I don't believe you. I don't believe any of you. This is all a trick." Nozomi was staggering and looked at her own hands, then at Rin, then at her hands, then at Pine, hands, Berry, hands, Passion. It looked just like their blood was sticking to her hands.

"Farewell to Utopia!" Dream shouted and ended her ability. Or rather she tired to. It wasn't budging one bit. It was still draining massive amounts of energy from Nozomi, growing every bigger and stronger. Pine and Rouge were both unconscious, Berry still twitching and Passion frozen still. Her ability only had a ten minute duration to begin with, but barely two had passed and three of the five Cures present were on the ground.

Passion had found herself unable to move even a single step. Her vision was distorted extremely badly. One second, she saw Dream in front of her, the other, she was back on her travels with Love, cuddling with her. Shaking her head violently to get some clarity in her thoughts, she focused on the split second she could see Dream and rushed in the general direction. She had only one shot at that. "Club Punishment!" Passion hit the ground and felt something large breaking out of the ground all around her.

The sphere vanished almost instantly and something hit the ground next to her. When she looked up, Dream was on the floor, knocked out cold. Passion looked after Berry and she seemed to be recovering. Pine and Rouge were still unconscious and not moving a muscle.

"What the hell was that?" Passion looked at Berry, who was no longer feeling the pain like before. She had guessed as much, but as long as they were fighting, their sense of pain was heavily dulled.

"She revoked the entire fighting process inside her sphere. No heightened sense of aggression, no dulled sense of pain." Miki got up and looked around. Moonlight still had to be somewhere.

Miki and Setsuna could both feel it at the same time. The air was changing. It was getting a lot colder. And there was something else. Something that made both of their senses of danger ring louder than a siren.

When they could hear it, it was already too late. An alien song that rung in their ears, hurt them from the inside, sapped all their strength from their bodies. Passion, not having taken a single hit before, could barely kneel, never mind stand or fight. "What now?" Miki looked up, looked around, but she couldn't see anything.

But they could hear. _"Rrha ki ra harr exec, En yehar~, Rrha ki ra harr exec hymmnos PAJA, En yehar nha near yor!" _A gruesome melody that spelled death. That spelled their death. That was not just any song their were hearing. There was potent magic behind it. Passion tried clogging her ears with her fingers but it was completely fruitless. There was no way around not hearing it.

_"Was ki ra selena anw hymmnos PAJA - En ma ki ga chs syec van nel an hymme endia – __En ma ki ra ks syec parge tes ar hymme mea – Was ki ra exec hymmnos PAJA – Was ki ra exec syec parge tie, gott yor!" _The song continued, Passion and Berry no longer able to even kneel or look around. The song was sapping their strenght, was slowly killing them. And they still had no idea what was going on.

Dream was out could and so was Rouge. And Moonlight shouldn't have the ability to unleash something as gruesome as that. Even if she did, Miki didn't think her the type to resort to such tactics to win.

Any further theories vanished into the nirvana of unconsciousness. Berry could no longer keep her eyes open and Passion was about to hit the critical limit too. "Memento." She didn't like it but she had to rely on her superior physical abilities as Eas. "Switch... over." Passion turned into Eas and she regained enough power to stand.

_"I'll dance_ _dance, I'll dance in this feast unto death. Dance in this evils' night. "I'm a dancing Song Princess - You're my sacrifice – enjoy the show – give yourself to me – __**Now**__! Dancing to the countdown of your death, it's your fate!"_

Eas quickly moved to the edge of the platform and looked down. Based on what she had been told, the battle should end once one team was completely knocked out. If Moonlight was already unconscious, then Dream had broken that system. If Moonlight was still conscious, she had to knock her out. Knocking herself out was an option too, but if Dream had indeed broken the mechanism to get them all out, that would only mean the death of all six of them.

But her worries came to an sudden end when she saw Moonlight on a lower platform, on the ground but still moving, desperately trying to get up but lacking the strength. Eas could feel her own strenght vanishing rapidly as well. That song was going to kill everyone really soon. She only had a few seconds at best. Taking aim and jumping with all her might, she landed pretty close to Moonlight.

"Is this... your doing?" Yuri's face was distorted with pain and she was about to give in to the songs power. Eas briefly shook her head, put her fists together like a hammer and hit Moonlight in the neck, knocking her out clean and quickly.

_"If exhausted, you'll be dragged into the darkness with this sealing song of mine. Beg your god, to take your body and soul. Pray, for my song shall purge you now. Purge the heavens, purge the earth, purge the world, purge myself. The gods in heaven, the gods on earth, the gods of all things, hear my prayer. Purge away all those impure, make the world clean."_

Eas could hear another line of the song before the area around her started to distort, hopefully a sign that they were being transported out and not her losing consciousness.

Seconds later, she found herself in her own room, still Eas, still feeling extremely weak. Love was already there, familiar with the process of waking up after the battle. That Passion was Eas and still conscious must mean that they won and she hadn't been knocked out.

"Something went wrong Love..." Eas almost fell down, Love quickly supporting her. "Another Cure, I think she's called Dream, used an ability that disrupted the fight and put everyone else through some horrible pain. I managed to somehow knock her out and cancel out that ability but then some kind of magic song started echoing through the area. Was that the same in your fight?"

Love was a little confused at the explanation but she could put a finger on magic song. "There are a few Cures on the other team who use music based attacks and abilities. But..."

"Love. The song would have killed us all. Not just knocked us out. Killed us. I could feel it. I could feel death creeping up on me. I know what death feels like Love. I've died once. But this was a lot worse than just your lifespan ending."

"I can't imagine a Cure would have an ability like that." Love was shocked to hear about something like that happened.

"Moonlight, Rouge and Dream were our opponents. Rouge and Dream were knocked out by the time the song started and Moonlight was in so much pain, she looked at me and asked me if I was the one doing it." Laying down on the bed, pulled the towel over herself and canceled her Cure form and with that, too, her original form of Eas, returning to Setsuna. She was too exhausted to waste even the slightest bit of energy. "You should go and tell everyone to check on Miki and Inori or check on them yourself. I'm really worried about those two. I'll... just catch a bit of sleep..." Setsuna was already falling asleep as she was saying the last sentence.

Love didn't hesitate to run out the room and right into Miki's. She was still unconscious, which was not normal. After a fight, injuries should be reduced to an absolute minimum and the participants should wake up. At least that was how it had worked until now. Kneeling next to the bed, Love checked Miki's pulse. It was relatively normal, but she looked really pale.

Sighing in relief, Love stood up, left the room and closed the door behind her. She'd report to Honoka and Karen after she checked on Pine. The fight had barely taken a few minutes, much less than anyone expected.

Going into Inori's room, Love did the same as she did with Miki, checking her pulse. It was there, just like with Miki, but she was also just as pale. They really looked like they didn't have much life energy in them. Was that what Setsuna had meant?

Just what in the world had happened in that fight? No other fight had returned people in such a state. Carefully closing the door, Love went to the living room, an unusually worried expression on her face. "Honoka, Karen, can I talk to you for a moment?"

=== End of Event XI ===


	12. Purger

**Dissonance**

_Event XII_

**Purger**

A feeling of supreme power, happiness and control. The might to wield the fates of people in her hand, in her songs. None can escape her grasp, none can resist it. Her songs, her dance, wage their lives, make them be the fool in her palm, to perish like the insignificant creatures they are.

Begone be the fools that stand against her, begone be the weak that crawl the earth. She was elected to wield a power incomparable to those of others. A power to command more than just life and death. To rip out their souls, to vanquish their very being. The power of her hymns.

"Stop it, stop it, stop it! I don't think like that, I'm not like that! I don't want to use music to rule and hurt people!" Ellen sat on the ground, shaking her head, covering her ears.

"But you're chosen to do so. You are powerful and strong! You can overtake that snooty brat of a princess! You can take the kingdom by force! You can be queen!" Ellen, her golden eyes shining in the dark of the shadows, was looking down on herself, a lordly grin adorning her face.

"Shut up! I could never harm Ako or Queen Aphrodite! What do you know about me!" Looking up, Ellen's will almost broke. The look in her own eyes was that of malice, of rebellion, of evil. A look she had not seen before this clear in any human.

"Everything." Grabbing the face of her self in front of her, the scared Ellen could feel the breath of her monstrous self on her face. "I know your secrets, your deepest desires, parts of you that were hidden away, buried deep, deep below that farce of obedience. You want this power. You wanted power and recognition of your talents! You loathed those that trampled all over your efforts! With this power, you can take it all back!" Her words were thickly coated with poison, slowly infiltrating Ellen's mind.

"Why... why do you do this to me..." Ellen grit her teeth and tried to ignore the other her but it was fruitless.

"Let me show you what true power means." The evil Ellen stepped away from the original one, back on her platform, looking at the distance, the sphere with a score extending from her again, singing the same hymn as before. Purger. A song to make everyone that listens to it perish. A hymn of death and absolute end. Nothing was left, no life, no soul.

"This isn't... what music is for..." Ellen tried to get up but her body refused to listen. She was still sitting on the ground, unable to lift as much as a finger to stop her other self from singing that deathly hymn again.

"Power is there to be wielded. And you have been given power great enough to rule others. Do what has to be done! Accept what you're destined for!" The voice echoed through her mind while the hymn was being sung, the wails of the masses dying again and again reaching her ears easily.

"Power is there to protect others!" Ellen was still resisting temptation.

"And what has that ever done for you? A plain thanks, a flippant friendship! You live as one of them, without realizing your potential! You've tasted power once and deep down you cannot forget what it felt like. The power to change the world!"

"I regret what I did even now! Music exists to bring people together, to make them happy!"

"Then why do you know this hymn? Why can I sing it?"

Ellen couldn't say anything. She didn't know! The power she had shown to only Hibiki, the hymn she had tried to sing, had been different from this. Different from this grotesque hymn of death. But she couldn't sing it anymore. Her voice was refusing to swear her obedience. Her power belonged to **her** now.

And **she** would kill anyone that came to save her. It was the end of the line for her. There was no way Hibiki, Kanade or Ako would come for her now. She was just too strong.

"I despise you." Ellen looked up at her other self, the one that was singing Purger. "You're everything I hate about myself. I wanted to be friends with Hibiki and Kanade. I even finally found someone I like. And then you take it all from me.** I despise you**." Her voiced dropped lower, more than just a hint of hatred in it. Her eyes were glowing every bit as strongly as the ones of the singing self.

"You despise yourself, silly girl. I'm what you are destined to be. I rule who you were destined to rule. I earn the recognition you were fated for."

"You are just a nightmare I buried along with the past. And now you're back to haunt me. I'd rather die than become you. Ruling others, controlling others... abusing music to do things like that, you're no different than Noise. Deep down, I might have felt betrayed for the lack of recognition once... but you aren't who I'm supposed to be. You're just a nightmare that haunts me."

"And yet you do nothing. You sit idle by and watch me do what you wanted to do yourself."

Ellen stared at herself. One looking down at the other, arrogant and evil. The other looking up at the one, hateful and desperate. She couldn't escape.

=== Dissonance ===

"Has Passion come to?" It was already late at night and yet three Cures were still up. White sat at the table in the living room, having asked a question to Peach who just came walking in, slowly nodding her head. Aqua was there as well, looking tired out, not because of her lack of sleep but their trying to find a solution to what they should do next.

"I'll summarize things for you. The voice they heard, the hymn that drained their life energy, was in all likelihood Cure Beat, who is currently in exile. We saw what happened to Setsuna when she was there for just one day. Beat belongs to a group called Suite and they all have abilities based on music."

"The exile area is closed off from the others, so how did she reach the fighters?" White was thinking about it when Love continued her explanation.

"Dream, a Cure from the other team, one we voted out a few fights back, used some kind of ability called Utopia that seemed to cancel out the fighting area as a whole. She said, as soon as Pine got hit by the sphere growing from Dream, she went down in pain from her injuries."

"Karen, what do you think? Dream belongs to your team, right?" Honoka had her own theory already but wanted to hear the take of someone else at the matter.

"Utopia. That's Dream's special ability. It makes whoever is affected by it see whatever they want to see most. It shouldn't interfere with the fight like that. As things are, the only conclusion I can come to is that her ability somehow allowed Beat to reach the fighting area."

"I agree. What makes this worse is that the next exile runners will ultimately be directly exposed to her singing. There won't be a need for Dream to cause a problem with her ability. Others have been dangerous for a little while when they came out of exile, but they all recovered. This is far worse than that. She's a real danger, in fights, for the runners and who knows if we're safe even here." Honoka was assuming a worst case scenario already.

"We need to get her out of there as quickly as possible." Love joined the conversation, sitting down next to Aqua. She felt a little intimidated by White at the time.

"You realize that someone else will be stuck there then. And there won't be any volunteers for this. It's different from fighting each other. This is a one-way trip to hell Honoka." Karen was all but interested in getting stuck in exile.

Love would have gone but she knew that Setsuna would never let her. The whole exile affair was a terrible cycle.

"Lemonade was right when she said this decision will be hard. You, Nagisa and Hikari form a team. So do Mint and I. Kurumi belongs to our team too. Peach here has her whole team assembled. It's an annoying situation where both sides are stuck with relatively filled up teams." Aqua wasn't pleased with the situation at all.

"I have a theory. If it works, I'll be able to get Beat out of exile and avoid turning insane as well. At least for one day. For the future, we need to have at least one fight a day, avoiding that anyone stays in exile longer than that. We should increase the numbers of participants as far as we can too. Of course, all of that is depending on whether this works or not." Honoka had thought of that theory earlier when Passion had come out of exile and they wondered if there was nothing that could be done.

"What are you going to do?" Love was curious. If there was a way to get Beat out of exile without succumbing herself, she would do it. Beat, Ellen, had saved Setsuna, so she felt a strong desire to save her as well.

"Cheat the system with it's own methods. The favor system lets us wish for anything we want and need. In this situation, any of us need protection from Beat and the exile. I will spend the favor I have on that. I will wish to be spared from the exile and it's effects. That will hopefully include Beat's hymn. If it doesn't include her hymn, I'll have to rely on my speed and luck to knock her out before she does me in. It'll injure her but I see no other method." White explained with a serious expression. She wasn't sure it would work.

"What are you gonna do if it doesn't work?" Aqua thought the idea a long shot but possible. It just might work. The setup was not there to torture them but to create a specific mindset and enforce actions. At least that's what they assumed.

"If I had any favor, I'd go... but I know Setsuna would be really mad. Isn't there a way to get rid of the exile permanently?" Love was trying to find a permanent solution. The way things were now, each runner for exile had to spend their favor on protection. That was, if White's plan even worked.

"I doubt it'll be easy. If we find a way to get protection from exile, even if only temporary, that would be a huge step forward. There is also the matter of the exile. One team will end up with one extra Cure if there is no exile at all. I don't know what kind of effect breaking the system like that would bring about." White wanted the exile gone as much as everyone else, but she was afraid of the consequences of doing so. If they broke the system and the powers saw them as rebelling, things might get a lot worse for all of them.

"In any case, the exile run won't be before tomorrow. Are you sure you want to go Honoka? Won't Black be really mad if you leave her behind?" Karen couldn't imagine what Komachi would do if she went to exile like White was going to do. Or in fact, she could imagine it very well, she just really didn't want to.

"Nagisa and I have been through even worse situations than this. She won't be happy but I trust you and Miki, when she comes to, to lead this group. Of course we'll be enemies when I get to the other side, or maybe I'm lucky and get back here when someone replaces me. Sadly, there is no way to confirm if my plan works or not until I show up on either side. And if I come out on the other team, they'll know but you likely won't. It's up to everyone themselves to decide if they want to bet their favor on this." Honoka looked grim. It was true that she had been through worse things, but just in case her plan failed, she would suffer the same torture and nightmares the other Cures did. She wasn't looking forward to that. In fact, if she didn't have excellent self control, she'd be shaking.

"Not everyone has favor either. I wonder if it'll be possible to take that into account. I... think they made this a very effective motivation. I first thought the exile existed simply because of the rule that in case of no majority vote being possible, the one with the lowest combat participation has to leave. I thought that rule would enforce people volunteering to fight. But this is much harsher. If you don't have favor, given your plan works, you can't protect yourself from the horrors of the exile." Karen went a little pale as she realized that they were doing exactly what they were expected to do.

"You don't think they planned all of this out, do you?" Love looked at the blue Cure next to her, not looking too healthy either.

All three of them were thankful when the tense air was instantly discharged when a droopy and sleepy looking Cure Black scuffled into the room. "Honoka.. it's late. Come to bed please? Damn it's cold..." Nagisa shivered and crossed her arms.

"It's a good call. We all have partners waiting for us I guess." Karen looked down, eyes closed, and smiled. Their anxiety had vanished for the most part. There was nothing, except trying it out, they could do about the current situation.

The other two nodded their heads in approval and the three of them stood up, almost synchronized. Honoka was quickly taken into escort by Nagisa, the two of them walking towards Nagisa's room. They more or less changed in whose room they slept every other day since the beds weren't that comfortable to begin with. It led to rather amusing events in the morning or at night at times.

Saying good night at the door to Passion's room, Aqua left Peach behind and went to her own room. Mint was already sound asleep and Karen didn't want to wake her by making a huge blue flash when she returned to her civil form. Taking off the butterfly in her hair that kept her ponytail, she let her long hair down. Sliding off the gloves and dropping them on the ground, she leaned against the wall and took off first one, then the other boot. It was too much of a hassle to take off the chest piece, but she could take off the skirt at least. Karen carefully slid into bed, as not to wake the green Cure. She didn't look under the blanket but she didn't need to. Komachi was, as probably almost all the others were too, sleeping naked.

Not even ten seconds passed before two arms wrapped themselves around Karen's waist. "You're so cute when you're acting considerate." Komachi giggled and moved closer to the blue haired woman. Not as close that her chest was touching Karen's back but close enough to feel her warmth. Karen pouted for a bit but then adjusted her sleeping position to make it more comfortable for Komachi. She wasn't going to bother her with all the details of their conversation before morning.

=== Dissonance ===

"What happened to them?" Egret, Windy as well as Muse, were in the living room. The question just asked had been directed at Lemonade from Muse. Still in her adult form, she was getting used to it. While she was living her normal life, she rarely if ever needed to be black Muse, but she actually enjoyed how seriously people took her around here.

"I can't tell for sure, but there's essentially two possibilities. One, they had their life energy somehow drained from them. Second, they're under some kind of ability effect or curse. Considering the abilities I've seen, it should be the first. But alas, I can't be sure. They're all sound asleep and weak. They won't be walking anytime before tomorrow noon, give or take an hour or two for Moonlight." Urara wore an unusually serious expression. Her eyes were narrowed down and her brows were twitching at a few specific points.

"It's bad that not even one of them is conscious. We've all been in fights, and usually, wounds are healed. That they're still this weak means something happened, and considering the situation, nothing good. I don't think it's a coincidence that this happened right after Dream joins a fight for the first time. Both Rouge and Moonlight fought before." Mai was the first to say what everyone was thinking.

Ako was thinking the exact same thing but didn't openly accuse Dream. They had no concrete proof, and the general mood was not exactly welcoming her either. She knew all too well what it was like to be all on her own. She didn't want to further alienate someone who was already alone.

"Dream and I aren't exactly best friends but if you're accusing her, you'll need to prove it. I'm not going to just let you say this without any bais. And in case you're aiming to tell me it's her special ability that causes this, sorry to disappoint you. Her ability is called Utopia. It makes people see and feel their ideal world, the place they wish to see most. If anything, it would have the opposite effect of whatever happened to them." Urara was defending Dream, almost to her own surprise. They were still friends, but what Egret was saying did have some truth to it.

"This situation speaks for itself. I won't say she's guilty, but you can't say this is a coincidence. Kaoru, what do you think?"

"It's highly likely that Dream had to do something with this. However, with an ability like that, she won't be the cause of the damage. There is a higher chance that there was a chain reaction to her usage of her ability. The battles heighten our emotional state of wanting to fight. Obviously, it'd cause a problem if she tried to use it while they're in a state of wanting to fight. I still don't think it's what caused their current condition though." Everyone watched the blue haired Cure with a surprising expression. Due to their antics when together, most people didn't expect Kaoru to be exceptionally smart.

"We'll know whose fault it is when they wake up tomorrow. In the meantime, what do we do about the exile? I know you four make a team." Muse looked at Mai as she spoke. "Melody, Rhythm and I make a team as well. We're missing Beat, but we still make three out of four. Moonlight and Sunshine make part of a team as well. The others cannot leave."

"I don't think votes will get us anywhere at this point." Lemonade knew that the situation on the other side must be exactly the same. "They will pick someone from an existing team and take it apart on the other side. Then, after the next fight, the team will slowly migrate to this side. At least that's what I think is going to happen."

"Rhythm won't be able to leave for another two fights, but eventually, we'll have to migrate to the other team. I'm worried about Beat so I will go. Melody and Rhythm can follow when they want, Before I go, I want to discuss what we can do to stop the threat coming from the exile. Anyone got an idea?" Muse was sincerely worried about Ellen but there was something else that bothered her. Something Hibiki let slip out earlier that day. She was asking her about Hymns and if there were any legends about them in Major Land. While it only looked like curiosity to Ako, if a little weird because of the timing, what stirred her suspicions was that she refused to tell her how she got that idea to begin with.

"Given the way this is setup, only one person at a time can go through the gate. If two of us tried, one would likely be thrown back. Once inside the actual exile, only two of the three can leave. Those are the rules. I don't know what we can do to change them." Mai wasn't looking forward to entering the exile herself, but she couldn't come up with anything on the spot.

"We won't be able to bend the rules. This isn't playing trump or rock-paper-scissors. To defeat the exile, we have to do it inside the system. There might not even be a way, since the exile seems to be designed to keep us fighting. Then whoever fights the least will be chosen as exile runner if there is no majority vote." Kaoru took back the lead on the conversation. "If there is any way to get around the torment, it'll be by either special ability or the favor system. I don't know if any of you have an ability that protects from things that influence your mind, but even if you do, it'll be a hard time keeping it up. The only other possibility would be to use the favor system to protect yourself."

"Use favor to dodge the effects of the exile. I see, that could work. Muse, are you going to try that?" Urara, tired of standing around aimlessly, had walked up to the table and sat down at the lower end, facing the others, resting her right arm on the table.

"I have exactly a hundred favor. I don't know if that will suffice. I don't have anything in particular that I want. I'll be right back." Muse stood up and left for her room, walking straight past Lemonade, who turned her head to get a good view of Muse's butt.

Muse was barely out of hearing range when Lemonade turned to Egret and Windy. "I didn't want to bring this up while she was here. I met the last exile when I came here. That place is not just tormenting you. It warps you, drives you mad, makes you do things you could never imagine. I doubt it'll be as easy as just wishing for protecting from this."

"You're too pessimistic. I hope it works. I, for one, am not looking forward to running exile myself. Nor is anyone else here, I'm sure. I was surprised when she volunteered." Mai had a stern look in her eyes, fixating her gaze on Urara.

"That might be so, but life isn't that easy. We'll find out soon enough." Lemonade heard the sound of heels hitting the stone ground and shut up. She had enough tact as to not make it even worse for Muse than it already was. She didn't know her but that didn't matter.

Carrying a bowl in her hands, Muse sat back down at the table. "There's a very easy way to test if it works or not." Ako closed her eyes and focused on the small bowl in front of her, or more specifically on the contents of said bowl. The small golden coins which had no imprint whatsoever, the favor awarded to them as token for battle participation.

There was one strong, dominant thought in her mind. Protect me from the effects of exile. A sharp pain cut through her thought, making her pull away from the table and knock her chair over, open her eyes wide and stare at the bowl. "It felt like I was cut by a sharp knife. It was just for a moment, but..." Muse looked at her hands, which were shaking. That pain would be enough to drive her insane if it kept going.

"There are two possibilities as to what the reason is. One, you simply cannot wish for protection. Second, you don't have enough. Try wishing for something else you're sure you can't get with hundred favor. That will make clear which of the two it is. Make sure that it is something that actually exists." Kaoru looked at Muse, her curiosity piqued.

"Like a thousand bars of solid gold," Lemonade threw in.

Muse picked up her chair and sat down again, this time wishing for what Lemonade had just suggested. A mountain of gold. And it happened again. The same sharp pain cut through her mind, almost as if it was trying to sever her conscience from her body. Less startled this time, Muse simply started breathing erratically. "It's the second. I don't have enough favor. That means it is possible to be protected from the exile by this."

"But this also means, you won't have protection from exile when you leave tomorrow." Lemonade was struggling inside. She wondered if it was possible to give others favor of her own. Should she make the offer?

"What about borrowing favor from others?" Egret was the first to bring the topic up. "We donated our favor to the team after the first fight, so we should be able to give it to you as well."

"It won't work. Michiru and I tried this before. The pot will just reject any coin that you haven't earned yourself. The team pot is different since it would be empty if we kept losing. I think they foresaw this happening and that's why the pot refuses any but your own coin. Even if you take yours out, hand them to someone else and they try to put it into their own pot, it's still rejected." So much for their plan to pool favor for protection.

"They want us to fight more. The more we fight, the more favor we get. If we get enough favor, we can protect ourselves from the exile when we're up. There are six fights before we can be voted out, so that makes it possible to fight three times. I have no idea how much favor we'll need to protect ourselves from the exile, but doesn't it seem likely that it would be around three hundred? I'm just guessing on this though." Urara looked over at the older Kiryuu sister, trying to asses just how smart she really was. That girl knew more than she let on. "Nobody will have that much favor at this point. But it makes sense that it's setup this way. Unless we fight, we won't be getting out of here anytime soon. And on top of that, who knows what will happen to Earth. They probably want us motivated to fight. Well, I sure am now." Finishing her talk, the yellow Cure stood up and walked over to Muse, patting her on the shoulder. "Good luck."

Turning around and leaving, the three Cures left behind just silently looked at each other. Mai and Kaoru wanted to help Muse but they couldn't. Mai had no reason to doubt Kaoru's words and Ako had no reason to think of either as egoistical. It was entirely likely that the powers from above set things up like that.

"I'll go to sleep. Thanks for offering to help me." Ako walked away in a hurry, not wanting either of them to see her worried and distraught. Having heard what the exile was like, she was quite worried now. Making the decision had been surprisingly easy, but now that she could feel the countdown ticking, she was getting very, very nervous.

=== Dissonance ===

It was the middle of the night when Saki was just about to return to Mai's side from the bathroom and continue a good night's rest when she saw someone sitting in the living room. Still sleep drunk and not seeing clearly, Saki got a little closer.

Sunshine was reading a book, a thick novel. Saki couldn't quite make out what she was reading but the cover was bright red and had a pretty long title written on it. "Can't sleep?" She was actually more curious why she would read out here. It wasn't exactly warm outside the rooms, especially when what they called night came around.

"Just unable to stand my own room." Itsuki didn't even look up. She recognized the voice as Cure Bloom, Egret's partner. She was reading Romance of the Three Kingdoms, a book about ancient Chinese wars and battles. She wasn't the type to find war pretty, but she was fascinated by tales of it.

"Unable to... what?" Saki couldn't quite make sense of what Sunshine said. Was there someone in her room? She couldn't think of anyone at that point.

"My bed still smells like her and as you can imagine, that's not exactly what I want to be reminded of." Itsuki had a little pity on Saki, knowing that it would be hard to conclude that much from one cryptic answer to whether she was able to sleep or not. "So, no. I can't sleep."

Saki, the sleepiness slowly wearing off little by little, didn't need any more clarification than that. One way or another, word had gotten out that Melody and Sunshine had been an item for just a little while. And then, Rhythm intruded into that relationship.

"I would offer you my bed, but that probably smells like Mai and me." Not quite sure what else to say, Saki tried another approach. "Want to talk about it? It helps if you can just tell someone what you feel like."

Sunshine stopped for a few seconds, putting a finger on the line she was on, thinking about it. Bloom wasn't having any deeper motives, she was too honest and simple a person. It was easy to tell that much from the way she acted around others and her partner.

"It sucks. It really does. I liked her.. or well, like her, quite a bit and it feels really unfair that Rhythm just shows up and suddenly comes out that she's been in love with her all this time. I went and acted all mature but I really wanted to just smack her and take Hibiki for myself."

"I think you did the right thing. If you really like her, then you want her to be happy. Isn't that right?" Saki sat down next to Sunshine, who was staring absentmindedly at her book, not reading or even caring she had forgotten which line she was on.

"Sure I want her to be happy, but that's not going to make it any less painful to give her up and watch someone else have fun with her. Hibiki's a great girl, I doubt I'll get as lucky as that a second time."

"Who knows. I was lucky with Mai, but we had our own fights and moments where I thought it wouldn't work out."

"That's not the same Bloom. There wasn't someone else from her past who tried to take her away after you started sleeping with each other." Itsuki was fairly bitter about the whole thing, more so than she had realized herself until now. It wasn't her style to be that hung-up on things, but she found it hard to let bygones by bygones.

"You really liked her." There was a bit of astonishment in Saki's voice, the type one finds when there's a heavy revelation being made and people sigh, having trouble taking it all in.

"I suppose she is my first love. I'll get over it eventually, but as long as I'm on this side, right next to her, that's not gonna happen. I never thought I'd be this hung up on this. I thought I was more mature than that." Itsuki shook her head, disappointed with herself.

"What are you talking about? You're taking this better than I would. You respect her decision, you're not doing anything spiteful to pay her back for leaving you, and you don't soak in self-pity. Of course it hurts to lose someone you like. I can only imagine what kind of stupid shit I'd do if Mai left me." Saki got a little too excited, raising her voice too far, getting a silencing look from Sunshine. "Sorry. I just think you're being too hard on yourself. If you don't want to be around her, you should volunteer to switch to the other team."

"Maybe that's what I'll do. I wonder if they decided the exile runner for tomorrow yet." Itsuki hadn't participated in any meetings and she didn't even know how the last fight ended. All she knew was that it had been over really quickly.

"I need to go back to bed. Try to get some sleep Sunshine." Saki stood up and gave Itsuki a long, understand look. She had experienced herself what it was like to be suddenly separated from Mai. A couple of their fights had been so bad that they didn't talk to each other for days.

"Night." Itsuki sighed heavily and finally closed her book. She did feel better after whining about her broken relationship for a bit. It didn't change anything or help her get over it, but she felt better. Now that she thought of it, while she was close friends with the rest of her team, none of them were really the type to whom you could go to do what Bloom had just done for her.

=== Dissonance ===

The night came and went for the light team, few of them sleeping soundly, others anxious of what the morning would bring, and two sleeping so deep that there were not even dreams for them to see. Love was the first to wake up, still a bit sore from the day before.

Laying quietly in her bed, she looked over her shoulder at her partner, the dark purple haired Setsuna. Eyes closed, the mouth slightly open, both her arms were wrapped around Love's waist, holding on tightly to her. The blond girl could feel Setsuna's breath on her back, getting her to smile. They almost always slept in the same bed, yet there was something oddly satisfying about seeing her right next to her in this place.

The two of them slept naked, not even embarrassed in the slightest. They traveled, ate and worked, slept and showered together. They had almost no secrets from each other. Love decided to tease Setsuna just a little. Turning over slowly, lifting her partners arms from her waist, Love laid down flat on her stomach and watched the face of the sleeping girl next to her with a bright smile.

After just a few minutes, Love held back her hair with one hand, put some support between herself and the bed with her other hand and leaned down, gently kissing her lover awake. "Time to wake up." At first, Setsuna refused, making a few groaning and moaning noises, turning over, now her back facing Love.

But that didn't discourage her. Taking a deep breath, Love moved the over shoulder length hair out of the way and slowly exhaled hot air on Setsuna's bare neck. That was enough to make the girl wake up. "You tease... let me sleep a bit more." Setsuna complained with a muffled voice, still feeling weak.

"Still feeling weak?" Love moved closer to Setsuna, the positions now reversed, slowly moving her arms around the girls waist, keeping her so close that Setsuna could hear even her whisper.

Not even saying anything but making a confirming moan, Setsuna grabbed Love's right hand. It was one of her signs. Love was so close to Setsuna that the latter could feel her lovers breasts pressing against her back. Instead of backing away, Love tightened her grip on Setsuna, her hot breath constantly tickling the purple haired girls neck.

Setsuna knew well that she wouldn't get any sleep like this. And truth be told, she was every bit as horny as Love was. Ignoring her sleepiness, ignoring her aching muscles, Setsuna rose up so quickly that Love was thrown on her back. By the time the blanket was covering them again, Setsuna was kneeling over the blond girl, a fiercely red blush on her face.

Neither of them was the type to clearly dominate in bed, so they switched every now and then. Today, it was Setsuna's turn to play the leading role. Two long strands of long purple hair was falling over her shoulders, tickling Love's neck and throat.

Leaning in even further, Setsuna was practically laying half on Love, her right hand on her partners neck, her left fondling her left breast. Love responded in turn, poking Setsuna's lips with her tongue, starting an intimate deep kiss. She was the type to keep her eyes open while Setsuna always closed hers. Their sex was simple if playful.

Setsuna loved the taste of Love's lips. It was cliche to call them such, but they really did taste like peaches. Sweet peaches at that. Love greedily seized Setsuna's mouth, her tongue dancing wildly with her partners.

Her left hand caressing Love's breasts, Setsuna could feel how horny they both were. Love would not let up with her kiss until she had no choice but to gasp for air, so Setsuna forced her to. Putting Love's left nipple between her thumb and index finger, she pinched it just a bit, making the blond girl moan out in pleasure.

Taking the chance to get away, Setsuna moved slowly down on the girl, her tongue drawing a line of hot saliva down her chest. Stopping when she had reached Love's breasts, she continued to fondle the left with her hand, the other she caressed with her tongue.

Love's moans were always surprisingly quiet, considering what she was normally like. Faint gasps for air, an occasional outburst of her voice, that was all Setsuna would hear when she took the lead. "Setsuna... you're cruel.. don't only do my boobs."

With a grin on her face, Setsuna stopped and sat up, kneeling on the bed, licking her lips. She always pretended to be a little mean when in bed, it gave Love a bit of a kick she had found out. But she was every bit as horny as the girl in front of her. Laying down again, Setsuna was happy that they were about the same height. Pushing her breasts against Love's, sliding her left hand between her thighs, kissing her love passionately.

Wrapping both her arms around Setsuna's neck, Love delighted in the sensation of their bodies touching, in the kiss, in the thrill of Setsuna's finger between her legs.

The two of them almost fell out of bed when someone knocked on the door quite violently. Their first thought was that someone had heard them. But how? The next room was empty, since it was Love's, and the previous one was Miki, who surely wouldn't interrupt them. Not to mention, Love was really, really quiet during sex.

Trying to get the blush out of her face, Setsuna quickly switched to Cure form while Love stayed behind in bed, disappointed that they had to suspend their make out session. Opening the door, Setsuna starred right at a clearly aggravated White. "We have a problem. A big one. Get out here." Not giving any explanation beside that, White stormed off, knocking on the next door. Setsuna looked out the door and found that not only White but also Aqua and Mint were rallying up people. What the hell was going on?

"Love, get up. Something is wrong." Now that the door was open and she was fully awake and alarmed, she could feel it. There was something in the air that was disturbing. Something dangerous.

And then she realized what it was. "That song... we're in trouble. Big trouble." Without a seconds worth of hesitation, Passion changed to Eas, only waiting for Love to shift to Cure form and follow her out the room. They were among the last to assemble in the living room, everyone else visibly anxious and on guard. Berry and Pine were there too, but they didn't seem to recognize the song that was echoing through the halls.

"I know what this is." Passion didn't like speaking up in front of everyone, but personal feelings had to stand back for now. "This song drains your life energy. It's really faint right now, but if we're exposed to it long enough, it will kill us. During the last fight, the song started playing after I knocked out Dream. It was a lot clearer than it is now but I finally recognize what this is. This is Ellen's, Cure Beat's, singing. She's the exile right now. I guess it can stop you from escaping, but it can't stop sound from traveling all the way out here."

"Are you saying that the current exile has an ability to sing a killing hymn?" Honoka had noticed the song right away when she woke up. She had excellent hearing, so even with the door closed, she noticed it. As soon as she stepped out in the floor, she could feel how it affected her. They were seemingly safe inside their own rooms, but outside that, they were subject to it's effects.

"I don't know. I never fought with or against her, and she didn't tell me anything about being able to use an ability like that." Setsuna looked down, remembering quite vividly how she started attacking everyone as Eas. "It might be the same as me. She has the potential to do this but she would never do it normally. It must be the effects of the exile."

"It doesn't matter if she is doing it on purpose or not. We can't ignore something like that. The other team must have noticed as well since I can feel the next exile run is going to be in just a few minutes. It was supposed to be hours from now. But who knows just how much worse this is going to get."

"What? You didn't tell me anything about leaving Honoka!" Nagisa was obviously upset about that sudden turn of events. "How can you make a decision like that without even telling me?"

"I was going to tell you this morning. I decided this just last night after hearing from Peach what Passion saw and went through in the fight. But this isn't the time to argue this Nagisa. I'll stop Beat from singing and get her through the portal I come in. That way, I can still leave. I feel bad for whoever gets trapped, but there is no other choice." She wasn't in the mood to argue with Nagisa. In front of ten other people, she grabbed Nagisa's hand, walked up to her and kissed her on the lips. "I'll see you soon." She knew that Nagisa would follow her anywhere.

"I'm going to leave now. I advise everyone to stay inside their rooms so you're not exposed to the song. I can already feel it's effect, I'm getting a bad headache." That was not much of a danger at the time, but who knew what would follow if they left it alone.

Everyone else nodded, except Nagisa, who followed Honoka all the way to the gate. "Don't get stuck. If you do, count on me getting you out of there tomorrow." Despite everything, Nagisa was actually understanding of the fact that Honoka took responsibility as the oldest and most experienced Cure on the team. "I love you Honoka."

"Nothing is gonna happen to me silly. I love you too." Giving her partner a final kiss, Honoka stepped through the gate. A deadly race for time had begun.

=== Dissonance ===

Things on the other side were a lot worse than White assumed. Everyone was woken by loud shouting in the hallways. The owner of the louder voice was Rouge, the person arguing with her, Moonlight. "Let me through. I'm going to teach her a lesson so she won't do nonsense like this ever again." There was a fierce anger burning in Yuri's eyes, ready to beat into Dream that running away from reality was no longer a choice. It was all her fault. That the fight had come to a sudden standstill, that the horrifying song almost killed them.

"I'll do that. You don't know her, you'll only make it worse. I'm just as angry as you are, and believe me, I'll make sure she gets a grip after this, but I won't let you hit her. I'm still her friend." Rin blocked the entrance to Nozomi's room, of whom was no sight to be seen.

Yuri's eyes were threatening, drilling right through the redhead. Rouge was gritting her teeth and standing her ground, but she could feel that Moonlight was just about to beat her up along with Dream. She had never seen that woman so pissed off, not even after she beat her up in that first fight

"I'm gonna say this one last time. Let, me, through." Moonlight was taller than Rouge and looked down on her, making her stare all the more terrifying. Rouge was lucky that several other Cures showed up and questioning the situation.

"Dream used her ability and disrupted the fight. We all suffered heavily from our injuries. But that's not all. Because of her meddling, some kind of song came through from god knows where and almost killed us. I'm going to make sure this never happens again." The scary part about Moonlight's anger was that she wasn't shouting or making baseless threats. Everyone could feel the anger leak out of her voice, that she really was going to beat Dream until she understood what it meant to be here.

"Calm down Yuri, this isn't like you." Itsuki was the first to step up to the angry Cure. But even she didn't dare to touch the angry Moonlight. She had never seen Yuri that angry. Blossom had once told her of what happened with Moonlight when they were trying to stop Dune. Moonlight was a composed, mature woman but when she got angry, she really lost control.

"Be quiet Itsuki. You weren't there. You didn't see how that bitch screwed us over. I almost died because she's being a child and refuses to accept that there is no backdoor out of this. I'm not going to let this go." Moonlight continued to stare at Rouge.

"You beating her will accomplish nothing Moonlight." "All it will do is trigger rebellion against you." The Kiryuu sisters, Windy and Bright, walked up to Moonlight, both of them intensively staring at her. They were emitting as much threat together as Yuri did alone. But it was enough to force the silver Cure to take her eyes off Rouge.

"Don't confuse educational punishment with self-righteous punishment." "She doesn't know you, nor do you know her. You will only make things worse." They saw right away that cold, dry logic was the only thing that could go through to her at this point.

"Am I supposed to just forgive her and keep quiet about this?" Yuri couldn't stand the thought of Dream messing up others as bad as she did that time.

"Rouge will punish her. Lemonade could too." "Don't assume she will go easy on her. Take a look at her." Bright and Windy pointed at Rouge, who was looking openly hostile at Moonlight.

A few seconds of silence passed and finally, Yuri took a deep breath. Her final glare was sending shivers down Rouge's back. "If she messes up again, don't expect me to back down." With that Moonlight left, still furious.

"I seriously thought she was gonna go through with her threat. Thank you, you two." Rin turned to the two Kiryuu's, who didn't seem as pleased as she expected them to be.

"Do your part of the deal." "Punish her good." They knew that if someone like Moonlight was angry to that extent, there had to be good and valid reason for that to happen. Dream had to have fucked up badly and when someone messed up, they had to be punished or make reparations. That was something the two would always enforce.

Rin did a quick look in the round before she turned about, opened the door and closed it behind her. The Cures outside had the courtesy to walk away, not eager to hear what Rouge had to say or would do.

Nozomi wasn't stupid. She knew that the two of them would be furious and she heard most of their conversation. Standing in the middle of the room, she was awaiting her metaphorical execution by Rin.

Just seeing Nozomi's face made Rouge angry again. Made her relive the pain of the wounds Pine had caused. Her body was even now still feeling numb for some reason. She didn't even know where to begin.

"Do you... have any idea how hard it was to stop Moonlight from coming in here and literally putting you through the hoops? Why, Nozomi? After everything I said, others said, you saw. And I know that wasn't just your normal Utopia. I'm not that stupid." Rin's hands were shaking from anger and she couldn't face her oldest friend as she was talking. This time, her idealism had gotten way too far.

"I did what I thought was right." Nozomi had barely finished her line when her right cheek flared up with pain, an impact sending her down on the floor. Rin had slapped her so hard that the sound of hand and cheek colliding was like a gunshot.

"**Then maybe you need to fucking think more! I know you think everything in life can be solved with banding together and believing, but that's not how it works!**" Rin was shouting at the top of her lungs, staring down on Nozomi, her eyes lit with wrath. "**Especially here! Everyone is doing their best to cope! It's only you who absolutely can't accept things as they are! I like you, I'm your oldest friend, but no way in hell I can support you with a ridiculous stance like that! Either you accept that this is real, that this is something you will have to be a part of, or we're through being friends!**" The redhead was panting heavily, trying to restrain herself from hitting Nozomi again.

The pink haired woman had never seen Rin that angry with her. Or it wasn't just anger. Part of Rin was obviously disappointed in her. Sitting on the ground and covering her blazing red cheek, Nozomi started to cry. Both out of pain and how ashamed she was that this had gotten Rin angry to the point where she forced an ultimatum on her or they were no longer friends.

"Cry all you want Nozomi. But if you screw up again, I'm not going to be there to protect you. This was the last straw. Holing yourself up in your room, alienating yourself from everyone, messing up a fight and god knows what else you've caused. Next time, you're on your own. Get a grip and handle this like an adult or face the consequences. I don't want to lose you, but if the threat of that is what it takes, then so be it." Rin knelt down, next to Nozomi and just for a moment, the anger was gone and she was back to the old Rin that cared so much for her. "Don't be stubborn. Please."

Without another word, Rin stood up, left without looking back and slammed the door shut. A few seconds passed before the whole room shook a little. She could hear Rouge scream out in the hallway. "Goddammit!"

Rouge had hit the wall hard enough to make her hand bleed and make a small hole. The pain was overriding her anger at Nozomi but things only got worse from there on. There was some kind of singsong in the air, something she felt she should recognize but she didn't.

Rouge saw Moonlight run out of the living room and right up to her. "We've got trouble. Call everyone except **her**." Yuri didn't lose a moment and ran back to the living room. It took the two less than a minute to round up the other nine. Nozomi was confined to her room, they didn't have any use for her.

"What's this noise in the air? Where is it coming from?" Itsuki didn't like the sound at all. To both Rouge's and Moonlight's surprise, it was Muse who actually stepped out and explained.

"It's a killing hymn called Purger. I recognize the language used. I didn't know anyone outside the royal family of Major Land could use these. It takes a considerable amount of skill to execute these properly."

"Cure Beat is the exile." Lemonade announced but kept her eyes on Muse to see her reaction. "Are you saying this hymn is designed to kill people? What kind of land has hymns like that?"

"It used to purge evil from people's hearts. Nobody knows when it became a hymn to purge people from the world. This has nothing to do with Major Land!" Ako would not let her talk like that about her kingdom.

"It doesn't matter. Stop arguing you two. I felt this song in the last battle. It's just as Muse said, a song to kill people. I could barely move after about a minute. We have to stop her right away or we'll all be like that soon enough. The effect seems diminished this far away, but who knows what is going to happen next." Looking to Egret, Moonlight asked. "Have we decided who the exile is?"

Muse was about to say something when Itsuki raised her hand. "I'll go. I have my reasons. I want to see Tsubomi and Erika again too. I'm quick and can beat most in a close combat fight. I can also knock someone out with a single hit if necessary. I should go." Itsuki really just wanted to get away from Hibiki until she was no longer hung up on being dumped.

Ako didn't know what to say. She had wanted to go, but knowing how dangerous the hymns were, she just couldn't bring herself to step up and tell Sunshine that she had volunteered as exile runner the night before. And that short moment of hesitation made her lose the feeling for the countdown to the run.

"This will sound harsh, but do whatever you can to stop Beat. If you need to knock her out, do it. Even if injuries from the exile carry over, we don't have another choice." Yuri wasn't happy that she had to order violence against other Cures, but after the fiasco with Dream, she wasn't in the mood for any more gambles.

"Ako... can I talk to you for a minute?" Melody had walked up to her teammate, followed by Rhythm. Hibiki was not exactly a snitch but she felt that it would probably be best if she spilled the beans. "Ellen sung one of these hymns for me. It was completely different from this, though. She didn't seem to be able to control it."

"These hymns are passed down through the Major Land royal family. They are also books in the locked part of the library about them. I can't imagine Ellen getting them from either source." Ako was clearly confused and worried why Ellen was able to tap into the power for these songs. Could it have something to do with her powers as Cure? They were all based on musical elements after all.

"I hope Ellen is okay.. are these hymns dangerous for it's user Ako?" Kanade was quite worried about the, now, black haired girl. She was their previous friend and teammate after all.

"I don't know for sure. Mama told me that they consume a great deal of energy and that she never properly learned to string them together. There was one thing she warned me about though. If you sing them for too long, it starts eating your life energy. If you still continue, you die." Muse was making a solemn face. "I just hope Ellen is strong enough..."

"She's probably not doing this on her own." Urara had walked up to Muse and the other two Suite members. "The exile is a terrifying place. I've seen what it can do to a girl I knew pretty well for a while. It wouldn't surprise me if it can force you to sing until you die if that's what she is afraid of."

"Don't say things like that!" Hibiki was upset that Lemonade would talk about the death of her friend so casually. "How would you feel if it was one of your friends that was in danger of dying?"

"The same way I do now. Worried. Anxious. Depressed. But there's no use in getting all flustered about it. Sunshine is a strong fighter. If she knocks her out, that will solve the problem. Isn't that so, Muse?" Urara looked at the black Cure, who gave an confirming nod. "But I seriously don't want to be in Sunshine's shoes right now. We can hear the song out here. Imagine what it's like to be right there near the source."

Nothing they imagined came even close.

=== Dissonance ===

Honoka had barely stepped foot through the gateway when the music, the hymn hit her with full force. She hadn't thought it would be that bad. There was no way she could get close or even anywhere like that. Sometimes, a single mistake could be fatal. Was this one like that?

She couldn't go down there, not after everything she went through in her life. It would damage her, but she didn't really have any kind of choice, the hymn was much too powerful. Covering her entire body with the energy she usually used to execute Whitelight Illumination, she isolated herself from the magic effect of the hymn. It was slowly burning her skin and it was quite painful, but she was able to move. Beat would find her soon, since she was literally a white flashlight running around. One clean hit. If she could get just one clean hit in, then it was over for Beat.

Each platform was filled with corpses of constructs, faceless humanoid objects that served no purpose other than to torment the exile. They were piled up to the hundreds. Just how long had she been singing? The song was ringing in her ears and although the magic effect didn't reach her for now, it was quite a horrible song to listen to.

It didn't take long to find the origin of the hymn. As expected, it was the central tower in the battlefield. And the closer she got, the more she started to feel the hymn's effects again, despite destructive white energy covering her entire body. There was no way she could get any closer than the closest platform. But thankfully, she wasn't alone. The other team had pushed up the time for the run, so they too, must have heard the song.

Of all people, it was Sunshine. Honoka could see a golden ball of energy approach her rapidly. It must be extremely easy to spot her, now that she was glowing strongly with white energy, like a signal flare.

"This is a lot worse than I thought." Itsuki had covered herself to every direction with a double layered aegis but that only kept out the worst of the hymn. Her life was still being slowly sapped away. And there was not a snowballs chance in hell she could get to the top and the center of that tower in front of them.

"I can't get closer. What about you?" There were burns all over White's arms and legs but she didn't say anything or let Sunshine notice in how much pain she was.

"Impossible. Just staying here for a few more minutes is going to be... yeah." They had survived the onslaught of the deadly hymn only to be locked out short of their goal. "Can you hit her from a distance?"

"I could blow up the entire surface of the tower if necessary. I have to see where I'm aiming though." Honoka didn't know what to say when Itsuki knelt down and put her hands together, acting like she was going to help Honoka spy over a wall. "Good thinking."

Without a second of hesitation, she put her right foot on Itsuki's hand and waited for her to catapult her upwards. "We'll only have one try. Just blast the whole thing. With the hymn gone, I can catch you both with shields." Itsuki at least hoped she was able to do it.

Propelling Honoka high into the air, the White Cure had now a good view of the top of the tower. And what a view it was. She would not forget that sight for the rest of her life. Among a crowd of constantly dying and resurrecting constructs was Beat, dancing wildly inside a sphere of music, surrounded by multiple layers of a score, notes bending to her will. Her motions were almost unearthly beautiful but also grotesque in a way. Her hands strumming the scores, never leaving the central point of the sphere, her legs made her dance, jump, whirl around like a puppet.

But all of that paled in comparison to her face. Where tears would fall, there was blood. It was running from her eyes, her mouth. For just one second, she met her gaze, could see into her eyes from the distance. And they spelled absolute horror and helplessness. If she and Sunshine were suffering under the hymn, then so was Beat. There was no outcry for help, no plead to save her. She was completely lost in the illusion of the exile.

White was sorry and for the first time since many years, she thought a quick prayer, that she would not end up killing Beat. But she could feel the hymn already getting to her. She had a few seconds, at best. Nothing could survive the immediate area around Beat right now.

No specially developed attack, no complicated aiming. White simply unleashed all the energy she had build up, coated herself with, onto the top of the tower. The resulting explosion was so bright that the darkness in the sky was temporarily overtaken, the whole area dipped into the flash of her energy.

And the music stopped abruptly, the constructs vanishing. The tower yet stood, and White managed just to land herself on top of it, slowly crouching over to the edge, signalizing to Sunshine that she was okay, only to see that the yellow Cure was out cold on the ground. She wasn't surprised, considering everything. She could barely walk herself.

"Now what do I do?" Honoka wasn't sure what she was **supposed** to do, but she had to get Beat out of this place. No matter what, she couldn't leave the girl behind. Not only because she was a danger to herself and everyone else but also because she couldn't forget the horror in her eyes. She had felt fear many times before and some of these times, it had been really bad. But never had she seen someone so desperate to be saved.

Slowly getting up and walking even slower over to where Beat was on the ground, unconscious, her body littered with burns. Her skin was pale, as if she spent years coped up in a dark room. No more blood was running from her eyes and mouth, but the red stains were still there. She was breathing weakly but regularly. White didn't see any reason to fear for her life.

"Sorry Sunshine. But I'm not eager to stay in here. Don't hold a grudge." Honoka was talking to herself, knowing that neither of the other two could hear her. Sitting down next to the unconscious Beat, she tried to recover a bit. She wouldn't be able to carry Beat anywhere in her condition.

"I wonder if the others are worried. I hope Nagisa doesn't do anything foolish." Looking down on Beat, she couldn't imagine what kind of nightmare she had been shown. From the little she knew of the team that identified as Suite, she did know that they all loved music. How must someone feel that watched herself kill people over and over with the thing they loved.

Thankfully she had found out the night before that it was possible to protect herself from the exile if only she lacked the funds to do it then. Nagisa should have told everyone about it by now. Hopefully that would reduce the danger and terror the exile struck into their hearts.

But it really was a vicious setup. Effective but completely devoid of emotion. "I guess I should have expected as much. This isn't setup by humans after all." Honoka sighed and tried to get up, still feeling a bit wonky on her feet but well enough to try and carry Beat to the gate she had come trough.

That was the only choice she had. She couldn't go back through it and unless it was her who stayed behind, she had no choice but to make Beat take the gate she couldn't. The girl was surprisingly light. Carrying her like a princess, Beat's head resting against Honoka's shoulder, the white Cure jumped down towards the next tower. Landing was still difficult. Losing her balance for a bit and almost falling, she stabilized after a bit, the next jump a little easier than the old one. The constructs gone, the area felt as empty as it had when they fought. It was a terrible place to be.

It took her almost ten minutes to get to her starting point and she was sweating and out of breath when she finally got there. Putting the still sleeping Beat into the circle, she just had to get to the opposite side of the field now. It looked much farther than before, a journey almost.

Honoka was surprised by herself that she didn't blame the girl for what she had done. For singing a hymn of death, almost killing her and the others. After seeing Milky Rose and Eas, she knew just too well that the exile did things beyond one's comprehension to people.

Sitting down just for a moment, she gave Beat another look. She was a lot younger than her. Somewhere between fifteen and seventeen, Honoka guessed. How time flew. She remembered the day well she and Nagisa became Cures for the first time. The emissaries of Light, Cure Black and Cure White. Had it really been six years since then? Had she been with Nagisa for that long? It seemed like such a short time, but when she thought about it, so many things had happened.

But now was not the time to reminiscence. Getting up, checking on Beat one last time to make sure she wasn't actually wounded badly, Honoka slowly made her way to the opposite side of the field. Finding Sunshine, still unconscious, near the central tower as she passed by, she looked after the woman. Beside the drain of life energy, she seemed to be fine. Moving Sunshine around so she could sleep on her back, it was the least she could do before leaving her behind, Honoka felt guilty. That was another thing that exile runners had to deal with.

The guilt of leaving behind one of their own to suffer in that monstrous place. She couldn't ignore it as it gnawed at her conscience. But she had little choice. If she sacrificed herself to stay in exile, Sunshine would feel the guilt. That wouldn't get her anywhere. Sometimes, one had to make hard decisions.

After what seemed to be an eternity, Honoka finally reached the other side of the field, taking a deep breath. If she stepped into the portal, she let Sunshine behind. If she didn't, she would have to go back and carry Beat all the way over to this point and let Sunshine escape or carry her as well. She no longer had the stamina left to do that.

Taking the step, a circle on the ground lit up, and the area around herself was becoming distorted. "Sorry Sunshine. I'll make it up to you somehow."

=== Dissonance ===

"She did it." All eleven Cures were waiting near the gate, waiting for the exile runners to finally show up. The music had stopped a short time after Honoka had left and entered the gate. Nagisa assembled everyone and told them about the possibility of using favor to protect oneself from the effects of the exile even if the cost was not known yet. They had then moved to the hallway with the door, waiting for whoever would come true.

Appearing on the ground, unconscious and weak, Ellen was carried by Nagisa to her room. Passion was the only one who knew her at all, so she and Peach were the only ones to stay with her in her room. Everyone else went about their own matters, happy that the situation was somewhat resolved and even happier that finally a way to avoid the torment in exile had been found.

"It feels like I caused this. If she didn't come to like me, she wouldn't have followed me." Setsuna and Love had each brought a chair into Ellen's room, patiently waiting for her to wake up. The red Cure was sitting on her chair, looking at the sleeping Beat.

"If she hadn't followed you then, at some point, she would have switches sides. And even if she didn't get stuck then, it was highly likely she'd be there eventually. All this would still have happened. I don't want you to blame yourself Setsuna." Peach put her hand on her partners shoulder and leaned down, kissing her cheek the side. "Try to greet her with a smile when she wakes up."

Over an hour passed and Love had fallen asleep on her chair, leaning on the purple-haired girl's shoulder. Passion didn't want to fall asleep or leave Beat out of her eyes even for a moment. But what was she going to say to her when she woke up? It didn't take a genius to realize that Ellen was in love with her. And she liked her too, now even knowing that Love wouldn't ostracize her for it.

But was that really something she wanted? Be with her and Love? Would Ellen even accept that? She didn't want to lose a friend, but If she simply dumped her, it was even more likely to turn out that way. It would take every bit of her courage to explain, ask and wait.

Love was the kind of person who would be fine with almost anything she imposed on her. Sharing her attention with Ellen... would that really be good? What if Love didn't get along with her? It was hard to imagine that someone like Love wouldn't be able to make friends with Ellen, but...

Tearing at her hair, Passion discarded all those complicated thoughts. If she had learned one thing in all these years she'd been with Love, then it was that it was easier to just ask people and wait for their answer instead of trying to think of every single possibility of what could happen.

Another hour passed and Passion was starting to become really tired, physically. Love had woken up once and then fallen back asleep, no longer resting on Setsuna's shoulder. How much longer would she sleep?

=== Dissonance ===

"Feeling better?" Mai handed a cup to Honoka, who sat at the large table in the living room of the eastern team. She had arrived a while ago but had been so tired that she passed out just as she felt herself safe. Mai and Saki had carried her to her room and waited for her to wake up.

"I'm sure you heard the hymn here as well. You can't imagine what it was like Mai. Not just to face that power when it was draining away my very life. But the look in her eyes. I've seen quite a few sad and horrible things in my life, fighting as a Cure. But this is the one thing I'll never be able to forget. The look on her face screamed out in terror, desperate for help. I feel so sorry for her." White took a sip from the cup. It was hot, black tea, something Mai knew she really liked.

"It scares me that the song could be heard all the way out here. This place is gigantic after all, and there is a physical barrier between the arena and our grounds." Saki hadn't seen Honoka in a while and was happy to see she was okay. At the same time, she knew that Sunshine had to be the one that was stuck now, and that didn't feel good at all.

"I'm sure that if she had continued to sing, she would have died herself. Still, I'm thankful we went there and stopped her. It don't want any of us dying. Mai, I've got something to tell everyone later. I found out that it's possible to protect yourself against the effects of the exile."

"We know." Saki blurted out quickly, looking at Honoka's surprised face. "Muse found out together with Windy, Mai and Lemonade. They told everyone. But it's good that the other team knows too. You told them before you left, right?"

"I didn't have time, really. I left Nagisa in charge of it. It's important so I know I can trust her with this." Honoka was relieved that both sides knew about the protection now.

"Wasn't Nagisa really mad that you left her behind?" Mai sat down next to Honoka. While they resembled each other a bit as civilians, they really looked nothing alike as Cures.

"She acted like she understood, but I know she's mad. But even so, eventually, one of us would have had to switch. I'm pretty sure that once everyone else had been through a run, we'd have gotten a lot of votes. Regardless of how strong and experienced we are." Letting out a huge sigh, Honoka looked up, at the ceiling. "She'll probably try to come over next. I wonder if she'll get stuck. I really don't want her to be the exile."

"I can understand how you feel. I'd be really worried too if I changed and Saki was to follow me." Giving her partner a gentle look, Mai continued. "They're both a little too nice for their own sake, and they're easily tricked. They're both easy victims." She was just teasing Saki and the girl with orange hair understood that well.

"I won't be able to change for at least another six fights, so I want others to have the chance to collect favor. Aqua, Berry and I acted as leaders on the other side." It wasn't much of a break of rules to tell them who was on the other team. At this stage, pretty much everyone knew who the exile was and who was on which side. "Are you leading this group Mai?"

"Moonlight, Windy and me. Moonlight is the oldest among us, but I think we three have more experience than her. Despite that, she's really strong and mature. There was an incident in the last battle with Dream, which riled her up a lot, but I think she has calmed down by now."

"I heard about the incident." White shook her head. "She was on the other side, together with me, when this started. She was full of childish ideals even then. What is that girl thinking? I can't understand her." Emptying half of her cup, Honoka felt quite a bit better now. Still weak, but no longer tired to the point where she thought she'd have trouble running.

"Rouge supposedly taught her a lesson. Michiru and Kaoru were quite mad as well. There's a hole in the wall across Dream's room. Rouge wasn't too happy when she came out of there. Nobody would admit they saw it, but she was crying while she hammered her fist against the wall."

"Well of course she was. Imagine if you were her and I was Dream. I heard from Lemonade they've known each other for way over a decade and they've been friends ever since" Saki pointed out, but regretted it immediately as Mai gave her a curious glare.

"When exactly did she tell you that?" Mai was almost always together with Saki, and there hadn't been a lot of opportunities since the thing with Rouge happened.

Saki never got to answer. Honoka had her eyes glued on the entrance to the room, where a pink and a white Cure were a little fidgety, apparently unsure how to talk to Honoka. Discovered, Melody stepped up to Honoka and got her question out.

"How is Ellen? I mean Cure Beat." After having come through the exile, they assumed she would know what happened to her.

"She was hurt pretty badly, but she's alive. She'll be fine in no time, physically at least." Honoka wasn't going to sugarcoat what had happened to her and what condition Beat was likely in. "Let me just ask you this. She loved singing and music, right?" It was just a not-quite so wild guess based on what team she belonged to.

"Ellen loved singing more than any of us. But why-" Kanade was cut off by Honoka's icy glare.

"She was forced to sing a hymn of killing for a mass of faceless constructs which likely appeared as people to her. If she loved singing as much as you say, we should all worry about her emotional wounds. Imagine if you were forced to do what you love most and it would actually kill people, over and over." Honoka realized too late that she was being too harsh. "I'm sorry. It's just... I can't forget her face. I've seen Milky Rose and Passion return from exile, driven to the edge and overcome by it's terrors. But this was different. I... can't really put it into words. I hope she's okay. I really hope she's okay and she realizes that she was forced into this." White stared at her cup, more than just a trace of sadness in her own eyes.

Melody and Rhythm were both at a loss for words, seeing a veteran Cure like White make a face like that.

=== Dissonance ===

Passion sighed in relief when Ellen finally opened her eyes. But the purple haired Cure didn't say anything, only looked at Setsuna and Love with a curious expression, as if she didn't quite grasp where she was.

"You're in your room, on the western side. You left exile after someone stopped you. I'm so relieved you're okay. You are okay, aren't you?" Setsuna, waking up Love by shaking her a little, got up and sat on the edge of the bed, completely forgetting how awkward the situation between her and Ellen had been when she left.

Trying to get up slowly, Ellen found that she could barely move her arms and legs. She had no energy in her. Her throat was dry and her eyes hurt. She could still hear traces of the music, of the horrid hymn, in her ears, still feeling the terror it struck into the hearts of everyone else.

"Relax." Love had gotten up and was looking at Ellen over Setsuna's shoulder. It only took a few seconds for Beat to realize who this was and why she clung to Setsuna like that. Despite her lack of energy, she actually tensed up, suddenly nervous that the pink Cure might lash out at her for trying to steal her partner. "I said relax, silly. I can pretty much guess what you're thinking. Something along the lines of: Oh no, is this Setsuna's partner? Does she know about Setsuna and me?" Love smiled at Ellen's shocked face. "I guess that's about right then."

"This might be a little much for you to understand right now, but if it makes Setsuna happy to be with you, then I'm happy too. Of course that doesn't mean that Setsuna doesn't want to be with me either." Love was making it a little too complicated.

"What Peach means is that you can be part... of our relationship. I think. Is that it, Love?" Setsuna didn't want to bury Ellen under a sudden attack of information and revelation, but her quite eager partner hadn't really left her a chance.

Ellen opened her mouth, trying to say something, but she couldn't. It wasn't just that her throat was too dry or that she couldn't find the right words. Her voice was just gone. The shock didn't take long to take hold of her. What would she do now? Without her voice... she was nothing.

=== End of Event XII ===


	13. Silence

**A/N: Really surpassed myself with the overload of errors in the original 13. This is mostly fixed.  
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**Dissonance**

_Event XIII_

**Silence**

Sitting up, her lips were parting and closing, her tongue moving, but no words would come out. The two girls in front of her just stared in bewilderment as she continued her futile efforts to try and bring out her voice again. To say as much as thank you and sorry.

But was she surprised? Not very. Considering what she had done, losing her voice must be just punishment. Lowering her head, Ellen stared at her hand with great intensity. She could still smell the stench of death that had covered the platform. The disgust she felt when she looked at the mindless crowd, endlessly listening to her hymn, dying and resurrecting to die once more. No matter what she told herself, that they were not real, that they were only figments of her nightmare, she couldn't truly see them like that.

To her, they had been people like any other. People she would meet on the street, at her concerts, on the bus, the train. People just going about their lives, suddenly subject to a never ending cycle of ruthless massacre. Their blood was stuck to her hands.

"What's wrong?" Setsuna sensed that Ellen wasn't speechless because of Love. Sure, it was bad timing of her to just attack Ellen with her proposal like that, but that couldn't be the cause. The two girls backed away and sat down on their chairs.

Ellen only shook her head slightly, silently starting to cry. Her voice had always been her greatest and most prized possession. The voice she used to sing great melodies, she used to entertain people, to make them happy. And which she had used to try to kill everyone around her.

Only the sound of her breathing and sobbing accompanied her tears. Her shoulders shaking, her tears dripping on her hands, Ellen was watched by Love and Setsuna with sorrowful faces. They didn't know what to say.

"Your voice... is gone." Setsuna had waited a few minutes before she said anything. Never in her life had she seen a scene so surreal, so sad. Just seeing Ellen like that, shedding bitter tears of loss and remorse, she felt like crying herself.

Love didn't say anything and just watched. While she wanted to help, she realized that she knew very little of Ellen and that anything she said might only deepen the wounds the girl was fighting. It was one thing to soothe Setsuna, who she knew very well. Another entirely to do the same for an almost stranger.

They waited another minute until Ellen turned to them, her eyes half closed and glued to the blanket on her legs. A single nod was all they needed to know. She had lost the right and ability to sing or speak. It was the price she had to pay for almost killing them. For almost killing Setsuna and the other five.

She knew. That her song had reached those who fought. Her other self had made sure she didn't forget even a moment of it.

Setsuna had been with Love long enough to know just how much words could hurt or heal. She had experienced it herself, twice. She knew what it was like to be in that horrible place. The exile could make you believe anything. And yet she couldn't say anything, couldn't think of anything that would make Ellen feel better.

She didn't even seem to register what Love had been saying. Setsuna couldn't blame her for that at all. After going through an ordeal like the exile, the first thing she heard was Love trying to pull her into a relationship.

Overcoming the initial thoughts of just punishment, Ellen realized that she might never be able to speak or sing again. Tears continued to fall but sadness gave way for despair and fear. Lifting her head slightly and looking at the two that were with her, she opened her mouth on reflex, trying to say: What do I do now?

But no words would come out. She tried harder, tried to clear her throat, tried to scream out, tried to shout, but it was all futile. How stupid must she have looked, yapping like that in front of Setsuna? She couldn't even tell her that she was happy Setsuna was okay.

"It'll come back." Setsuna said the only thing she could think of at the time. Considering how much, how long, how loud, Ellen had sung, it wasn't surprising that her voice would be gone for a while. But the blue Cure just shook her head.

It wouldn't come back. The part of her that enabled her to kill, to make people suffer. She had been forgiven once and given a second chance to do things over as human. But now, there were no more chances for her. After using her gifts, her powers, her voice, like that, she won't get another chance. And why should she? There was no way to atone for what she had done.

"Don't blame yourself so much." Love had been silent until then, not saying anything after her initial onslaught. She could see that Ellen was not just hurt physically but scarred emotionally. And those were hard to deal with. She had learned that much from Eas.

Ellen just stared at her. Why would she not blame herself? Whose fault could it be if not hers? She couldn't tell if Love was reading her mind or simply guessed what she was thinking, but she said the exact words that made Ellen's self-imposed vision of just punishment crumble. "It's nobodies fault. The exile does awful things to people. Setsuna believed she killed me. She was trapped in a nightmare and nightmares don't make sense."

"Love..." Setsuna didn't feel comfortable with Love just telling Ellen all of that like that. She liked the girl, and seeing her hurt did hurt her too. But did it really make her feel any better if she knew what kind of torment she too had gone through?

The pink Cure looked at her partner and Setsuna was startled by how serious Peach's expression was. She had felt the exile, experienced it and somehow overcome it. She still felt a bit of guilt gnawing on her inside, but she didn't blame herself any more than that.

Love stood up and nodded to Passion one last time before she left the room. Despite all her insight in people and when they were troubled, she was still a stranger to Ellen. Even if that were to change soon, right now, she needed someone who she could relate to. Alone.

The door closed, Passion slowly moved to the bed, sitting on it, hugging Ellen. Even though she had temporarily stopped crying, thinking she could no longer cry, a massive wave of sadness overcame her, her arms wildly clinging to Setsuna's back, her face buried on her chest, her whole body rocking with sobs.

Holding on to her, Setsuna felt horrible, seeing Ellen suffering like that. She wanted to help her, she really, really did. But it wasn't as easy as just wanting to help someone and everything turned out fine. The way she saw it, Ellen was not only blaming herself but also scared of herself. She was a nice girl that cared deeply for her friends. For someone like that to sing a hymn of killing... Of course that would scar her deeply.

Minutes passed and Ellen showed no sign of calming down. After the initial shock, after her failed coping mechanism of thinking of it as just punishment for her deeds, she was confronting the hard truth about what happened. She could no longer talk or sing. She lost the part of herself that defined her, that carried her thought all her life.

She wanted to talk, to sing. But she was afraid as well, afraid of hurting people through her songs. Scared that she might lose control of herself and sing that hymn again, kill people. How could she wholeheartedly wish to have her voice back if getting it back meant that she was a constant danger to everyone else? A bomb that could explode any moment and kill them all.

A contradiction like that in her mind, she didn't want to remain mute and she didn't want to be able to sing. But what else was there? She couldn't just seal a power that was part of her. To sing had always been her life.

After no more tears would fall, after she had cried herself dry, Ellen finally stopped, staring blankly in front of herself, still leaned against Setsuna. The whole time, the only sound heard in the room had been Ellen's erratic breathing and sobbing. Love, who had waited right outside, leaned against the door, had a depressed look on her face.

"When I was in exile, I was caught in a nightmare I couldn't even imagine until then. I was trapped inside my own mind, made believe that my entire life as Setsuna had been a lie. That I killed Love and the wounds she gave me made me sleep. During that sleep, I dreamed my entire life. Even when I encountered you and Lemonade, I couldn't break out. I tried to resist, but I simply couldn't overcome what was trapping me." Setsuna was talking slowly and with a low voice, telling Ellen a painful story.

"I was in her head, told everything I knew was a lie. That I never existed, that I killed the girl I was in love with. Even when I got out of exile, I couldn't escape the prison, the nightmare. It was a feeling beyond terrible. And then, Love appeared before me. I was about to kill her in reality that time, but she overcame the nightmare. Or rather... she helped me overcome it." Making a short break, Setsuna held Ellen even closer than before. "I know you went through a lot. I'm sure none of us can imagine what it really was like. But it wasn't you who did that. I just know you're not that type of person, that you would never sing a hymn like that. You're a gentle soul that doesn't want to hurt anybody. The exile is a nightmare that has power over us, that draws from our worst fears and horrors."

"I know it's not easy to not blame yourself. I'm still struggling to not do so for hurting Love and the others. It would only make Love sad and nothing would be solved." Setsuna sighed. "If you need time, I'll be there for you. I'll wait as long as it takes. And... I know this isn't the time. I even think there couldn't be a worse time but... I like you Ellen. I really do. I felt bad for cheating Love before and I was so scared that it might ruin my relationship with her, and I still liked you. But now I realize how pointless a fear that was. She told me herself, that my happiness is hers. That she won't mind if I like you, be with you as well. It might not be what you wanted, it might not be what you will want to put up with, but if you do want... I'll, no... **we** will wait for your answer. No matter how long it takes. And I want you to sing for me. No matter what you think, no matter how much you're scared of hurting people with a hymn again, I know that you would never do it if not forced so by the exile."

Ellen looked up, having a hard time swallowing everything Setsuna had just said. But she got the gist of it. The red Cure and her partner trusted her. They cared for her. She didn't know what to think of Love, but what Setsuna said made her happy just a bit. That someone was not scared of her even now. That someone would still want to listen to her.

"You should get a little more rest. I'll wake you up when it's time for dinner. Do you think you can handle that? Nobody is going to blame you, Ellen, don't be afraid of that." Setsuna had just finished her line when Love came back in, looking at the blue Cure, showing her a smile. She was carrying Setsuna's favor bowl.

"Since she can't talk right now, let's give her a notepad so she can at least answer things beyond a yes or no question." Love's approach to things were simple. Push her a little, make her forget what tormented her. Unless she started to forget those things, she'd never be able to deal with the issue and return to normal.

"I'd scold you for just jumping into things blindly if you were anyone else, but I know you better than that. It's up to Ellen to use it, but it's a good idea." Briefly letting go of Ellen, Setsuna noticed that she didn't even flinch when Love saw her tightly hugging the girl. Taking her bowl, imagining a thick notepad, a single coin vanished and a pad with about a hundred pages popped up right on top of it.

"Missing a pen." Love smiled and she could have sworn that Ellen, too, showed signs of a smile just then. Closing her eyes again, Setsuna thought of a simple ball pen and it showed up, no more coins vanishing. She hadn't received much of a reward for her last battle and now, forty coins remained.

She thought about simply wishing for Ellen's voice to return but that was likely something that would need a lot, an enormous lot, of favor. It wasn't that she was mute from birth or, likely, that she had ruined her vocal cords. Setsuna thought that Ellen was simply afraid of herself. And who could blame her for thinking that way?

Putting the notepad and the pen on the bed, Setsuna turned to the purple-haired Cure. "You had a really rough time. Get some sleep. I'll stay right here if you want."

Picking up the pen and the notepad, Ellen felt weird writing down what she could have said in one or two seconds. But it was better than being unable to communicate at all. She only wrote down two words. "_Thank you_." She felt even more thankful than before. Showing the text to the red Cure, Setsuna smiled a little. Crossing out the text, Ellen continued to write. "_Are you gonna stay here too_?" Showing it to the pink Cure resulted in an immediate response.

"If you want me to, sure." Love cared about the girl more than just wanting to make Setsuna happy. She couldn't ignore someone who was suffering like that. Especially not if they were a nice person. Though she still knew very little of her, she just had a feeling that Ellen was a really nice girl.

Feeling just a bit happy that others were still willing to stay with her after everything she had caused to happen, Ellen laid down, Setsuna still looking over her, Love watching her from her chair after she sat down. Those two were a pair and yet they cared so much about her. Of course she still liked Setsuna, but she no longer felt bad about it.

It didn't take long for her to fall asleep, despite the two of them watching over her.

=== Dissonance ===

"Who will handle negotiations?" Aqua looked to Berry and Mint. Now that White had switched, Komachi had taken her place as one of the leaders. Everyone else was still too much on edge from hearing the killing hymn all the way out in the living grounds.

"Beat is in no condition to fight and neither is anyone from my team, maybe excluding Peach. Though I'd rather not have her fight as the only one of her team." Miki wasn't feeling that well, though she was in a better condition than Inori, who looked like she was dealing with a horrible hangover.

"Before we decide who fights, we'll have to negotiate how many fight and when." Mint felt a little out of place. She was a calm thinker, but she wasn't really the type to take control of a situation unless she was forced into it. It seemed weird that she would be asked to decide the groups actions.

"I could go. Though I want to hear what you two have to say. Personally, I think we're served best if stick to our previous course. As many battles as possible with as many people as possible each." Karen was not a fan of the fighting, but right now, everyone was afraid of the exile and it's effects. The only way to do something about it was to increase the number of battles and participants.

"What other option is there? We're all afraid of the exile. And we don't know the cost for protection yet." Miki wasn't in a good mood. She didn't want to blame Beat for what happened but she sure didn't feel comfortable having her on the team, for now.

"I think we're taking the wrong approach. We should do something about the exile as a whole, not just protect ourselves one by one." Komachi knew the inevitable question that would follow a statement like that. "I don't really know how, but there should be a way. If we can wish for protection, we should be able to change the exile."

"Who knows. Even if that's possible, just imagine how much favor we'd need for that. It still boils down to fighting. I agree with Karen on this. The other team will likely be of the same opinion." Miki wasn't meaning to glare at Mint, but she had trouble controlling herself. The whole deal with the last fight and the hymn put her into a very bad mood.

"With Beat, Pine, Passion and you out, that leaves eight others. I'll see what I can do." Karen sighed and was about to stand up when the topic changed.

"What are we gonna do with Beat?" Miki brought the topic up since she wasn't fully convinced they were out of danger yet.

"I don't think there is any danger. She was unconscious when she arrived." Komachi didn't want to think about locking Beat up or anything like that. It wasn't really her fault what happened.

"Passion was quite a danger even when she came out of exile." Miki had a valid point. "Love stopped her before anyone got seriously hurt, but there is nobody from Beat's team on this side. Who is gonna stop her if she loses control?" Miki just wanted to feel safe and she couldn't until it was clear that Beat had regained her sanity.

"Any of us are strong enough to silence her if she starts singing. Peach and Passion are with her. Don't you trust those two?" Karen had her own points and she didn't like the way Miki looked at things.

"I do trust them. You're right. I'm just really on edge because I experienced that damn hymn relatively close up. It's brutal. You can't compare it to what we've heard here." Anyone would be scared if confronted with a song that could steal one's life.

"She won't be a problem." Komachi had a stern look in her eyes. "Milky Rose came to, Passion came to and considering the way she looked, Beat is less a danger than those two were."

"We should all get some rest. No use in arguing with each other about this." Aqua pulled a stop to the argument before it got out of hand. "I'll do the negotiations, they should be up pretty soon. We kind of missed breakfast in the turmoil with the exile. We should have lunch before we do anything else."

Miki couldn't hide a grin as Karen suggested having lunch. Komachi, after Marine had asked, had told her that Karen was a slow, but quite big eater and always had been. "Sounds good to me. And look who's coming in just at the right time." Berry pointed to the entrance where Blossom and Marine were casually walking together, discussing something, slowly heading towards the table.

"Congratulations Marine, Blossom, you just volunteered to make lunch." Miki wore a diabolic smile on her face, watching Marine pull a shocked face. Berry stood up and left, heading for her own room, eager to get half an hour of sleep in before lunch.

"Most will get a turn making food eventually, so don't mind it. I'm sure Luminous or Rose will help you if you ask." The taller of the two blue Cures shouted from the hallway, still grinning at Marine's surprised face.

"I can help you if you want." Komachi volunteered. Lunch usually consisted of sandwiches for her, and she could do that much easily. She didn't mind helping, especially since Karen would get to eat something she made.

"Thank you." Tsubomi smiled to Mint, who responded with a smile of her own in turn. She was a little worried that she might not get anywhere while keeping Erika from spiking the sandwiches with some, as she would say, _interesting_ things.

"I'll think a bit more about the negotiation. I'll see you at lunch Komachi." To the surprise of the green Cure, Karen stood up but leaned down to kiss her on the cheek before she left. Covering her cheek with her hand, Komachi looked after Karen with a blush on her face.

"I'll show her what it means to pull a fast one on me." Erika had a very specific aura about her as she entered the kitchen, one that spoke of revenge and intrigue. Tsubomi sighed and followed her closest friend, worried that it might end in disaster.

To Komachi's surprise, Erika was pretty well versed and skilled in cooking. As long as it didn't require lots of preparation. The designer was simply too lazy to bother with hours of work. Having paid a close eyes on which ingredients they got from the team favor pool, Erika had no choice but to satisfy herself by scheming without action against Berry.

"Komachi, how well do you know Urara?" They way everyone handled Cure and civilian names was that unless you knew someone pretty well, you simply addressed them by their Cure name. It was just easier that way. In Erika's case, since she wasn't exactly too well mannered, it was a little up in the air how well she really knew someone.

"I hadn't talked to her in a long time until we got here. She used to be really sweet, though a little naive and trusting. Why do you ask?"

"I'm just curious about her. What's her job like, what kinda taste she has in women and so on." Erika noticed that Tsubomi started chopping tomatoes with a lot more strength and focus as soon as she started to talk about the yellow Cure. Lately, it had always been like that. Even if she had figured it out, why was it bothering her so much? Was it because she hid it from her? Or was she actually jealous?

"I... don't really know that much about her. She's the vocalist in a band, lives alone and I heard she goes out to party with her fans a lot. I wouldn't know what taste in women she has... I didn't even know she was into girls." Komachi wasn't that comfortable talking about Urara like that.

"Do you know if she's seeing anyone?" Erika turned around and looked at Tsubomi, who had just split a whole cucumber in half with so much force that one end rolled all the way over the working plate to her. Maybe she should drop the topic. "Never mind. How did you become a defense fighter Mint?"

"I never liked fighting much, so I was always a bit on the supportive side of things. I started out with a single barrier. I was able to use it as attack too, but I decided to focus on support and defense. It took me a few years to get where I'm now." While Erika and Tsubomi cut vegetables, cheese and sausages for the sandwiches, Komachi put it all together, storing the finished sandwiches on the trays in the kitchen.

"I could never do that, it'd become boring." Erika wasn't the type to stick to any single activity, beside her job, for too long. Her fighting style resembled that.

"I was really surprised when I saw you just copying the attacks of others. How do you do that?" Mint couldn't quite imagine how it worked. After all, it took most of them months and years to polish their attacks and refine them to the level they were at now. It seemed almost unfair for someone to just copy them like that.

"I borrow them, not really copy. I can only use them for a few minutes after I see them and there's a limit to how many I can keep in mind. I couldn't really tell you how I do it. I just see how they do it, and imitate them. It's my ability, I call it the Great Marine Queen of all Trades."

Komachi smiled awkward at the name. That naming sense totally fit her personality. She wasn't bragging about it, which helped a lot in liking her, but she could be a bit annoying still.

"Itsuki, Yuri and I just call it Copycat, because that's what she is. Would you tell us what your ability is Mint?" Tsubomi was a lot more polite than the blue Cure, to everyone but Erika since it was completely wasted on her. They've been friends for so long now, they sometimes slept in the same bed when they worked way overtime or showered together when they were running very late.

"You'll eventually find out anyway, so there's no harm in telling you. I don't think Marine can copy it either." Komachi turned around and created a small barrier inside the palm of her hand. It was like a small green dome made of light. "My main ability is really just barriers of all sizes and shapes. I'm a lot worse at hand to hand combat now than I was years ago, but it's really hard to get to me. Marine, try to squash the barrier." Mint put the dome on the ground, slightly smaller than her hand now.

Without considering the effects, Marine stomped the dome and felt a sharp sting in her foot, like she had stepped into a splitter. The pain was gone after the fragment of a second but her surprised face lasted a bit longer. "My barriers, upon getting destroyed or attacked, reflect the inflicted damage back to whoever caused it. This was a really weak and small barrier, but my strongest ones can take pressure of about two tons before they break. If someone breaks a barrier like that, there is no way they'll still stand after it."

"But that's not really your ability. That's just... you know, what you do. Like my Marine Impact or Blossom's Petal Storm." Marine stopped working and turned around, looking at Komachi's back, juggling the knife in her hand, making Tsubomi roll eyes.

"I can create a special barrier, or a zone rather, that voids almost all abilities and limits everyone inside to physical combat. It's called **Clear Zone**. It's kind of complicated to explain how it works. Maybe some other time, okay?" Komachi filled the fourth tray and counted the sandwiches.

"Tsubomi, what was your ability called again? I've never seen you use it, so I keep forgetting." Erika tried to include her friend into the conversation since she seemed to be in quite a bad mood.

"Yggdrasil's Blessing. I named it after the great world tree from mythology since we were tasked with protecting the heart tree." Putting her knife down, Tsubomi joined Erika and looked at Komachi, who was also taking a break. They still had a bit of work to do, but for now, they had earned themselves a short rest. "It revitalizes whoever I use it on. In summary, you could say that I give my energy to someone else. It's really exhausting so I'm not going to do it unless I'm about to run out of energy myself. I can even bring back someone that is unconscious."

"That's amazing. How did you come up with something like that? You don't look like the supportive type." Komachi was amazed that someone could create an ability like that.

"It's a long story and a bit boring. The short version..." Tsubomi put a finger to her chin and thought about it for a few seconds before she continued. "In our big fight against Dune, I saw someone die that was really dear to a good friend of mine. I never wanted her to go through that again, so I looked for a way to save people on the edge of dying."

Erika knew that Tsubomi was talking about Yuri's father and Dark Cure, the two that died during their final battle with Dune. After finally finding her father, Yuri had to watch him die. They never talked about it, but Erika heard from her sister that Yuri hadn't taken it well.

"I'm sorry I asked. I didn't want you to remember something like that." Komachi had her own set of unpleasant memories and she didn't want to remember those either.

"Don't mind it. Maybe we should continue, I can see a few others already waiting at the table." Blossom took a sneak peek out the small window, seeing Rose, Luminous, Pine and Black sitting at the table. She couldn't tell what they were talking about but whatever it was that Pine was asking Rose, it made the purple Cure blush.

=== Dissonance ===

"I'm surprised that Honoka would leave Nagisa behind." Saki was crying rivers, giving Mai, who was working next to her, a pleading look. She hated cutting onions like nothing else.

"Don't worry about it so much Saki. Let me take care of the onions if you hate it so much." Taking the knife from Saki's hands, Mai sighed and let her partner take over washing the rice. Due to skipping breakfast, they were all pretty hungry and nobody objected when Saki suggested fried rice, so now they were preparing just that.

"Do you think one of us will be forced to leave the other behind?" Taking off the gloves of her costume, Bloom continued where Mai left off. "I don't really want to think about being on a different team than you."

"Nagisa will be here after the next battle, or at least she will try to be. You're worrying too much Saki. Even if we had to fight each other, that won't change anything between us." Mai was, now too, crying from peeling the onions though she didn't mind as much as Saki. They were used to cooking together, though neither of them was exceptionally talented. Saki was good at baking, but actual cooking was different.

"Don't even say that. I don't want to fight you." Saki's tone changed considerably as she complained. "I don't think Honoka would want to fight Nagisa either."

"Of course not. But you know things don't always go the way we want to." Mai didn't like confronting Saki like that, but she was aware that the two of them ending up on different teams and fighting each other would happen sooner or later.

"I didn't expect that we would be doing this alone." Mai changed the topic and looked at the mountain of work left to do. Cooking for two people was already work but for twelve, that was almost an epic quest.

"We could ask Kaoru and Michiru for help." Saki didn't mind relying on these two. They always seemed to be bored anyway.

"We're never going to finish this alone. Let's ask them." The girls didn't even have to leave the living room to find the two sisters. Sitting on the table, next to each other, apparently teasing Melody and Rhythm, with a few assists from Lemonade. It was easy to tell who was teasing who just by the way they reacted. Kaoru and Michiru had a smile on their faces, Lemonade looked clearly amused while Hibiki and Kanade looked a bit embarrassed.

"Kaoru, Michiru. Can you help us out in the kitchen?" They had been close friends for years now, and the Kiryuu's were strangely loyal to Saki and Mai, always aiding them in whatever they asked them to do.

"Sure, we'll..." "... help you out." Standing up and waving Lemonade goodbye, the yellow Cure took over where the sisters had left off and continued to ask Melody and Rhythm a few very peculiar questions.

Michiru looked a bit smitten when she looked at the mountain of work. She wasn't afraid to get her hands dirty, but she preferred short and strenuous labor instead of long periods of monotone one. Kaoru had quite a knack for cooking, she not so much.

"Michiru, can you help Saki cut the vegetables? Kaoru... you know your way around, don't you?" Mai wasn't coy about admitting that Kaoru was a much better cook than any of the three would ever be or desired to be.

"It'll go a lot faster if you do it this way Mai." When they were alone with their best friends, the sisters always dropped all their acts and just talked normally. While they ran a jack of all trades shop in the same town Mai worked and lived with Saki, they didn't see each other more than about twice a week, since Saki was exceptionally busy all the time.

"Mai, you haven't drawn anything since we got here, right?" Michiru was always more interested in the purple-haired Cure's work than in Bloom's. She liked sports but not enough to obsess over it the way Saki did and trained. In Cure form, she could compete with Bloom easily, but as civilians, there was no way would last in either a power or stamina contest against the girl.

"I'm not sure I should be spending favor on things like that when I don't know when I'll be up for exile. I really do want to draw though. Maybe a portrait. I've drawn all three of you multiple times in the past but I'm really itching to draw Moonlight or Muse. They both have a really nice aura about them I wanna capture." It wasn't uncommon that Mai launched into full blown artist mode and started talking technical terms, but she controlled herself that time.

"Muse is interesting. I didn't know one of us Cures had the power to change their age. She's really young and yet one of the most mature among the group. I see her talking to Moonlight a lot." Kaoru was a people's person, always interested in getting to know others and mostly doing jobs that involved handling their customers. Michiru was more of a just-do-it type in comparison.

"Don't stalk her, okay?" Mai sometimes felt the need to put a stop to the curiosity of the sisters. There had been a few occasions in the past where said curiosity had gotten the better of them and caused quite a bit of trouble. Nothing serious, but enough to make Mai scold them.

"We don't want her to get mad, so we're keeping our distance. Most of the time anyway. It's actually less boring here than we thought. They're all pretty interesting." Michiru could feel a glare on her back and it wasn't a pleasant one. Mai supported them when it came to finding their part in society, but she didn't approve of their outlandish curiosity.

"It could be a lot worse in here. Considering the extent of things the powers that brought us here can do, it's a wonder we're not just locked in cells and made to fight, regardless of who feels up to it or not. Considering all the worse alternatives, this isn't so bad." Kaoru smiled, something that outsiders, that included everyone but her sister, Mai and Saki, rarely got to see if ever. "There are some really bad things about this, but once we get them under control, this place won't be so bad."

"Just don't step on anyone's toes you two. You realize that I won't be there to save your butt if you get in trouble." Sometimes, Mai felt like she was scolding two children. The sisters were extremely smart and capable, but also plagued by massive curiosity and somewhat limited common sense. "I'm grateful you two got Moonlight to back down from Dream earlier, though. I would've stepped in if she started to attack Rouge, but thank god it ended peacefully."

"Dream screwed up badly. We heard from Rouge. She put all six fighters in danger for some reason I can't comprehend. She seems to be offended by this place or can't accept it. Something like that. Instead of being happy that we have the freedom we do, she's all hung up on a little fighting." Michiru wasn't the type to have any pity for someone like that. She rationalized a lot of things and thus couldn't understand visionary ideals like the ones Nozomi had.

"I don't think she will show her face around anyone for a while. Rouge looked really angry and I doubt Moonlight is over this. I've taken my fair share of hits from the other team and I don't blame any of them for that. I can understand why Rouge and Moonlight hold a grudge though." Taking a step back and looking at the mess that she made, Michiru regretted that she had so little affinity for cooking.

"What shocked me most was that one of us had the ability to use a hymn as a weapon. She probably didn't sing it voluntarily, since she was in exile, but... " Saki was afraid of fighting the Cure that could use a hymn that killed people.

"Chances are high that she won't use it in a fight. She'd have to deal with the repercussions of everyone else seeing her use it. If I was on her team and she started to sing it, I would put her down." Kaoru loaded dishes on the trays, having finished her own preparations faster than everyone else.

"Let's not talk about this. I'm sure the girl is off bad enough on her own. I wouldn't be happy if I was forced to sing a killing hymn. You two, what exactly are you doing? I said cut the vegetables, not play risk with them!" Michiru had a mountain of hacked carrots towering over various smaller piles of almost indistinguishable pieces of vegetables on Saki's side. They had gotten bored with just helping out.

Saki alone was a capable cook but more specialized in baking, specifically bread and related things. The main issue was that she was very easily side-tracked and then pulled into sometimes amusing but mostly nonsensical situations. Like playing a game of Risk with vegetables. Mai was wondering just how much of that was Michiru's and how much Saki's fault.

"Michiru, Saki, clean up your mess." Turning around and wiping her hand with a towel, Mai sighed heavily. She should have known better than to put those two together. Michiru was really smart but she was also easy prey for things like that. "Kaoru, watch those two for me until I come back. If they do anything stupid... you know what to do." It wasn't the first time something like that had happened.

"Who's winning?" As soon as Mai had walked out the door, Kaoru looked over the battlefield, which deserved being called that every bit, and tried to make a just assessment of the situation. She felt bad for Mai, but a little fun wouldn't hurt. They didn't let anything hit the floor or get dirt on it.

"I have her outnumbered." Saki was pretty sure that her battalion of onion together with a few other piles would be enough to take down the redhead's monster carrot legion.

"You won't even make a dent into this." Michiru was sure she would walk away with victory. Kaoru failed completely to make any kind of assessment since traditional rules obviously didn't apply to cooking ingredients. But it was incredibly silly and amusing to watch the two of them go at it. The blue haired girl was tempted to take the rice and join the battle, but that would've been very unfair.

All three of them noticed too late that inside a kitchen, wind was usually not a naturally occurring phenomena. Kaoru was the first to turn around and be greeted by something that Mai had learned a few years ago from Honoka after having to deal with quite a few unreasonable situations caused by Saki.

The freezing smile. "Would you please stop playing with the food others are going to eat?" What Mai said and what she truly meant was completely different from one another. And the three of them could perceive that very well.

Stepping away from the table, Mai's smile only widened. "Now, if we could just start on finishing this up, that would be great." What that really meant was that Saki could sleep in a different room and the sisters would get a lecture, if they decided to fool around any longer. Mai was a really gentle person, but one pissed her off, a never ending lecture followed. With no objections, work resumed, this time in an orderly fashion and without further interruptions.

=== Dissonance ===

Karen had never dealt with that person by herself before, not in or outside a fight. But she at least knew her name. "Let's start Windy."

"I'm curious what happens if negotiations fail. Would you like to try?" Kaoru had convinced Mai and Berry to let her go and handle everything this time, but she had her own idea of what was best for the team. If they kept on sending out the same people every time, it would become boring very fast.

"There must be several people on your team that can't fight too. How does it make any sense to fail negotiations on purpose to make them fight? You picked the wrong time for this." Karen was trying hard not to get angry at the sheer impudence of that girl. Fail negotiations on purpose? Who would come up with something like that?

"There's a high chance that what you said will always apply. People who fought in the last battle will be exhausted, both physically and mentally. So no matter what time I pick, there is always this one obstacle. Which means, I can either ignore it or forget about my plans. I don't like to give up on finding out about new things." It was probably against Mai's wishes, and right now she was only probing the other Cure, but she really did want to know what would happen in an all-out battle.

"Even so, this is the worst moment you could have picked. You must have heard the killing hymn too. Beat can't fight, and neither should those directly involved into the last fight. That includes the three from your team. Are you heartless enough to force them into battle because of your own selfish interests?" Karen knew that type of person well. Curiosity was what drove those people ahead, made them make unreasonable choices just to remove that infernal nagging in their mind. She had dealt with some of those before, in her business. And she knew how to defeat them.

"You may have a point. But who says they will recover anytime soon? What if they are staying this way? There are too many possibilities to just decide that this is the worst moment to do this. There might be worse things to come every day from now." Windy walked up and down her side of the platform, watching Aqua, who was simply staring at her from the center of her side, not moving a meter.

"There was nothing like this before today and chances are, nothing this drastic will happen in the future. In cases like this, you take a wait and see approach, not tackle the wall with your head until you break through, no matter how much damage you take. I wonder what the rest of your team would say if they knew you were intentionally trying to break down negotiation. Would they be pleased?" Karen didn't shy away from a battle of wits.

"What they think is not relevant right now. Of course they won't be pleased, but who would? There are consequences to everything, in this case, they're just not severe enough to out-weight the need to learn what happens after negotiation breaks down." Kaoru hadn't expected to launch into a full fledged argument about this. She hadn't come prepared and her opponent was not exactly an easy target.

"What if someone dies? What if the forced battle removes the healing everyone received after a battle up until now? Would you take the responsibility if someone from your team died? What if your partner took a lethal hit? You would be the one to have caused that."

Kaoru hesitated. That was indeed a possibility she hadn't thought of. And given the place they were in, there was a real danger of death associated to that possibility. If Mai and Saki got hit badly, she'd never forgive herself. Maybe it really was the wrong time. But if that possibility existed, would there ever be a time that was right? "Fine." Her voice was showing just how much she hated giving in to Aqua. She couldn't risk Mai or Saki getting hurt.

Without saying anything else about it, Karen moved on. "The last battle was three versus three but the exile caused additional problems. There is no sense is trying to force the issue, though we all have good reason to want to battle as many times as possible. I suggest a total participation of fourteen people, seven on each side."

"That would leave only the now injured and unable to fight maybe plus one healthy to fight the next battle." Kaoru saw Aqua's point about the fighting since, now that it was known it was possible to protect oneself against the exile, everyone wanted to have as much favor as possible. That didn't exclude those that just changed and still had four or more fights of a lock on them that stopped them from changing or getting voted upon.

"They will have recovered by then. At least they should. I can agree to a six versus six as well but I can't agree with anything below that." As long as they could get Komachi, Luminous, Kurumi, Marine and Blossom in the battle, there should be enough offensive and defensive power to hold off anything. Karen was naturally aiming for a win.

"I wonder about that. But I see your point. Six versus six sounds reasonable. But it is already about noon." Practically everyone had developed some kind of sense for the time of day. There was only ever dark space outside, so it was hard to tell when exactly the day started or ended. The only real indicator was the lighting in the halls, originating from the walls itself. When they were, seemingly by magic, bright at day, they were much darker at night. "Set the fight in two hours. That will put the next exile run tomorrow morning. I feel it would be best to standardize the time of the battles. For a lack of a better way to describe it, let's say two hours before night."

"I can agree on that for this battle but it depends on what the others say. I see no problem by holding the battles at a specific time every day. It will remove one factor from the negotiations, which will make things easier in the long run." A certain level of routine would normalize the situation a bit.

Finalizing the number of participants and the time of fighting, the two of them still stared at each other, trying to gauge each others intellectual potential. Kaoru had taken an interest in Aqua. It was a rare occasion to meet anyone that could best her in an argument. She might have been at a disadvantage in this one, but nevertheless, she lost. Karen on the other hand had become wary of the azure blue Cure. Some people didn't see the obvious problems in their grandiose schemes.

The real danger of the argument had not been to agree to breaking off negotiation but to keep arguing. If they couldn't even agree on whether to negotiate or not, then that was already the goal of the argument itself. A double layered trap that many would simply fall into, not quite thinking that far.

Windy was the first to get bored of staring at Aqua and turned around, stepping into her own circle, ready to go back and report the outcome. There were some truly interesting people on each side. She couldn't wait to fight them.

=== Dissonance ===

"We should look for volunteers first. We can fill up the remaining spots after that." After Aqua returned to the living grounds, Mint and Berry were already there, waiting. It was Berry's idea to give those who actually wanted to fight the chance to do so. "Let's call everyone and see who wants to participate. I have the distinct feeling that there will be a lot more volunteers than before."

It was exactly like she said. After collecting everyone in the living room, with the exception of Beat, Peach and Passion, who excused themselves by telling Pine to tell the others, the first volunteer spoke up after just a few seconds. "I'll go. I've been in exile once. I'd rather fight all day and night than go through that again. No matter who I have to fight..." Kurumi wore a serious expression. Most of them had witnessed what had become of her even after she left the exile. A disturbed, nervous wreck that couldn't tell nightmare from reality. They had seen it again with Passion. It was understandable that she'd want to go and rack up favor.

"I'll go with you. You're still my friend." Luminous walked next to Kurumi, a gentle smile briefly scurrying over her lips. She didn't want Kurumi to go through that nightmare again and she wanted to be prepared when it was her turn to switch. She still preferred to be on the same team as Nagisa and Honoka and it was without a doubt that Nagisa would switch after the next battle.

"We're going to fight too. There are only two, this one included, battles before I can change. I can't participate in two in a row." Tsubomi was worried about Itsuki and Yuri, but also about herself. The way she saw it, the exile was confronting one with the worst nightmares one could think of. She didn't want to find out what exactly her worst nightmare was.

"I'm just in it because I enjoy competing with everyone else. I'm too quick to get stuck in exile." With her smug face, the blue Cure grinned wide as she declared her thoughts like a fact. Marine was, unsurprisingly, relaxed and aloof about the whole thing. She had absolute confidence in her abilities to make it through a run, no matter who else was running. That she needed more favor for her plans added another reason as to why she was participating.

"I'm not able to fight and I don't think Inori is either. Beat, Peach and Passion aren't even here, so they're without a doubt not going to fight. That only leaves you three." Berry looked at the corner where Black, Aqua and Mint stood. "And two of you will have to go."

"Black has reason to avoid this fight. There's the possibility her partner is going to be there. Komachi, you're okay with fighting, right?" Karen was well aware of how much of a pacifist Komachi was, yet, how strong she could be when it came down to it. Not to mention, with Luminous at their side for protection and Kurumi for offense, they had a very strong team, even without Black and White.

"I wouldn't want to fight you either, so I understand why it's better for us to go. That makes the team full. I hope everyone else has recovered by tomorrow or we'll have a big problem." Mint was already looking at things after the battle. Granted, it would be Black that switched, but that still left the three injured from the last fight.

"Thanks, you two. I would fight if there was no other choice, but I'd rather not run into Honoka in a fight." She had been there, and it hadn't been pretty. They were adults now, but she really could live without Honoka kicking her ass again.

"Now that that's settled, we have about two more hours till the fight. The exile run won't be until tomorrow but I trust you're going to switch, Black?" Berry tried to wrap the meeting up so everyone could go about their own business again. It wasn't that she disliked being around everyone, but the meetings were a little stiff and sort of matter of fact.

"I'm going to follow Honoka, yes. I feel bad about leaving you girls like this, but I won't be any good if I stay here without her." Nagisa didn't smile or grin. She really meant what she said.

"Okay then. Everyone, dismissed. I've always wanted to say that." Berry smiled briefly and so everyone else. A group of people remained in the living room, while the others went their separate ways. Kurumi, Tsubomi, Erika and Hikari were left in the end.

"It's always a little difficult to just go back to acting normal after deciding to go and fight." With a loud sigh, Kurumi sat down on the table, looking at Hikari. "I'm amazed everyone is so casual about this. It'll be my first real fight and... well.. what is it like?"

Erika was the first to reply, grinning wide. "It's fairly interesting actually. You're pretty worn out in the end, and it hurts a lot when you're hit in battle, but you're always healed at the end. But it's kind of fun to test just how strong you are and how far you can go in a battle royal. I don't mind it that much since I rarely get hit." She was bragging again and Tsubomi simply shook her head, smiling to herself. That was just how Erika was.

"But you were knocked out in the battle before last. I saw you unconscious." Hikari was stating it matter of fact, a single finger on her cheek, as if she was still trying to remember it.

"Well, of course I'm not invincible. But I took down a bunch of others before they got to me." The designer defended her pride, Kurumi catching Tsubomi's wild smile, unable to hide it. "In a one versus one, I can beat anyone!"

"The battles are hard and without mercy, but Erika is right, everyone's injuries are healed at the end. There's something like... I'd say a stimulant, you receive when you enter a battle. It drives up your aggression and will to fight." Tsubomi explained while Erika continued to ramble to herself about her achievements in the fights. "From what I could tell, our sense of pain is dulled heavily too, so it's not really that bad. The biggest issue is really fighting your friends."

"In the first fight, I had to take on two of my own team, Moonlight and Sunshine. They're really strong so it was kind of a pain. I was hit by some kind of unfair shit early on!" Erika was again, left to herself while Hikari and Tsubomi explained the fighting to Kurumi.

"So, essentially it's a last girl standing group fight. And that team wins? My ability is not really designed to be used against people but monsters..."

"Don't worry, I don't think you could accidentally kill someone in a fight. Not even with Abbadon." Hikari knew a lot about Kurumi, including the way she fought and her abilities. She was really happy that the girl had learned her lesson after Aqua dumped her.

"I know Luminous and Mint specialize in support. I do a bit of everything, just like Marine. Since we're going to be on the same side..." Tsubomi didn't have to finish her line.

"Offense. I prefer to tackle my enemies and take them down with sheer force. I can cover both close and long range attacks. Though my defense is horrid." Kurumi cracked an awkward smile. "I'm kinda nervous now... what do you usually do when you wait for a fight to start?"

"Talk to each other. Maybe play a game of cards. We don't really have all that many options right now." Just as Tsubomi finished saying that, Black came back into the living room, which also doubled as dinning hall, looking extremely bored. Tsubomi was always interested in how everyone else became a Cure and she really wanted to know how White and Black became one, as they were the oldest and most experienced ones. "Black!" Tsubomi waved to the older Cure. It would pass the time until the fight quite well to tell some stories.

=== Dissonance ===

"How is she?" Love had just woken up, having fallen asleep on her chair. Rubbing her eyes and letting out a short yawn, the pink Cure noticed a tray with a few sandwiches on it. She must have slept through lunch and someone was kind enough to bring them food.

"She woke up a couple times, looking really pale and disturbed but her voice is still nowhere to be found. I think she's still having nightmares." Setsuna was looking tired, sitting on the edge of the bed, holding Ellen's hand and playing with a few strands of hair with her other hand.

"Have you eaten anything?" Love didn't feel that hungry but she realized that fasting wasn't going to help anyone, least of all Ellen. Taking a sandwich and biting part out of it, she held it out to Setsuna, who took a bite herself, looking absentminded. "You really do care for her, don't you?"

"She's a nice girl and I know what she went through. It was different from me but still pretty bad. She loves music and singing. It must have been a tremendous shock for her to be forced to sing that hymn." Anyone else might have asked if Love was jealous of the care Setsuna showed for another girl right in front of her partner, but the red Cure knew better than that. "I like her. Maybe not like I like you, but we've known each other for years now. Nobody will ever replace you."

"I know." Love finished up the first sandwich and handed Setsuna the other. The former labyrinth denizen averted her gaze from the sleeping Ellen, looking at her partner. It was a difficult thing to ask, especially with the way Love was. It was mostly her own insecurities she wanted Love to blow away.

"You're really okay like this? Making her part of... us? Anyone else would be jealous and really angry. I think it's a good solution so we can be happy but... won't it be weird for you? I mean it will be weird even for me... to be suddenly with two partners. I can't even imagine what it's really going to be like. And I don't even know if she will accept this to begin with. She might not want to share her affection."

"You're such a worrywart, Setsuna." It was one of the rare moments where Love wore a special kind of smile. It was different from an amused one, from a romantically embarrassed one, or a gentle one. Only Love could smile like that, and she only ever did for Setsuna. Just seeing it would put Setsuna at peace, ease her worries, make her believe everything would be alright. "It'll be different, that is all. We learned to be together once already, so this time, we just have to learn it again."

"You make it sound so easy. But I know you can pull it off. What really worries me is that if she wants to be with me, then she also has to be with you. Lets... lets say we're all sleeping together and the situation would just develop so that you two came close to kissing. Wouldn't that weird you out? Kissing her?" She knew Love well, but it was an unknown situation and there was nobody she could really ask about that kind of thing.

"I don't think so. You're really worrying too much Setsuna. With these things we can only try and see. She and I both like you, so no matter what, we'll want to be with you. It wouldn't be odd that we might end up kissing on occasion." Grabbing another sandwich, Love bit in it and found it tasting a little odd. There was mayonnaise on egg on salad on... she put the top bread slice back before she discovered just what else there was.

"Worrying is the only thing I can do right now, Love. She's lost her voice and there is probably nothing I can do about it. And when I think about the fact that she wouldn't have ended up in exile if she didn't save me, I feel responsible for all of this."

Love stood up and sat down next to her partner, her right hand touching upon Setsuna's, the two of them tightly holding Ellen's. "We can't go back in time and undo what's done. But we can live on and make up for everything. That's what you did. Eas died and you were brought back. Instead of making the same error over again, you started to make up for everything you regretted. If you really feel sorry, you need to make up for it by forgiving yourself. Neither of us want to see you depressed and gloomy." Love had amazing insight in people's emotions and used it to make them feel better.

A reluctant smile formed on Setsuna's lips as she gave up arguing against Love. It wasn't possible to win. At the same time, the purple haired girl behind them started to move, slowly opened her eyes. What she saw were the side profile of two girls sitting on the bed, by her side, watching over her. One of them was Setsuna, and she was in love with her. The other was her partner, Love, and oddly enough, she had a really warm feeling looking at her. Not the same fire one felt for romantic interests but rather something much warmer and gentler, something kind.

"Hey." Talking softly, Setsuna turned to Ellen. She wasn't pale anymore, but she looked really worn out. "Hungry?" There were too many things she could have said right then, but she preferred to stick to something simple. A question that could be answered with just a nod or shaking her head.

And she nodded. Despite all, she was starving. Getting up, she leaned against the wall, her head booming with the pain from a headache that didn't want to go away. Despite the two girls moving away slightly, so she had some space to move, Ellen noticed that it wasn't only Setsuna who had held her hand while she slept. Love had been part of it too.

The fact that she couldn't talk still tormented her but she no longer felt desperate. Not all the time she had spent laying in bed with her eyes closed had been her sleeping. A lot of it had been thinking. It was hard to comprehend, that the scenery so real, so vivid and terrifying, had been just inside her head. A nightmare that was so brutal that the wounds one received still carried over to reality, since one really believed that it happened even after waking up.

Knowing that much, it was a single jump to come to terms with what she did. But that jump was across a gaping canyon of darkness, that would swallow her up and never let her out again if she screwed up. Thankfully, there was a single, no, two ropes for her to hold onto in case she slipped up.

Greedily devouring the sandwich, she ate yet another before she felt a little better. Taking the notepad, Ellen wrote out something. "_Thanks for staying with me_." Ellen was in the middle of the bed, Setsuna to her right, Love to her left, both of them looking at her.

"You don't need to thank us for that. How are you feeling?" Setsuna needed to know the girl was doing okay now.

"_A lot better._" It was a pain to write out even simple answers like that but she had to bear with it until her voice returned. If it would at all. That was one of the things she wasn't sure about. Even if the scenes had only happened in her head, there were three things she was sure had been real. Her song reaching the fighters, the exile runners, and everyone else on the living grounds. She had hurt everyone, and with that, she had lost her right to sing. There was really no other way for her to see it than that.

"Your voice will come back. After all, you didn't sing of your own free will. Setsuna attacked everyone, even me, when she returned from exile. Milky Rose attacked people as well. You didn't do anything that the others didn't. Yes, you hurt some people, but none of us can go through life without hurting others one way or another. You need to realize that if you decide to never talk and sing again because you're scared of your own voice and powers, then you will also rob all those people that loved your voice, that were made happy by your songs, of their joy of hearing you sing again." Setsuna smiled as she watched Love. The way Love was now was exactly what had saved her when she was betrayed by Moebius.

She never really thought about it that way. To never talk with Hibiki, Kanade or Ako again. To never sing for her fans again. Sealing her voice away in fear of her power was going to rob so many people of the joy, the happiness, they gained from listening to her? Then why...

"_Won't you be afraid I might lose control and sing the hymn?_" Ellen looked at Love, showing her what she had written down. Setsuna took a look too, and she was first to reply.

"Nobody that knows you would be afraid. No Cure would willingly sing a hymn that killed her friends. We all know that. Some of us might be a little on edge, but once they talked to you and see just how much you care for others, they'll realize how silly it is to be afraid of your songs." Her partner watched her. Setsuna said what she wanted to say as well, almost exactly the same too.

Ellen just stared at the empty page of the notepad, not knowing what to write down, what to tell them. What they told her seemed to make so much sense, but she still had trouble accepting it. But she didn't give up hope anymore. If what they said was really the truth... she had to get her voice back.

"Ellen. It's okay for me to call you that, right? There is something else we need to ask you." Even Love felt a tiny bit nervous now. It wasn't easy to ask someone out, and this was no different than that. "I know you like Setsuna and she told me she also likes you. I don't want you to carry the burden of an unrequited love and if it makes Setsuna happy, all the better." Making a short break, Love tried to find the right words. "What I mean is... you know we're a couple. But I don't mind if you become part of this."

"You're terrible at this Love." Setsuna giggled a little and grabbed Ellen's hand. "She's inviting you to be part of our relationship. I love her, and that will never change. I can't be without her. But I like you too. Love is an understanding girl with a big heart, so she wants us three to be happy together. It's the only way nobody is left alone."

Again, she didn't know what to say. She had been confused with her feelings for Setsuna, knowing that she was taken. And suddenly, all her worries, all her confusion about Love, everything was blown away by that single invitation. It hurt her to shed even a single tear, but despite that, Ellen started crying, happy that after the horrible things everyone had to endure because of her, the two of them made an offer like that.

This time, it wasn't only Setsuna who hugged her. The two of them held her in their arms together, each a side, their smiling faces left and right. She didn't have to write down an answer for this, they understood just from holding her.

=== Dissonance ===

"Hold it, hold it, hold it! You cheated! You somehow cheated! There's no way you had that many cards the last round!" Kanade was pointing at Hibiki, who was holding a dozen cards in her hand, more than twice the allowed number. And she was screwing over Egret, who was just about to win the game.

They had decided quickly who was going to fight. Egret, Bloom, Bright, Windy as well as Melody and Rhythm. Four of them had volunteered, Melody and Rhythm had been picked for their versatility of being able to use both attacking and supporting abilities. After that, they just needed something to pass the time.

"Cheating is allowed as long nobody finds out. And how about all that equip you have? I somehow doubt you've killed that many monsters for treasure. Seems awfully convenient, doesn't it? To accuse me of cheating when you're obviously pulling cards too!" The pink Cure didn't let that slide, partner or not.

"So you're saying I can't play fair and I have to cheat to beat you?" Kanade was now standing up, glaring at Hibiki, who was glaring back.

"Are they always like this?" Lemonade, using the chance to quietly sweep a few cards from the discard pile, was talking to Muse, who had been pulled into the game as well. Bloom was there as well, the owner of the game. The six of them were playing munchkin, a game Saki really did own back home as well, a gift from Michiru.

"It's not my fault you can't count how many cards I have!" Despite everything, the two of them were still going at it every other day.

"Says the girl who can't even remember where my equipment cards come from! Is your brain made of Swiss cheese that you have so many holes in your memory?"

"You're the right person to talk about brains! Who was it that needed every single card explained to her the first round?"

"Yes they're always like that. It was much more tolerable for a while since we had enemies to distract us, but ever since then... and I get the feeling it got worse just as they got together... you're too close." Ako felt a little uncomfortable. For the whole time during the game, Lemonade had sat next to her and came continuously closer. Lemonade smelled really nice but she felt a bit intimidated by how close she was.

"It's funny to watch. You don't like it?" Urara's hand had grown from three to five and her hidden stash from two to ten. Munchkin was such an interesting game. And even more interesting was Muse. The black Cure had a mature aura about her, yet, she had unexpectedly childish elements to her personality.

"It get's really tiresome if you see it every single day. You're too close, back off." Ako's patience was running thin. It wasn't just Lemonade being closer but also the way she looked at her. She couldn't quite place what it was about that look, but it disturbed her quite a bit.

"Fine then, I'll show you how this game is played!" Kanade was gritting her teeth and glaring at Hibiki.

"You're on! I'll wipe the floor with you so hard, you'll turn into a cleaning rag!" She had the exact same gritting and glaring directed towards Kanade.

"Will you two calm down already? I play lamp of wishes. The monster goes poof." Mai was good at games but not quite that good. Saki was next to her, hiding her cards well enough so that Mai had absolutely no idea what she had on hand.

"My turn!" Hibiki took a single card from the doors pile and turned it over. A high level undead monster. "I'll take it down." Declaring that proudly, Hibiki glared at Kanade, who pulled a single card from her hand.

"I'm cursing you Hibiki. Necrophobia." Kanade covered her mouth and started to giggle. "That will teach you to screw with me."

"Using my ring of wishing to remove the curse." Hibiki had an incredible smug face when she grinned at Kanade. "Were you saying something? I thought I heard you say something about looking silly,"

Ako simply shook her head, followed by a glare at Lemonade. "You're. Too. Close. Get. Off. Me." The yellow Cure had gotten so close that she could have just put her arm around Muse if she wanted to. Kicking Urara's chair, Ako put some distance between Lemonade and herself.

In the meanwhile, Hibiki and Kanade had started to argue about the exact effect of a card. Hibiki had played a potion of friendship that allowed her to get the treasure but no level up and Kanade tried to play the deus ex gatling gun on top of that, destroying both monster and treasure.

"It's totally fair use and legit play! You make the monster your friend and I blast it!"

"It's already given me the treasure when I play the potion! You can kill the monster but I still get my treasure! You're really getting on my nerves!"

"Look at you, with your hoard of cheated cards! You can just cheat your way out of every situation but not this one!"

"Take your card back Kanade. I rule that you can't play it since Hibiki played a friendship potion and thus the battle is over. Unless you have a traveling monster." Saki had heard just about enough arguing.

"Fine." Kanade's tone was ripe with dissatisfaction. She would get Hibiki. Taking a card from the door pile, the game took a brutal turn. The hardest monster in the entire game, Khali, came up. If she beat it, Kanade would win the game. But not as long as Hibiki was there.

"I play two traveling monsters, undead soldiers and... the many orcs. I also play two-headed on Khali!" Hibiki exhausted quite a bit of her arsenal, trying to kill Kanade. Nobody else seemed intent on further sabotaging her.

"I sacrifice my mount and a slave to get rid of the soldiers and orcs and I run from Khali." There was absolutely no hope of beating that thing after Hibiki had to meddle with it. And then, on top of everything, Kanade failed the escape roll by one. The minus one that Hibiki had cursed her with earlier. "Hibiki!" The blond Cure screamed as her partner was delighted Kanade just died and lost all her gear.

Ako was skipped over because she had been cursed previously by Mai. She was one level short of winning the game. Lemonade was in last place at level six and nobody paid much attention to her. Which was a fatal error. "I play three level up cards and equip these." Lemonade put down a card that could make her force another player to help her in a fight. Everyone on the table was shocked as one powerful card after another mystically appeared from Urara's hand. Finally picking up a door card, she didn't get a monster. "I'll fight against this." Only needed one more monster to win, Urara played a harmless level one monster. There was nothing the others could do to prevent her from winning now. Not with all the cards she had on her hand.

"Alright, you win. This was much more exhausting than I thought it would be." Throwing down her cards, Saki stretched. The game had lasted nearly an hour, most of them cheating a lot and constantly pulling cards out of hammerspace. About thirty minutes remained till the battle.

"I need a break." Ako left her cards and the arguing couple behind. She could hear their accusations all the way out in the hallway still. They were, at times, really tiring to be around. And what was wrong with Lemonade? The thought crossed Ako's mind, but it would be really weird for that to happen. Did Lemonade have a crush on her?

No, that couldn't be. There were five years of age difference between them. Maybe she was just curious about her or purposely annoyed her to cheat. Just as the thought about it, someone touched her butt. Quite unexpectedly, Ako let out a "Kyah!" sound and jumped away, turning around and looking at a blatantly grinning Lemonade. The woman didn't even look slightly guilty or embarrassed.

"Nice butt." With just those two words, Urara walked past the now speechless and angry Muse. She didn't get enough of her composure back before the yellow Cure was gone. Her face had a deep shade of crimson around her nose and cheeks.

She suddenly wished she had volunteered for the fight. Something to take her mind off that impertinent yellow Cure. She was still a princess so casually feeling her up was quite the offense!

Inside the living room, Hibiki and Kanade were both breathing hard, exhausted from shouting at each other. "You... cowardly hack...!" Kanade pointed her fingers at Hibiki, her breathing heavy, her body leaned against a chair to support herself.

"You... unreasonable... nitpicker..." They were down to just throwing insults at this point, both mad at each other that they hadn't won the game and each marking the other one responsible as the reason they lost.

"Will you two give it a rest? I can hear you all the way in my room!" Yuri had shown up, not looking very pleased with the ruckus.

At the exact same time, both girls pointed at each other, shouting. "It's all her fault!" "No, it's your fault!" "Don't copy me!" "Shut up!" They were completely in synch.

Mai had enough of their silly argument. Putting her fingers to her lips, Mai let our a ear deafening whistle that echoed through the hallway. "Get a grip you two. I never heard of a couple that throws such a hissy fit over losing a game." It was really hard to annoy Mai as much as they had done.

Looking at each other for a second, then violently averting their faces, both of them started pouting, Kanade leaving first. Mai covered her eyes with her hand and sighed. "What a troublesome couple. They can be so cute too."

Yuri, before returning to her room, was caught by Ako, who really needed someone to talk to. It had been something she wondered about for some time now, and she wasn't going to get anywhere thinking about it solely on her own. It was, when it came down to it, a pretty simple question.

Yuri sat on her bed, her book still in hand, looking at Ako, who didn't quite know how to best phrase her question. "This is just something I've noticed but... it seems to be really common for a Cure to date another Cure. I never really thought about it much when Rhythm had a crush on Melody but... Now I see Egret and Bloom, Sunshine had a thing for Melody too, and from what I heard, White has a partner too. It's a few too many to think of it as coincidence."

"I can't really give you an answer to this. There is obviously the factor that most of them went through hell and back with their partner. So that is one factor that might spark romantic interest. Beyond that, there is always the problem that if a Cure dates a civilian, they might get pulled into their fights and problems." Yuri looked down on her book. She was close to making a decision and the odds were heavy in favor of one side.

"You think, maybe we're supposed to be this way? It's not that I'm against same sex relationships but..." She didn't want to mention Lemonade. It could have been just teasing from the yellow cure. From what she saw, the woman liked to get a rise out of people.

"You're worried what it might mean for you? You're a princess and maybe you're expected to produce a heir to the throne. Is that it? Or is it that you're worried if you can handle a relationship with another Cure?"

"I'm not even sure I'm ready for any kind of relationship. But yes, both of those things are on my mind. My mother would probably even be understanding. She and my father are still young so they might even have another child which could become the heir."

"Looking at you like this, it's really easy to forget you're in truth just a thirteen year old girl who goes to middle school. You talk, act and look like an adult. I'm just saying this from an objective perspective, but you're quite attractive." Yuri sometimes thought of Ako as her equal, someone who was dealing with similar problems and had a similar mindset. But that was just on the surface. She might be mature for her age, even mature for what she looked like, but there were many facets about her that clearly showed she was still a young girl, not a grown woman.

"Ultimately, it's up to you. I met Momoka before I became Moonlight and it took until after the fighting was over with that she asked me out. Others might get together earlier than that. It really depends on the individual. If you ask me, it's the circumstances that arise with being a Cure that leads us to seeking romance with one of our own. Not being a Cure itself." Yuri found it to be a surprisingly difficult topic.

"Do you ever think that people expect differently from you? That they shun you for dating another girl? I'm not sure I should even think about this as future queen." Ako had thought about being queen quite a bit, yet, the thought of who she would marry to make king never crossed her mind. She still had more than eight years before her mother would even consider letting her take over.

"People that really care about you won't shun you for this. I've dated Momoka for a while, and even though we have to keep it a secret from the general public, nobody in our hometown bothers to look twice when we walk around holding hands. If you, yourself, accept it, others will too. I'm sorry this sounds so philosophical but there is really no universal answer to these questions. You'll have to try and see where it leads you." Yuri got up and let out a huge sigh. She was probably confusing the poor girl much more than she wanted to.

"It helped talking to you. I'll think about this a bit more on my own." Nodding to Yuri, the black Cure left the room. At least she now knew that it was no rarity among Cures and that nobody would even bother to think twice about being interested.

Going for a walk, Ako heard a weird muffled sound coming from behind a corner. Checking for it's source, she stopped just in time when she heard the sound of someone panting and moaning. "What if someone see's us Hibiki?" Kanade was sounding very out of breath, short pauses of gasps between her words.

"Then they'll see us kissing, no big deal. Mai and Saki kiss each other right in front of everyone and nobody minds." Hibiki was just as out of breath.

Before she could witness any more of the private life of the two, Ako walked away as fast as she could without giving away she had overheard them. Around the corner, in the gap next to a deserted room, was Hibiki, having pushed Kanade against the wall. The white Cure had a scarlet red on her cheeks, excited about getting caught.

"I'm surprised you're such a good kisser." Kanade had little to no experience and thought Hibiki was only a bit ahead of her, she did learn a few tricks from Itsuki when they were together.

"There's a lot of things you don't know about me." Hibiki grinned wide, closing her eyes slightly, her left hand pushed against the wall next to Kanade's shoulders, supporting her as she leaned forward, kissing Kanade's neck, her right hand playing with and teasing her love's breasts.

Kanade had both her arms around Hibiki's neck, getting rapidly more excited as the pink Cure kept teasing her, kissing her. Even then, the two of them were arguing a little. "I know almost everything about you. Don't pretend you're.. ah, that's my ear Hibiki!" Kanade's eyes closing in reflex to the sudden stimuli, Hibiki effectively shut her up.

"The one giving in first has to volunteer for cleaning the bathroom." Hibiki pushed out a few words between nibbling on Kanade's ear and moving her right leg between Kanade's. She wasn't planning to go all the way, just make Kanade admit defeat.

The white Cure wasn't going to give up without a fight. Grabbing Hibiki by her shoulders, she pulled her from her neck, forcing a passionate kiss on her lips. Despite never having done it before, she slid her tongue into Hibiki's mouth, knowing full well what a french kiss was. She didn't read all that manga for nothing.

The kiss erupting into a fight for dominance, the two of them fought back and forth until Hibiki finally emerged as winner, at a high cost. She was just as excited as Kanade was, her nipples poking erect through the thin fabric of her top, both of Kanade's hands firmly grasping her breasts, fondling them.

The taste of Kanade's lips fresh, Hibiki licked suggestively over her lips, she pushed herself against Kanade, ceasing to support herself, her own chest pressing against Kanade's. "That's unfair, ah..." Kanade couldn't keep her voice down and let out a loud moan just as she could feel the softness of Hibiki's breasts on her own.

The blond girl was just about to give in and up as something unexpected happened. They were found by, of all people, the Kiryuu sisters. Separating quickly, it was quite obvious what they had been doing just from looking at their faces. Not letting them say anything, the two lovebirds vanished quickly.

"I wasn't going..." "... to say anything." The two looked after the embarrassed girls. They had walked in or found Mai and Saki more than a dozen times and half of the time, they had been in much more peculiar situations than those.

"I want to try it too." After seeing that it wasn't just Saki and Mai who did it but rather almost everyone around then, Michiru was becoming very eager to try it out as well.

"Wait till tonight." Kaoru put a sudden stop to any wild ideas Michiru was getting. She had enough common sense to realize it would be really weird for two sisters to be doing sleeping with each other. But not enough common sense to actually reject the idea as a whole. Because she was interested as well, and Michiru was better than most to try just how much there was to it.

=== Dissonance ===

"It was total chaos. Yuri was holding two cellphones at once, jugging calls, my sister was screaming at the producer and there were stage workers trying to repair stuff everywhere. Eventually, one of them tripped and emptied a bucket of water right on Yuri. She was so furious, people said they could see the water boil right off her. And in the middle of all that, Tsubomi tried to help everyone at once and Itsuki made a few attempts at mediating between my sister and the producer, both of them screaming like angry lions." Marine had joined the group at the table while Blossom excused herself, not feeling so well after eating a specific sandwich which had something on it she couldn't quite stomach.

"You lost me in the middle there. Why was your sister fighting with the producer again?" Nagisa had difficult following the exact chain of events that led up to that apocalypse.

"Like I said, she was shooting for a new magazine and was supposed to get a little intimate with one of the male models which she outright refused. Of course, she was already dating Yuri, Moonlight, at the time, who was right there, so she couldn't do that. Or at least she didn't want to. I heard Yuri was actually okay as long as it was all staged. But Momoka is like a stubborn donkey when it comes to these things. So they started arguing and the male model tripped over a cable in an attempt to do something stupid. Which pulled a camera down."

"What happened then?" Inori was quite a sucker for stories like these. Marine was not exactly the best storyteller, but she knew a few funny events.

"The producer was questioning her honesty in saying he doesn't believe she's in a relationship as he hadn't heard about that. So Momoka walks right up to the soaked wet Yuri, pulls her all the way to the producer and launches in an intense kiss, leaving Yuri shinning red."

Inori almost did a spit-take as she heard that. "That must have left quite the impression on him. That does remind me of something similar Love did in the past." She didn't have many funny stories to tell, but there were a few she remembered.

"Love, you know, Peach, wasn't really dating Setsuna, Passion, at that point yet, which makes this even funnier now than it was back then. What happened was that we were all on a trip and went to Shibuya and there was this one guy who kept hitting on Setsuna the whole time. He just wouldn't shut up or believe that she wasn't interested. So, somewhere down the line, Love decided to prove that Setsuna was already taken, kissing the poor girl right in front of him. This is just me, but I think even back then, Setsuna had a crush on Love, making this even worse than it sounds. For the rest of the trip, Setsuna kept blushing whenever Love as much as looked at her." Inori told her short story, earning a few laughs from the others on the table.

"I have a nice one too. Nozomi, Dream, was always the leader of our team, but as a normal person, she's a horrible klutz. I wouldn't even trust her to make sandwiches without burning down the entire kitchen." Kurumi, actually actively participating in the storytelling, was finding it to be really pleasing to be nice to people for a change. "All six of us were helping out in a restaurant where influenza had knocked out the entire staff except the cook. Karen worked as the cashier, Komachi, Urara, Nozomi and me were waiting tables while Rin was helping in the kitchen, the only one we trusted not to ruin the store by munching away at the food. And the problems already started before we started working. Komachi had trouble fitting into the uniform because of her chest, Aqua was a little too tall and Rin wasn't going to make the cut as waitress because the uniform was too loose. With some effort, we got Komachi into the uniform and out on the floor." Kurumi made a break and took a deep breath.

"It took an immense twenty seconds until Nozomi broke the first plate. Komachi couldn't help her clean up, she probably would have exploded the outfit. She's was way too curvy for it. And then the worst thing that could happen happened. A large group of people came in all at once and we were super busy all of a sudden. Nozomi caused one catastrophe after another. Pouring water over a customer. Mixing up orders. Getting the entire order wrong. Breaking the device for taking orders. And so on. It all went downwards when we tried to put her in the kitchen and make her help Rin and the cook. Barely five minutes passed until they sent her back out. So we had nothing to do for her. In the end, we felt so bad that we made her stand in her waitress outfit just out the door, looking nice and inviting people in." For every mishap Nozomi caused, Kurumi imitated her, looking quite silly. The whole group was half on the ground, trying to feel bad and stop laughing when she finished. Half the fun was watching her, the other half imagining a klutz of such epic proportions.

"You people..." Karen was shaking her head, watching the group laugh at the story from when they all helped out the shop. She had initially come to notify the others it was almost time, but now she needed to put a stop to Kurumi's loose mouth, too. "It's time. We have five minutes till the battle."

The atmosphere shifted from one moment to the next. Erika, Kurumi and Hikari excused themselves from the group and followed Karen, Tsubomi and Komachi already at the gateway. "We'll use the same tactic as last time. Mint will protect Luminous, but this time, they'll look after themselves. I trust Mint to keep anyone at bay until someone picks the attacker off. Everyone that already fought knows what it's like. Kurumi, just do your best, nobody is going to point fingers at anyone after we're done, no matter what happens." Aqua wasn't the most motivating leader, but she had this aura of calculated victory about her that made people trust in her decisions.

They were all there when the gateway opening and the familiar red light greeted them. Most of them fully expected to return to the platform hell that had been the location of battle the last two times. And they were surprised to see it gone.

The area towered over them, quite literally. A single, massive tower with a spiral staircase, leading to it's top. It was high enough for the top to vanish in the darkness, beyond sight. Aqua estimated the whole tower to be at least five hundred meters if not more. It was truly gargantuan. A convoy of trucks could have made it up the staircase side by side with ease. The stairs itself were more like a ramp than actual stairs. To fall and loose your footing was to slide all the way down or over the edge. There was solid ground all around the tower, still, free fall from a couple hundred meters height would be extremely dangerous. And there was no guard rail to speak of.

"This changes things. We should stay away from the tower and fight on solid- What is it Marine?"

"You can forget that idea. Look." Erika pointed at the distance, where they could see other towers, part of the castle so huge that it dwarfed the still enormous tower. But what the blue Cure was pointing at was not the towers but the ground. It was crumbling. "In a few minutes, the ground around the tower will be bottomless pits. Just like the ground between the platforms last time. The only safe place will be the very top of that thing." Marine didn't lose any time and started running, the rest of them following suit.

And they were not the only ones running. In the distance, to the other side of the tower, were their enemies, approaching the tower rapidly, ready to fight and claim the top spot, the only real safe ground. But Rose wouldn't make it that easy for the other team to reach the tower in time. Waiting till her own team was out of the way, she slowed down and finally came to a stand still about hundred meters away from the tower. A massive purple and metallic flash lit up the area for a split second as she activated her ability. "Abbadon!"

The other side saw the attack coming. "Incoming!" Egret shouted and activated her own ability. "Wings of Heaven!" The storm of metal shards was raining down, each impact creating a crater the size of a weak grenade. The shadow group spread out, moving at much higher speed than before, an azure glow around their feet, enhancing their mobility to more than twice their original rate. They would reach the tower first, gaining the advantage of higher ground, yet, Rose's attack forced Egret to utilize her ability much too early.

Egret was the first to reach the base of the tower, just in time to be defend against Blossom, the vanguard of the light team. Crossing her arms to protect her face, the white Cure took a powerful punch straight on, noticing just how much of a problem the ground really was. It was a gigantic ramp, smooth like polished stone and ascending at a rapid rate. She was pushed back almost ten meters, Blossom staring down on her from slightly above. It was difficult just to stand your ground at all.

The next clash was far more violent in nature. Bloom had caught up with her partner and attacked Blossom with a flying heel kick. "Six lights of the North!" Luminous explosive light attack devastated the ground and the wall between Blossom and Bloom, the latter coughing in the rising cloud of stone dust and debris.

By the time the dust settled, Blossom and Egret were gone, both of them running up the ramp. By the sheer size of the tower, it was over a hundred meters thick at the lowest point. Just being on the other side of the thing separated one from everyone on the other side by more than just seconds.

"Rhythm of Glory!" A combo attack by Melody and Rhythm, a powerful sound resonated in the minds of everyone on their team, boosting their attack and defense. The two of them could only use physical attacks while they kept up the buff but it was well worth it. Bright clashed with Milky Rose at the foot of the tower, the two of them grappling each others on shoulders and arms, trying to overwhelm each other by sheer strength. Rose was at a huge disadvantage, Bright being the physically strongest of all the Cures to begin with and being further boosted by the Suite team's ability.

Melody and Rhythm passed the purple and yellow Cure in a flash, racing after Egret and Blossom. Four Cures had entered the tower. Bloom was taking wild evasive maneuvers against Marine, who was a huge danger, given how many abilities had already been used and that she could utilize any of them. Taking the metal storm from Rose at close range would be extremely dangerous.

Luminous and Mint faced Windy, who blocked the entry to the tower, giving her own team an advantage in that it was three versus one up there. But there was one enemy she had lost sight of, the tall blue Cure from the enemy team.

"Prison of Enlightenment!" Hikari drew a small octagon of light into the air and then pointed at Windy. Seemingly solid walls of golden energy rose from the ground, imprisoning Windy inside the field. Mint had not hesitated to advance upwards, Luminous slowly catching up to her, leaving the imprisoned Windy behind alone.

"Sunflower Ravage!" Bloom smashed the wall next to Marine with a powerful punch. Running was meaningless if her enemy was simply much faster than she was. From the corner of her eye, she saw Mint and, behind her, Luminous approach. Marine had chased her up the tower quite a bit. Further down was something like a barrier field of light and Windy was standing in it. She was too far to help her.

Rose was seeing the futility of further holding up Bright. She couldn't win a contest of power so she decided to play dirty. Kicking up some dust from the ground, Bright backed off just far enough to give her time to launch an attack. "Metal Hazard!" A miniature version of Abbadon, a small gust of sixty metal fragments shot right at Bright, who didn't seem to admit defeat just yet. A brief, silvery yellow glow in her fist, she smashed the first shard to come close, the ensuring shock wave disrupting the trajectory of all the other shards, missing her.

The purple Cure was long gone when Bright took a deep breath, having escaped knockout barely in time. As the last one to approach the tower, she stopped briefly at Windy's barrier. A single hit from her at the center point and the walls crumbled like glass. It was enough to keep a physically weak Cure in check but Bright was like a thunderbolt of raw, brute force.

Over a hundred a fifty meters above them, closer to the steadily thinning center of the tower, was Blossom, racing Egret almost side by side, each of them trying to push the other off the continuously narrowing path. With a single quick movement, Blossom got a hold of Egret's neck, pushed her down, making her fall. The white Cure hit the ground at such high speed that the skin on her cheek was burned. The impact was enough to make her roll over twice before she managed to push herself off the ground and continue running. The distance between Blossom and her had widened. "Azure Sky Flight!" Egret vanished, Blossom wildly looking around but completely neglecting the area right before her.

The heel drop, Egret had the higher ground if only slightly, hit Blossom with full power, literally crushing her into the ground, completely halting her speed. About to grab her and throw her off the tower, either to a lower part of the ramp or completely off the tower, Egret was rudely interrupted. A blue flash, and part of the costume on her stomach was cut apart like it was no more than paper. A cut not too deep, she was still losing blood. Backing off further up the ramp, Egret noticed that there was something odd about the air.

"Mirroring Lake." Aqua announced coldly, canceling her disguise and facing Egret straight. She needed the extra energy and focus to take down a Cure that speedy.

Luminous was no longer running by herself but carried by Mint, who kept a mobile barrier around herself. Queen of Light immobilized Luminous and it had a limited range but it provided a heavy boost to every aspect of fighting for her own team. And they had just caught up to Melody and Rhythm, who were running up the ramp hand in hand, a prerequisite to uphold the Rhythm of Glory.

Canceling her support skill, Luminous started running by herself. Only Mint was in range for Queen of Light and it was fine as long as they only moved up but to fight two, she had to help her. "Six lights of the North!" Luminous shot the six orbs of energy straight at the enemy Cures.

Melody and Rhythm both jumped up in the air at the same time, turning around in mid-air. Hibiki was closer to the wall. Without any kind of sign, Kanade held on tightly to her, her free arms around her partner's waist, while the pink Cure used her free arms to push herself, and Kanade, away from the wall. All of that happened in a matter of three seconds. Luminous orbs crashed into the wall, destroying part of it, the debris hitting the ground and starting to roll down.

Mint was slower than those two, but she had range. Jumping up and trying to get a good lock on them, she created a barrier. This time, Rhythm reacted first, jumping, pulling Melody with her, the two avoiding imprisonment by Mint. The green Cure launched another one, again, Rhythm suddenly turned backwards, pulling Melody out of harms way, turning again and continuing up the ramp.

Windy had just caught up with Bright and quickly went past her. They could see that Bloom and Marine were fighting in the layer above them, but it was downright madness to try and jump up there. The walls were completely smooth, and even a small attack could potentially push them off the entire tower. Rose was far ahead of them and should catch up with Marine any second.

"Silver Rose Storm!" Kurumi launched an attack without considering Marine's position. She simply hoped the blue Cure would get out of the way in time. A whirling shard of metal fragments surrounded Bloom, who was surprised by the sudden appearance of the purple Cure.

The shards cut into her arms and legs, shredding her costume to pieces. "Ten Strike Bloom!" Hammering the ground with a flash series of punches, the the shards hit debris and rock fragments, one attack nullifying another. But now it was two versus one. Given that Bright was fighting Rose, both she and Windy should arrive soon. She had to stall for time. Or so she thought. There was no sign of Marine. Rose noticed that as well.

Egret couldn't run any further. Blossom had outmaneuvered her and got in front of her, both her nose and her lips bleeding, Aqua behind her, dozens of small cuts from razor sharp wind on her face and legs. Egret wasn't looking too well either. Aqua had slashed her twice, the initial cut on her stomach, and a piercing hit that went right through her left hand, leaving a small hole. Her weapon might be made of water, but it was still razor sharp.

Egret couldn't see down from where she stood, carefully watching Blossom with one eye, Aqua with another instead. "Blossom Impact!" A huge pink energy blast came flying right at her, which Egret barely avoided by jumping out of the way. But she had chosen the wrong direction. Aqua was exactly where she would land, predicting her move. Grabbing the white Cure by her right arm, Egret was whirled high into the air and throw over the edge of the tower. That was it for her.

"Hibiki, throw me!" Rhythm demanded all of a sudden and Hibiki obeyed without second thought. Using her full power to propel the white Cure high in the air, Rhythm shot past the edge of the ramp above them and barely managed to grab Egret by her long ponytail. The energy from Aqua throwing the purple haired Cure pulled Rhythm a little off track, but she managed to get both of them down safely.

In the meantime, Mint and Luminous had caught up, now facing three versus two. Mint used the chance and tried to lock all three enemies in several layers of barriers but Melody anticipated that much. Unable to do more than literally kick her partner and Egret out of the way, closer to the center of the tower, Melody got caught inside a barrier. Trying to break free, Hibiki hit the inner wall of the barrier with full force, shattering the thinnest layer but suffering the same damage herself, forcing the pink Cure on her knees.

"Move, move, move!" Luminous and Mint looked back. Marine was approaching them at such high speed, she looked like a blue ball of lightning sizzling over the ground. Luminous was almost run over by Erika. The two white Cures had no chance to get away before Marine reached them. "Abbadon!" The entire area exploded into stone debris and dust, sucking up all visibility.

Bloom and Rose were about even in terms of fighting prowess, Bloom stronger, Rose faster and more versatile. Kurumi had used too much energy already, breathing hard, and Bloom had taken two heavy hits, unable to use her left arm, multiple metal shards stuck halfway in it. If she was foolish enough to pull them out, she'd bleed out in a matter of minutes.

Things got a lot more hectic when Bright and Windy finally caught up, and Blossom and Aqua descended from the layers above. All of a sudden, the ramp had turned into a battle royal. Blossom, using the additional force from jumping down, landed a heavy hit against Bright, strong enough to drive her back down the ramp a dozen meters. Aqua didn't even bother to land, grabbing Windy and throwing herself off the ramp to a layer yet even further down.

Bright was at the lowest point, Blossom between her and Bloom, and Rose above Bloom. The situation came to a temporary standstill, everyone plotting their next move. The first to do anything was Blossom, who simply turned on Bright, leaving her back wide open, attacking Bloom from behind. Grabbing her by her arms, kicking the backside of her knees and forcing the pink Cure down, Blossom used her full power. "Nature's Claim!" Several pink circles appeared all around those two, exploding with enough force to take a huge chunk of the ramp out with them. Rose instantly moved towards the dust cloud, only to meet face to fist with Bloom's attack.

Blossom had underestimated the endurance of the sunflower Cure and had exhausted her own energy too much, leaving herself wide open. Bright stepped in, grabbed Tsubomi by her neck, flung her around like a small doll and crashed her into the wall three times before she was thrown off the tower too strong and too far for anyone to save her.

Rose was suddenly two versus one, but Bloom was badly wounded and Bright lacked the speed to keep up with her.

Windy found herself abandoned by Aqua near the lowest parts of the ramp, the blue Cure already running back up as fast as she could. She was tired of running. "Wrath of the Sky!" The entire ramp was first becoming misty, then cloudy until visibility was reduced to less than a meter ahead. It wasn't one of her more useful attacks as it affected both friend and foe, but three from her team knew the ability well enough to realize that it would clear up further up.

Aqua had no problems whatsoever to find her way up the now hidden path. But she decided that it was too dangerous to let Windy keep that ability going. Going back, Aqua listened intently for steps that approached her. And there they were. Stopping and standing still, holding her ground, Karen waited patiently for Windy to reach her range. With a calculated and precise hit, the blue Cure hit her enemy right into the shoulder with her water rapier. Windy screamed out in pain, knowing that her plan had backfired. Aqua was smart enough to memorize the width and length of the ramp.

She disliked always relying on her ability in moments like these, but from a team perspective, if she was going to lose, and with a hole in her shoulder that much was inevitable, it made sense to take whoever took her out with her. "Stormflair." Windy knew exactly where Aqua was after all. At the end of the blade that had just pierced her. The decision to use her ability was made in a split second.

Seconds later, the cloud carpet cleared up. Aqua and Windy were both knocked out, laying face down on the ground.

Marine was still coughing from the dust she had breathed in. And so were the others. Making a mental note not to use Rose's ability again due to lack of control and area of effect being too huge, Marine moved to escaped from the dust cloud, coincidentally picking up Luminous in the process and pulling her out as well. In the process of attacking with Rose's special, she had accidentally knocked out the yellow Cure. Friendly fire was a very valid possibility with abilities she couldn't control.

The dust started to settle and what emerged was Mint inside a barrier, which was inside a bigger barrier, the larger one imprisoning Melody. Egret was out for the count, hit by several shards from Marine's attack. She was losing blood, which slowly ran down the steep ramp. Rhythm had only sustained scratches and a few cuts, Hibiki shielding her from most of the attack.

Eying the green Cure, Melody had already experienced once what happened when she broke a barrier. The damage was imposed on her as well. So, there was a simple way to stop that from happening. Using attacks that caused damage to the enemy without needing to travel through the barriers. "Kanade!" Signalizing her partner to get out of the way, Melody took a deep breath. She still didn't have full control over that ability. Beat had taught her the basics, but she needed to develop the rest herself.

Forming a monstrous pink sphere in front of her, easily the size of herself, Melody pulled a fancy looking guitar from it. She, herself, wasn't immune to the damage either, but she had to use this chance while Marine was still in range. The attack still didn't have any real name. "Powerful Melody!" was the temporary title for it.

Hitting the magical instruments strings, the entire area shook under the impact. It was like the guitar was hooked to a monstrous amplifier. The sound made the very air vibrate. Melody bend over after just one cord, but kept on playing. It was a heavy rock song that was designed to damage enemies immune to physical damage or out of reach.

It had the desired effect. Mint was sensitive to sound, and in a way, the easiest target for attacks like those. Her barriers could protect her against any physical damage, but not against an attack like that. There was only one way to stop her, but it was risky. "Clear Zone!"

Melody was baffled when her instrument vanished together with the barriers. Mint was still shaken by the force of the attack but Marine was less sensitive and on the attack. Hibiki had no time to defend herself, but she didn't need to either. Kanade took Marine's attack, not suffering much damage. Erika had speed but not power. Not inside Clear Zone.

Getting up and launching a counter attack, Melody hit Marine twice in the stomach, followed by a spinning kick in the chest, sending her flying all the way over the edge of the tower. Rhythm attacked Mint in the same moment. The green Cure protected herself by blocking every attack as good as she could but she wasn't fast enough. Whatever she blocked dealt absolutely no damage whatsoever, yet, the quick punches that penetrated her defense did damage her.

By the time she managed to get some distance between herself and Rhythm the positions had changed. She was now trapped between two enemies and things didn't look good. Both of them attacked at once and Mint didn't have enough energy to create more than a single layered barrier. Deciding it would be Rhythm who shattered the barrier, giving the physically stronger Melody a chance to land a direct blow, she turned towards the pink Cure and took a defensive position.

And she was wrong. Melody hit the barrier as hard as she could, smashing it into millions of tiny pieces, and Rhythm brutally hit Mint in the back with a powerful kick, sending her crashing into the wall. Only letting out a single groaning sound, Mint fainted as she hit the stone surface.

Rose was exhausted. Bloom was too, but there was the problem of Bright. She had seemingly infinite stamina. Not knowing what the rest of the battle was looking like, she decided to at least take out Bloom, seeing if she could deal with Bright by outrunning her until she found support.

Saki was having trouble just standing. The sharp pain of the metal fragments stuck in her arm was blurring her vision and it was becoming increasingly difficult to even stand. She tried her best to hide she was actually staggering by ever so slowly backing up at the same time. Even if she went down, Bright would take down Rose no matter what. She might as well give her a clean shot then.

Jumping at Rose while leaving an obvious weak spot in her attack, Kurumi fell for it and tried to land a kick against Bloom's stomach. The purple Cure had her leg grabbed, whirled around until Bloom grabbed both her arms, holding them up. They were still in mid-air, she couldn't do anything.

"I'll apologize later Saki." Michiru said and jumped right at the two. "Full Moon Devastation!" The impact made Rose cough up and spit out blood, the same as Bloom. The force went right through the purple Cure and hit Bright's ally as well.

The second Kurumi lost consciousness, Bloom did too, the two of them hitting the ground hard, not moving a finger. Bright saw the area around her become distorted and seconds later, she was back in her own room. They had won.

=== Dissonance ===

When Ako came to, she groaned with a heavy headache. There was nobody else in the room, but she could tell by the smell it wasn't her own. There was a very slight trace of alcohol in the air, and the bed didn't smell like her own.

The others had left for the battle and when she found herself still walking around, she had run into Lemonade, who tried to invite her for a drink. Ako had never drunk alcohol, which didn't come as a surprise to anyone who knew her real age. Lemonade obviously didn't, she was treating her just like other adults. In a way, it was flattering, on the other hand, it was bothersome.

The yellow Cure had not given up and at some point, Ako simply gave up trying to get away or turning her down. Wanting to just get it over with, everything after was a total blur. Just as she tried to get up, her headache got a thousand times worse, forcing her back on the bed.

"You could have told me you're a first-timer Muse." Urara entered the room, carrying a pot in her hand. "Drink this, you'll feel better. Maybe. A bit, I guess." Handing the black Cure a glass with hot, green tea, Ako almost spit it back out for how bitter it was.

"It tastes like crap but it'll help you beat down that headache." Lemonade sat down on the bed, leaning against the wall.

"You got me drunk. Anything else I should know? Like undressing me and having your way with me?" Ako was full of snark, considering it wasn't exactly only Lemonade's fault all of that happened.

"Thought about it, didn't want to deal with the shit storm that would follow. If I did, I wouldn't have bothered to put your clothes back on. Relax, I'm no rapist." Urara didn't deny that she thought about it. While it had been payback with Marine, she simply fancied Muse's style and looks. Tall, curvy but not too curvy, nice fashion sense. Her personality left something to be desired, but one couldn't have everything.

Ako didn't know if she should really ask but Lemonade was really blunt about things, so she might as well go all the way. "You're interested in me?"

"I wouldn't bother inviting you to a drink or getting you to my room if I wasn't. Oh and by the way..." Urara looked at Muse and had a huge grin on her face. "I overheard part of your conversation with Moonlight."

Before Ako knew what was going on, Lemonade was kneeling right on top of her, a seductive smile on her lips. "I can teach you everything you need to know. And just in case, I do think we Cure's are supposed to go out with each other. If we were intended to be interested in guys, there would be male Cures."

Ako had a nice view of Urara's cleavage in her position. Her mind was still fuzzy from the alcohol, her heart beating fast from the sudden situation. "Who says I want to learn anything?" Her stubborn side came through, as usual. She didn't take kindly to people belittling her. Pushing Lemonade away and getting up, staggering with her headache, Ako walked to the door.

"What a shame. If you change your mind, you can come back. But..." Urara grabbed Ako's right arm and pulled her around, the other hand on her neck, she kissed the black Cure without even a hint of guilt. And it wasn't just any normal kiss, but a fierce, passionate one. To her surprise, Ako just stood there, dumbfounded by what was happening. As they separated, a thin line of saliva still connected their lips, Urara licking hers with a fiendish grin. "That's my payment for the alcohol, carrying you all the way back here and the tea."

Shoving the black Cure out of her room, Urara snickered. She knew that type well. Stubborn, proud, prideful and easy to upset, never admitting defeat, always a backup plan up their sleeve. The easiest way to make them interested in you was to surprise them, go on the offensive. With that kiss, if the girl really was new to romance, she undoubtedly piqued her interest. Now it was only a matter of waiting until the seed would bloom and bear fruit.

Ako opened her mouth, closed it, multiple times, without finding any words for what just happened. An intense blush started to arise in her face and that made her even angrier. She just stood there, thinking about bursting into that room and shouting but something stopped her. What she disliked was that Lemonade had simply forced the kiss on her, not what she had forced on her.

Her head was hurting even more now, so the black Cure walked off to her own room. Lemonade grabbing her butt made a lot of sense right now. She did feel a bit flattered that someone was genuinely interested in her, though she didn't particularly like the person who it came from.

One realization came pretty quickly to her. Romance was terribly complicated and she won't be able to run from it forever. And out of all times, now was absolutely the worst to run into Hibiki and Kanade, the two of them looking very exhausted but otherwise physically fine.

"We won. We finally won a battle!" Hibiki seemed quite happy but calmed down quickly when Kanade slapped her shoulder to turn down the volume. The fighting often came with headaches in the end, and she didn't want any shouting right now.

Without saying a word, Ako staggered back to her room, a mix of feeling miserable and anger on her face. Neither of her team mates dared to ask what had happened.

Waiting for the others, everyone eventually showed up, although Bloom looked really exhausted, constantly rubbing her back, while the red haired Kiryuu sister looked pretty guilty. Moonlight and White acted as the ones to report to. "So it's a huge tower now?" Honoka didn't like that any more than the platforms, though it forced less close combat fights.

"It might work out nicely, depending on how well we utilize the advantages it holds. The key factor is that fighters on upper layers can join those on lower layers with relative ease to out-number the enemy." Moonlight knew that it was a double-edged sword. But at least they were no longer forced to fight on the platform hell.

"Should we decide the next runner right now? Most of us are here. The only ones missing are Muse and Dream." Mai wanted to have that decision over with. There wasn't a lot of possibilities right then. Five people were locked down, almost half the team.

"It's safe to assume there won't be any volunteers at this point." Yuri was conflicted. She wanted to volunteer both because she was worried about Itsuki and that the rest of her team was on the other side. But she also feared what would happen if she met up with Berry, who had proudly declared her ambition to make Yuri hers right in front of her. She still hadn't found consensus with herself on if she really could abandon Momoka. There was also the issue of how the others would react, specifically Erika.

"The potential candidates are Bloom, Bright, Windy, Melody, Muse, Moonlight and myself. If either Bloom or I change, it will decide the next three runners as well." Mai knew that Saki would follow her no matter what. The same held true for the Kiryuu sisters.

"Beat changed because she went after Passion. I would like to stay until at least Rhythm's lock is gone so we can change one after another." Hibiki wanted to avoid spending time away from Kanade right now as much as possible. She also didn't want to leave because Itsuki had been the one to leave just before her, and she wasn't dense enough to not realize what implications Kanade would see there.

"I think it's best if one of us four changes." Mai didn't like the idea of potentially getting stuck in exile, yet she thought it would make the most sense to use their close friendship so that the group as a whole didn't have to worry about who the next runner was going to be for at least a little while.

"I'll go." Kaoru was first to volunteer, knowing that if they changed right now, Mai and Saki had a high chance of getting stuck in exile without protection. They didn't have enough favor right now. "We all will eventually change, so if this gives you enough time to get the missing favor, I'll go." Looking at her best friends, Kaoru knew that Michiru would follow right after her.

"I hate this system." Kanade sneered, quite displeased that the system forced groups of friends apart and potentially even against each other. Thinking about fighting Ellen wasn't making her happy at all.

"We all do. But for now, we can't do a lot about it. The next runner is Kaoru, Cure Windy." Yuri announced it as a matter of fact. None of the other splash star members said anything. They weren't happy but they understood her intentions.

=== Dissonance ===

"It's not your fault. It was just a bad match up. They had two heavy hitters and nobody expected Melody and Rhythm to work together that well after what happened the last time." Hikari was trying to comfort Kurumi, who was rather depressed over losing her first fight.

Blossom had finally finished scolding Marine for how carelessly she had used Rose's ability in the fight. Mint was trying to calm down the pink Cure, with limited success. They were all tired and most of them head headaches, but they still reported what happened to Berry. Given how tired everyone was, the blue Cure didn't bother to go into any tactical details. The fighters had gotten back just in time for dinner to be ready too.

The general mood wasn't exceptional, but they all knew that the next fight might turn out differently. Luck in the match up was a huge factor. Dinner was pasta with tomato sauce. The dinner was relatively quiet until Love, Ellen and Setsuna showed up. Against all her expectations, nobody seemed afraid in the least of the purple haired Cure. Instead, she was welcomed just like anyone else.

Sitting to the right of Setsuna, next to Blossom, Love was left of Setsuna, next to Inori. "She looks a lot better. But what have you been doing all day in her room? Watching her rest?" Inori couldn't help her curiosity.

"Mostly that, yes. We... talked." Love hid that Ellen couldn't speak. If she wanted to tell people, she could do so by herself. "So what happened to Setsuna and her? They look like they're really getting along. I can't see her dumping you for someone else. Did you leave her?" Inori knew Love well, but it was the first time a situation like that had happened.

"We're sort of together now." Love couldn't understand the immense confusion mirrored in Inori's face. "She likes Setsuna, I like Setsuna, so we're sort of together as well."

"You're really unbelievable Love." The blond girl shook her head, almost speechless. "I can't think of anyone else who could go into a love triangle and come out with a three-way relationship."

"Isn't that the best way to solve it? She's cute and I'm sure she's really nice too when I get to know her better. " Love didn't see the problem Inori seemed to try to make out of it. "Is it weird for us to be like this?"

"Considering who I'm talking to, it shouldn't even surprise me, really. But generally, yes, it's weird. I hope it works out just as well as you think it will. I wish I had your luck in romance. I'll never find someone nice." Inori got a little annoyed with all the romance happening around her.

Miki, sitting to Inori's left, wasn't that lucky in romance either. She hadn't seen Moonlight outside a fight for a while now and she was kind of wanting to just go and switch over to see her. She wanted to learn more about her. But to do that, she had to pass the exile. Black was next to change, which made sense, since White had left. It was a difficult decision. The exile was not a nice place.

=== Dissonance ===

The absolute absence of light, pitch black darkness so thick that it could be cut. No walls, no ceiling, ground flat and smooth like a gigantic stone plate polished to the point of reflecting even shadows. Silence so deafening that one's own heartbeat seemed like the sound produced by an enormous, relentless drum. Breath, air flowing in and out of her lungs, sounding like storms on a rough sea. Each step causing an echo that seemed to find the end of the world and come back.

But none of these things truly frightened Itsuki. If this was all the exile could do to her, then it wasn't all that bad. And still, there was a certain anxiety she couldn't lose. Something deep inside her mind that told her "_Don't let your guard down._"

The only way to count time was to count her heartbeat. How many steps she took in one direction. Or was it a circle she was walking in? She had lost both her sense for direction and time completely. How long would she have to wait until the next run happened?

Her question was answered the moment she thought of it. At the far side of the darkness, so small it was barely the size of a match stick's head, was a light, the sign of the gateway opening. Was this her way out?

Itsuki started to run as fast as she could towards the light, but no matter how hard she ran, it didn't get bigger. Until finally, she found someone that shouldn't be there. Not just one person but a whole group, the students from her dojo. And that was not all. There was someone... she didn't recognize. Someone who was teaching the students. "What are you doing? These are my students." Itsuki was annoyed that someone would take over her dojo like that. What were they thinking, pretending to be the instructor?

"Who the hell are you?" The person she didn't recognize was asking her such a rude question.

"The leader of this dojo. I teach here." Itsuki turned in terror when the voices of her students reached her.

"Who the hell are you lady?" "Get lost." "You're annoying." "Who do you think you are?" "Wow, she's hot, who is she?" "Stop interrupting." "Teach, kick her out." "Go away."

Taking a few steps back, the screaming, the protest grew ever louder. "What are you saying? It's me! Myoudouin Itsuki!" The yellow Cure protested but the screaming got even louder, completely suppressing her shouts.

Backing off slowly, Itsuki only shook her head. It must be a bad dream. It couldn't be real. Turning around and running from the scene, she only stopped when she was completely out of breath. There was a faint whispering in her head. "_It's your fault. You left them behind. You left everyone behind._"

Shaking her head wildly, trying to get the whispering out, Itsuki denied that very thought. It wasn't true. She had always cared for those around her.

What she came across next terrified her even more. Tsubomi and Erika were walking hand in hand, staring at each other love drunk, smiling happily. "Erika! Tsubomi!" Itsuki called out to them. She didn't know what was happening, but seeing her closest friends was a big help. They would help her.

"Uhm... do we know you? And how do you know our names?" Tsubomi was still polite and yet... she seemed to honestly ask those things. She wasn't the type of person to play games with her friend in a situation like that.

"Tsubomi, who's that girl? Don't tell me you've been cheating on me." Erika was still joking around, just like always. "You finally asked me out and I find out you have a mistress! I'm so shocked!"

"What are you two saying? Stop joking around, it's me, Itsuki. Cure Sunshine." The blond woman was breaking out in cold sweat. What the heck was going on?

"Cure..." "...Sunshine?" Tsubomi and Erika looked very dazzled and confused, giving each other a doubting look.

"I don't know how you know about us being Cures, but there's no such thing as a Cure Sunshine. It's Blossom, Marine and Moonlight." Erika was no longer joking around and standing in front of Tsubomi. "You can leave now and you better do because if you don't, I'm going to kick your ass. I don't take kindly to fakes and pretenders."

Tsubomi didn't say anything and just walked away with Erika. Itsuki couldn't even defend herself. The shock of her friends denying her existence was too much for her to handle. She could hear them talk about her, insult her until the shadows finally swallowed them, silence returning to her.

Falling to her knees, Itsuki felt sick. And there was the whispering again. "_If not for you, Tsubomi would have fallen in love with Erika. She wouldn't have turned her down. You ruined their happiness._" She couldn't accept that. It was Tsubomi's own decision to like her... it wasn't her fault!

"_If you didn't exist, everything would be better. Everything you touch turns into disaster. Nothing you do has any meaning. You can be easily replaced."_

"Shut up! That's a lie! What about my brother? Who would have led the dojo while he was sick if not me? He believed in me! He was confident that I could do it!" Itsuki shouted by herself, shouting towards the voice that was whispering in her head.

"Hey Satsuki." Itsuki raised her head, looking at a guy taller than she was, looking rough but also kind of refined. "Need anything else? I'll stop by the convenience store on my way back from training." The guy who was calling her brother so casually received a quick response.

"No, but thanks for asking." Her brother appeared a few meters behind the guy, who simply ran past Itsuki, as if she didn't exist. "Oh, are you a visitor? You must have wanted to see Kamui. I'm afraid he just left, as you saw." Satsuki knelt down, looking unexpectedly healthy, and held out a hand to Itsuki. "If you want, you could wait inside until he returns. I'm sadly fairly busy, so I can't attend to you, I'm sorry." He treated her like a complete stranger.

"Satsuki... you don't realize it's me? You don't recognize your own sister? It's me, Itsuki." Her voice almost crumbled when she was treated with kindness but like a complete stranger by her own brother.

"I'm sorry but you must mistake me for someone else. I'm Myoudouin Satsuki. My only sibling is Kamui, who you just missed. I don't know of any girls born to my parents. I can't imagine that Mother or Father would have a illegitimate child either so you must be mistaken." It was too much. Everything Itsuki held dear, her work, her friends, her family. It was all taken from her, and everyone seemed to be happier that way.

"_With a real heir to the dojo, there was never any pressure on him. He recovered and decided to pursue an academy career. If you hadn't been born but another son to the Myoudouin family, everything would have worked out so much better_."

"No!" Itsuki covered her face with her hands. She couldn't accept that. If she was an error, if everything was better with her out of the way, why was she even alive? Why did she fight and work so hard? Where was the sense in all of it?

The whispering was no longer just a whisper. It was like a voice in her head, putting alien thoughts and ideas into her mind. "_No matter what you do, nothing will ever matter. Your students will forget you. Your friends would move on. Your family could support themselves just fine. You're unneeded. A nuisance. Be gone." _Itsuki no longer thought. She only listened to the voice. Knowing that everything it said was the truth.

=== End of Event XIII ===


	14. Pace

**A/N: This took a while because I'm renovating an apartment. Sorry for that folks.**

** I'm trying to stick to 1 day in the story = 1 chapter but as you can see, that's starting to become really difficult.**

**Dissonance**

_Event XIV_

**Pace**

Even though Ellen had not gotten her voice back yet, that didn't stop Love from asking her all kinds of questions. Agreeing to be part of their relationship was one thing, but now that Ellen actively thought about the consequences, she was becoming really confused. She had a very rough and general idea of how normal couples behaved, but...

"What are we going to do about sleeping? We three won't fit into one bed, and... Ellen, do you think you can handle sleeping next to me?" Setsuna was trying to be serious about the whole thing, but she too, had not thought about what to do if Ellen accepted. If she slept in the same bed as Love, and Ellen was part of their relationship now, then she should be there too.

Blushing a little and staring at her notepad, Ellen nodded twice quickly. As long as they didn't do anything funny, she should be able to handle that much. It was... both unexpected and obvious. Those two had been together for a long time, so they couldn't suddenly behave like they've just started dating.

And that put all three of them in a tough spot. It would be weird for Love and Setsuna to cut back on doting on each other, and weird for Ellen to keep up with those two. They probably didn't start sleeping in the same bed until weeks or months after they started dating. She wasn't being given that luxury.

"We could take a bed from another room and put two together. The rooms are big enough. We could also all sleep in our own bed if you prefer, Ellen. I understand if you can't just jump straight into this..." Setsuna was looking for alternatives since she didn't think it was a good idea to force Ellen into things.

Shaking her head, Ellen wrote quickly on her notepad. "I'm fine. I don't want to be treated differently from Love by you." She didn't want to feel like an intruder, even if it meant she had to jump the gun a little or a lot.

"Well, at most we'll sleep in the same bed. We won't do anything intimate until you... we get used to this." Setsuna wasn't unhappy but a little uncomfortable. Or maybe that was not quite the right word. It was... awkward. She liked Ellen and she liked Love, but she had a hard time imagining kissing either while the other one was right next to her. Everything beyond kissing was included in that as well.

"I can handle that." Writing that, Ellen blushed a little around the nose. She had, a few times, slept really close to Hibiki and Kanade, but that was completely different from sleeping next to someone she had romantic interest in. It didn't take a genius to realize that.

"Whose bed do we take and in which room do we stay? It doesn't matter much since all we have is really the bed." Looking to Love, Setsuna let her decide.

"We'll get your bed and bring it to this room. We'll better do it right now, before everyone else goes to sleep. I don't want to make a ruckus in the middle of the night." Waiting for Setsuna to agree, Love turned around and poked Ellen's forehead with her finger. "Just wait here for few minutes." The blue Cure had already tried to get up, wanting to follow and help the other two. "You rest for now, you had a really long day." Love was still concerned about Ellen's health, considering what she had gone through.

They were barely out the door when Setsuna sighed. It was all a lot more complicated than she had expected. "The more I think about this, the more awkward it becomes. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy that you found a way for both Ellen and me to be happy without sacrificing your own happiness, but this is... so different."

"It'll work out. You like her, and I think in time, it'll spark between her and me too since she's really cute. Of course it'll be different from before, it'll be even nicer." Love was quite happy that everything worked out the way she wanted to. It often didn't go that way, so she was really determined to make it work, no matter what. And Ellen really was cute when she took a closer look.

Lifting a single bed was an extremely easy task for two Cures. Specialized to hand-to-hand combat or not, all of them had the power to break solid brick walls with a punch if they really wanted to. While Love grabbed the upper end and Setsuna the lower, they had some difficulty maneuvering the bed through the door.

"You already kissed her once, right?" Love was a little curious about what had happened on the other side. She didn't know much about Ellen yet, nothing really beside what Setsuna had told her.

"I don't think it really counts as one. I broke it off right away when I started thinking I was cheating on you." She really wanted to forget the catastrophe that thankfully led to a good outcome. Both Ellen and her had been stuck in exile and that wasn't anything she wanted to remember.

"So, you two didn't even kiss yet? Shouldn't you fix that?" The impish grin on Love's face was something Setsuna saw very rarely. Love was pretty forward when it came to all things related intimacy and sex, but she didn't expect her to suggest she should kiss Ellen.

"She had a long day. If it happens, it happens. It feels pretty weird just thinking about kissing her when you're going to be sleeping right next to me. I know you won't get jealous but... it's awkward. Really awkward."

"I don't understand what the problem is Setsuna. I think it might be kind of cute to watch you two kiss." Love was never one to understand why things like unusual situations couldn't be ignored if it made people happy.

"It's not a problem. I just have to get used to this, Love. I really didn't expect things to go this way. I'm happy it worked out for all of us, but it's not something I can deal with like it's the most normal thing in the world." Sighing, Setsuna looked at the older one of her partners. "It's too sudden. I need a bit of time to get used to this. That's all. And I think Ellen feels the same."

Reaching Ellen's room, the two of them put new bed right next to the first one. They fit neatly together, the frame thankfully supportive of two beds acting as one large one. It was only a makeshift solution until they had the means to get a real bed for the three of them.

Throwing herself on the left half of the new double bed, Love exhaled air loudly. "I heard a bit about you from Setsuna, Ellen, want to hear a bit about us? I know Setsuna always leaves out some interesting things."

"You call them interesting, I call them embarrassing." Lowering her head and blushing, she knew that there was no stopping Love. Now that she saw Ellen as part of their relationship, she won't hesitate to tell her everything.

"I guess you could say we're lucky that the battles have been put in the evenings now. The exile run is early tomorrow, but that has nothing to do with us." Setsuna sat down next to love and put on a stern expression. "If you go overboard, I'll stop you." Love responded by sticking out her tongue and smiling.

"You two really get along." Ellen still had to write on her notepad but it wasn't all that bad. She would get her voice back in time, so she could put up with that much for a while.

"It's really easy to get along with Love, you'll see. Easier than getting along with me at the very least. I'm sometimes a bit aloof and quiet, at least people tell me that occasionally. Love on the other hand is a loud philanthropist." Crawling on the bed and sitting next to Ellen, Setsuna leaned against the wall and pointed at Love as she said the last few words.

"Hey!" The blond girl didn't like that term very much although she knew very well that it was absolutely true. "I'm not loud."

"You can be. Not in places where you have to be quiet, but otherwise, you're quite loud. I didn't say it's a bad thing." Setsuna sometimes liked to tease her partner a little bit, though both of them knowing it was in good fun.

"If I didn't have to go fishing for responses from you, I wouldn't need to be loud." Like a seal, Love crawled over the bed and only stopped when she could look up at Ellen. "You can talk to her for an hour and she won't say a word. No sign if she's listening at all. Irritating."

"That's because you never stop talking, Love. You go on and on and on. I'm surprised you haven't hit a world record of some kind yet. I had no problem talking to Ellen, since she actually stops to draw breath." The red Cure had a impish grin on her face when Love started to pout and rolled over, laying on her back.

"Are you sure you'll be fine sleeping in the same bed? If I was in your position, I'd probably pass out from stress." Passion was still worried about Ellen. "It makes things easier for us, but that's no good if you're not happy with it."

Taking her pen and writing a longer message, Beat blushed just a little bit. "I... think if I didn't have at least one of you suggesting this, I'd never be able to come out and say I'm ready. It was like that too when I turned hobby singing into a career. Hibiki had to drag me to an audition and force me to take it. I was so happy she did that in the end." There was literally not a centimeter of space left on the page.

"So you're both the indecisive type? And you still got a crush on each other and acted on it? That's amazing." Love had read the whole story upside down and still understood it. She didn't know who Hibiki was, but that didn't matter anyway. "The one who had to confess first was also-" Love was cut off by a pillow that landed on her face. Passion's face was lit with a bright red.

"Don't remind me of that, jeez!" Everything that could go wrong, had gone wrong that day. It still worked out, but they had taken a loan of bad luck for ten years in the future. Or at least it felt that way. She didn't want to remember anything but the moment Love asked her to be more than just her friend.

"It was a really chaotic day, but I'll never forget how happy Setsuna looked when I asked her if she wants to be my lover." Peach felt no shame at all, considering that she was looking at the two girls in front of her in a similar way now. She had felt attracted to Setsuna for a while but what really got her to ask was that she could see just how much Setsuna liked her. The blushing around her when they took a bath or shower, the caressing when Setsuna thought Love was fast asleep, and all those other things.

"It kind of feels like a shame that you won't have an eventful day to remember when someone asks you how we asked you out." Love seemed a little lost in thought to the others while she tried to come up with something that would make the day memorable.

"_Today was really memorable. I finally got out of exile and you two were there with me the whole day. If I had been alone... I'd still be moping and bathing in self-pity, probably. I'm really grateful to both of you._" Ellen hid her face behind the notepad as she showed it to the other two.

Laying one arm around Ellen's shoulders, Setsuna pulled her closer to her, resting Ellen's head on her own shoulder. They were the exact same height, so it wasn't that uncomfortable for the blue Cure. All of it seemed more like a reaction that a thought-out action, but Ellen didn't mind at all.

Love waited a bit before she interrupted the two. They were an item now, but she didn't mind giving them some time on their own without doing anything. It was Setsuna the blue Cure had fallen in love with after all.

Slowly crawling up to Setsuna, Love occupied the other of Setsuna's shoulders. While the two fresh Cures usually slept naked, it was pretty obvious that no such thing was going to happen now and not for a few more days. Peach knew now that she had to push Ellen a bit forward, but only enough so she didn't fall down.

"You two are heavy." Setsuna said so with a clear intent of joking around in her voice, and the other two simply started to smile. "This reminds me of the time Love hugged a bear." That roused Ellen's interest and made the blond girl roll eyes. "Want me to tell you?"

"I'm never going to understand how your memory works. You remember the oddest things from the weirdest moments." Love laughed. She really wanted to tell Ellen the story of the day she asked Setsuna out but it could wait for now. If Ellen came out and asked her, all the better.

"We were staying in a snowy village in Russia, this wasn't that long ago, and the room we were staying in had this really huge stuffed bear in the corner. The whole room was smelling like vodka and old wood, and there was a fireplace too. It wasn't bad at all, really. I had already showered and was reading a book on my bed when Love came from work, both of us working at different jobs that time, and she basically just walked straight through the room, to the bear, and started hugging it. It looked so weird, I took a few shots of it." Eas was surprised how much attention Ellen paid to a silly story like that. She really wanted to learn about those two.

"The room smelled like vodka because you worked in a bar and all your clothes, your hair and your whole body smelled like the stuff. I swear, if I had licked your skin, I could have gotten drunk." Love was poking Setsuna's arm, a small grin on her arm.

"At least I didn't have to work out in the snow. The clothes you wore, all of them together, were probably weighting just as much as you did! And you were still cold! Every night when you got into bed, I had to deal with your ice cold feet." Setsuna, instead of laying her arm around Love, played around with Peach's hair a bit, something she quite liked to do.

"_How far have you two traveled? I'd love to her what the countries overseas look like._" What she really wanted to hear were more details about their relationship until now, but she couldn't say that. If they told her, that was great, but she didn't want to pry.

"We started from Japan, went west to the shore, to South Korea, where we stayed for three months and traveled around, then.. in order, China, Indonesia, Vietnam, India, China again and then Russia." Love counted the countries on her fingers. "Which am I forgetting Setsuna?"

"The Philippines after the first time we were in China and Thailand after were in Vietnam. I didn't like either very much, so it's no surprise you forgot." Without her realizing, Setsuna had also started to play with Beat's hair and had gradually wrapped a long strand around her index finger.

"We've been around. It's really though since they speak a different language everywhere, but Setsuna is really good at picking them up. Or at least memorizing phrases from guides. It's a big help." Love closed her eyes and leaned a bit more against her partner.

"I'm not going to let you sleep like this Love. The last time I did, my shoulder was sore for two days." Shoving Peach away, Setsuna could feel Beat move away too.

"I guess we could try and figure out who is going to sleep where before we continue talking." Without getting up, Love rolled over to the right side of the bed. "Setsuna can go in the center. That okay with you Ellen?"

Not bothering to write up an answer, Ellen simply nodded and watched Love turn back into civilian form, wearing a heavy fur outfit, designed to keep out the cold. Stripping down until she was only wearing bra and panties, Love vanished under the blanket. "Unlike Miki, I can't really take off my Cure outfit, so I have to do this. I hope it doesn't bother you." Ellen just shook her head, used to seeing other girls in their underwear. Kanade and Hibiki, at times, stayed over at her place and they rarely brought pajamas. It was different to see Love strip down to just her underwear though. It was kind of... hot.

Setsuna followed suit, first getting down from the bed and turning back to civilian form, then stripping down. Ellen was watching in fascination for a few seconds before she too started changing. Thankfully, part of her stage outfit consisted of shorts and a shirt, which she could still use. As soon as they were done, three piles of clothes littered the ground. Love was laying flat on her stomach, elbows buried into her side of the double pillow and supporting her head, her eyes fixed on Ellen. "You're a lot cuter this way."

Setsuna couldn't help but smile at the sight of Ellen hiding half her face under the blanket, avoiding Love's gaze. She felt a little embarrassed to be complimented out of the blue by her. Grabbing her notepad, Ellen wrote a few words and then crossed out them, trying to think of a better way to phrase it.

"Yeah, I do really think you're cute." Love was looking over Ellen's shoulder, having crawled behind Setsuna, reading what the musician had crossed out. Hiding the notepad, much too late, Ellen looked a little confused. "If you ask me why, I won't be able to give you an answer to that. Could you explain why you think this and that about Setsuna is beautiful?" The bright and honest smile that played around Love's lips defeated most of Ellen's nervousness.

"No peeking." Setsuna pushed Love back to her own side, a little more cautious than her bold partner. "Do you think we're going to have to fight tomorrow?" She was worried about what would happen if the negotiations put the remaining five all into battle.

"I'll volunteer to go and you should too. We really need the favor, and not just to to avoid you two getting stuck in exile again. It's really up to whether Ellen feels better tomorrow and if she thinks she can handle it." Love had no problems switching gears quickly. "We're your partners Ellen. Not your parents or guardians. We'll accept whatever you decide for yourself. Of course, if you fight, I'll try my best to protect you two."

"That's what she says, but we'd end up saving her butt- ouch!" Setsuna, pretending to be whispering to Ellen, had been flicked in the back of her head by Love. "Why, you-!"

The two of them were surprised when they heard Ellen giggling. Still without voice, but clearly giggling, her eyes closed, her hand covering her mouth. It only took a few seconds before the two got infected as well, and started laughing at their own little pretense.

"Let's go to sleep. I have the feeling if we don't draw the line somewhere now, we're going to be up all night." Setsuna was really tired, having watched over Ellen the entire day. And she wanted to give Ellen some time to get used to the situation.

Love knew that it was just Setsuna being protective of Ellen, but she didn't say a word against it. Pushing Ellen as far as this without seeing any resistance was surprising to say the least, and she didn't know just how much more the girl could take before being unable to cope anymore. Pushing herself up and leaning over Setsuna, the blond girl kissed her partner briefly.

There was no sense to pretending she didn't like it. Laying one hand on Love's cheek, Setsuna pulled her in and made a brief kiss an intense one. Having Ellen watch was a little awkward but they could only get past that if they didn't let it get to them. And Setsuna was trying as hard as she could. She wasn't Love, who could just accept those things with absolute ease, but she was trying.

Ellen on the other hand was blushing but not averting her eyes. They were going so far out of their way to let her be a part of that, she couldn't pretend they hadn't been intimate before. But it was easier than she had thought in the first moments after Love's offer. They were both very considerate of her, giving her enough room to herself, to deal with the sudden development.

She found it easier to cope with than expected. It was a bit weird to go straight to sleeping in the same room, and same bed too, but... it wasn't bad. It was true that if she wasn't pushed to do things at a specific pace, she often hesitated and then tried too hard on her own.

Setsuna had a weak shade of red on her cheeks when their kiss ended and Love laid down, not looking fazed in the least. "Good night you two." As if on command, the light went out and the room went dark. For a while, it was impossible to see anything. As soon as their eyes got used to it, they could see just enough to tell where the others were.

"And she's asleep." Setsuna realized quickly that with the lights off, there was no way for Ellen to communicate. "When we traveled, it was always a rush to fall asleep and get up early to catch trains or get to work. I still can't fall asleep on command, but Love has no problems with it."

Slowly reaching out to Ellen's side, Setsuna found the black haired girl's hand. "I'm happy things worked out like this. It's probably a bit weird for you, but still... I felt really bad when I realized you sacrificed yourself for me. I felt really guilty about all of this until Love made me realize that just feeling bad about it won't help anyone."

Shaking her head in the darkness, Ellen hoped that Setsuna could see enough to notice it. Turning over and facing her first love, Ellen held on tight to Setsuna's hand, slowly moving in to her, laying a hand on her cheek. She could still remember that first, brief, kiss they shared and after seeing Love and Setsuna together like that, she couldn't care less about whatever her reason was yelling at her inside her head.

Instead of backing away at the sudden advances Ellen made, Setsuna leaned forward and moved a strand of her hair that hung over Ellen's eye out of the way. She didn't mind kissing Ellen and it was good that Love was asleep. She'd never hear the end of it of how cute they were if she saw them kissing in the darkness.

It was so completely different from their first kiss. Where it had been a bittersweet, melancholic taste back then, now, a happy and sweet feeling rushed through them as their lips met, parted and met again. Still taking it slow, it was a normal kiss, no matter how one looked at it. But to them, it was still special. A kiss they didn't have to hide, they could repeat over and over without fear of doing something bad or hurting someone's feelings. For Ellen, there was also the lingering aftertaste of Love's sweet lips on Setsuna's, but she didn't mind it all that much.

"I knew it'd be cute to watch you two kissing." The sudden emergence of Love's voice made the two girls part in a hurry, both of them blushing in the dark.

"You voyeur." Setsuna pouted and got hugged by Love shortly thereafter.

"Don't be like that." Resting on her side, looking at Ellen and holding on to Setsuna's right arm, Love smiled. "Ellen, come here too." If they had the courage to kiss on their first day together, it wasn't too much to sleep closer than just holding hands. Reaching out over Setsuna and grabbing Ellen's wrist, Love tested if she could slowly pull Ellen towards Setsuna. It didn't come as much of a surprise that there was little resistance. The girl really loved Setsuna after everything they went through.

A little reluctant to do what Love was doing, Ellen quickly gave in and held on to Setsuna's left arm the way Love did to her right. "Like a prisoner." Setsuna commented jokingly but then smiled. They would let go quickly as soon as they fell asleep.

=== Dissonance ===

"You can't possibly be still bothered by who I slept with on the other team." Urara was combing her hair, sitting on the edge of her bed, completely naked, while Rin was behind her, laying on her back, also completely naked but covering herself with a blanket, watching the back of her friend. They were both in civilian form.

"If you think that way, why don't you just tell me? I know we're not going out and I can't stop you from sleeping with others. Doesn't mean I have to like it." Rin was a little annoyed that Urara slept with others beside her. She didn't really want to date her, they were friends, not lovers, but it still bothered her.

"I'm not telling you because I know you're going to make a fuss. I'm your friend Rin, and that's exactly why I know you'd make one. Beside that, this might be the last time, for a while at least, that we slept with each other. I'm fairly interested in someone and I'm not going to jeopardize me getting her." Urara had told Rin over and over that if either of them became interested in someone and they wanted to put a stop to their arrangement, the other one shouldn't make a fuss.

Rin knew that too, but she still didn't like it. She really liked the sex with Urara and she would be on her own without her. That her luck in romance was pretty much maximum negative didn't help to improve her mood. "I get it. Who is it? You can tell me that much, can't you?"

"Muse." Urara said so casually while finishing the right side of her hair, the comb switching hands. "She's pretty stubborn, and I haven't had a decent challenge in forever. The stubborn types are beasts in bed." Turning around and grinning impishly at Rin, she put a sarcastic tone to her words. "Isn't that right Rin?"

"Oh shut up." The red Cure wasn't in the mood for her friend's usual teasing.

"Why don't you try your luck with someone else? There's bound to be a few lonely girls around. As far as I know, Luminous, Rose, Blossom, Marine, Bright and Windy, Berry, Pine, Moonlight and Muse don't have a partner. Of course, I'm going after Muse so that one is out. You're attractive even as a tomboy, and there are people who just fly for that kind of thing to begin with."

"I tried and failed often enough and you know it. I just don't have any romance in me, I guess." Getting up and sighing, Rin scratched the back of her head. She had a successful career and a few very good friends, but her love life was a total mess.

"It's no good if you try to date someone that matches Karen or Komachi. You'd need someone that's down to earth and pretty smart." Urara was back to combing the left side of her hair. Rin was really wild in bed, so she always had to fix her hair afterwards.

"And those people totally grow on trees, especially among Cures." Rin had her moments of being cynical, sometimes even more so than Urara.

"I don't know most of them good enough to judge that and neither do you, so stop bathing in self-pity already, it's disgusting. You're better than that Rin." Finishing her hair, Urara turned around and laid down next to Rin. "Just going to crash here for the night if you don't mind."

"You have horrible sleeping habits, so yes, I mind, get to your own room. It's right next door even." Shoving Urara out of bed, Rin started to pout. Urara was one of her best friends, maybe even her best right after Nozomi, but she could really rub someone the wrong way. Or maybe she was just pissed off that Urara was going after another woman.

"Don't be a bitch just because I'm putting our arrangement on ice." That was the last thing Urara said before a yellow flash blinded Rin and Lemonade walked out of the door. Rin took things too personal. Their relationship had never been one of love, just one of convenience. Urara liked the wild, passionate sex with Rin and Rin, well, she liked the fact that she could sleep with someone that liked her. Maybe it was more about that than the actual sex for her.

Rin knew perfectly well that Urara slept with some of her fans on occasion, but apparently, sleeping with another Cure was unforgivable or some such. Sleeping with Marine was nice but not something she wanted to make a big deal out of. The girl was much too hyper for her tastes.

Going to her room, Urara stopped at the door. Maybe she should take a peek at Muse while she was still up. That kiss must have left an impression and those types had to be pushed constantly. Marching to the end of the hallway, she quietly opened the door to Muse's room and took a peek inside. The black Cure was not there.

Where had she gone? Closing the door and thinking about it, there weren't too many places she could have gone. Lights were out and it was hard to see, so the labyrinth wasn't a logical place to go. Walking a few steps and looking into the living room, there was no sign of her either.

Taking a short look into the bathroom, there was nobody there either. Where had she gone? Urara didn't have to wait long before a clue literally walked by. Moonlight was walking down the hallway, past her room and heading towards the bathroom, near which Lemonade was leaned against a wall.

"Moonlight, have you seen Muse?" She didn't specify what for exactly she needed to know on purpose. It likely wasn't a good idea to make the silver Cure aware of her plans.

"She's in a room just down the hall, reading a book. That room is the only one that still has lights on for some reason." Yuri was too tired and kind of in a rush to question Urara or care. She had her own problems to take care of.

"Thanks." Leaving Moonlight behind and quickly walking down the hallway, Urara had a diabolical smile on her face. In a room, all alone, at night. That was just asking people to have a little fun with her.

Finding the room was easy enough. The door was open, the shine from inside lighting up the hallway ground. Muse sat down on a small table, focused on a thick book. Urara took great care not to make a sound as she slowly sneaked into the room, up behind the black Cure, who had her back directed towards the door.

Urara was right behind her and Ako still hadn't noticed her presence. She almost shrieked when one arm was suddenly wrapped around her waist, another around her chest, dangerously close to her breasts. Hot air was being breathed in her ear, and she finally did let out a brief shriek when someone started to lick the back of her neck. "Up so late?"

She recognized that voice instantaneously. She couldn't even jump up and get away because of the way Urara was holding her. "Let go." The second she said so, the kiss sprung right into her mind, as if it had been seconds ago. The taste, the sensation, the feeling. She couldn't let that woman push her around like that. She still hadn't made up her mind if Moonlight or Lemonade were right either.

"No." Urara wasn't so much talking as she was whispering in Ako's ear. The hot air forced chills down her spine, not the kind one felt from fear but from excitement. She wasn't in full control of her body anymore. Urara's hand moved over the black leather, drawing a line upwards, over Muse's breasts, up to her chin. Putting some force into it, Urara took hold of the black Cure's cheek and turned her head just enough to make her look slightly sideways, away from the yellow Cure. Ako's eyes were wide open and ablaze with anger when Lemonade kissed her now even more exposed neck.

She was fed up with being pushed around by her. Putting all her strength into it, Muse got up and whirled around, only to see the last bit of golden hair vanish through the door. Her breathing was rapid, her face flushed, her whole body tingling with excitement. She didn't like the way Urara was doing it, but she couldn't deny that she liked **what** she was doing. She would never admit that to anyone though.

"You're very bold..." "...Cure Lemonade." Urara's attention was directed towards a small balcony above her just as she had gotten away from the room where she teased Muse a little. It was so easy to excite her. A bit of hot air, some caressing, and she could already feel her nipples poking through the leather. As far as costumes went, hers was fairly unique.

"I'd think that you two of all people would find that interesting." Lemonade had only a faint idea of what kind of people the Kiryuu's were, but she was willing to take a gamble.

"Why do you..." "...say that, Lemonade?" Their legs were swinging back and forth in the air as they sat on the edge of the balcony, looking down on the yellow Cure. They were waiting until everyone else was asleep before they dared to test what they had witnessed earlier.

"No particular reason." Urara put on a poker face and walked a few steps before she turned around once more. "I just find it... very interesting to find you two always in peculiar situations and spots. That is all." It was a total bluff, but even so, it would work. They had no reason not to believe it.

Without giving them a chance to respond, Urara left, a smug smile on her face. It was a pretty decent evening. She had slept with Rin, molested Muse a bit and played a quick mind game with Bright and Windy. All in all, satisfying.

Ako was, meanwhile, trying to cope with the excitement that was slowly going away but leaving a very bad aftertaste of vanishing the wrong way. She felt... unsatisfied. She realized it was a bad idea to further associate with Lemonade, but she couldn't just run away then that was cowardly and beneath her.

Ako was smart, so she was pretty much aware of what exactly the feeling was, but her mind refused to give in to temptation. If she was going to satisfy herself, she would do so on her own whims, not after Lemonade's petty attempts to make a move on her.

Yuri had gone to bed and as things were now, she didn't feel like continuing the book she was reading. Lemonade had single-handedly ruined the evening for her. Was it partially her own fault for not resisting right away? No. It was hard to admit but that woman knew what she was doing. The second she touched her, it didn't matter if she was thirteen or eighteen, there was nothing she could do. And she hated that.

=== Dissonance ===

"Tsubomi, are you still up?" Erika was often silly, but she recognized a hint when it was slapped right in her face. Tsubomi had acted odd and got angry every time she brought up Lemonade. Knocking on her friends door, Erika didn't have to wait long for a reply.

"Come in." Tsubomi was still wide awake, sitting on her bed and counting coins by the light of a candle. It was already night, so the glowing walls were no longer any help.

"What are you doing?" She didn't want to rush the real question. It was kind of a delicate thing to ask and depending on her answer, things could go wrong or change drastically. Sitting down next to the pink haired girl, Erika seemed pretty amazed. She had amassed a lot of favor herself, but Tsubomi was pretty close.

"Counting favor. I want a garden, even if it's a small one. I hate how barren this place is." Looking up and at Erika, Tsubomi found her to be looking unusually serious. Tsubomi was quick to realize when something was bothering other people.

"You changed a last in the last four years. I remember when you transferred into our class in middle school. You were so shy, it was hard to watch." Leaning back, Erika smiled. A lot of time had passed and even though so many things had happened, their relationship had never really changed.

"You didn't change at all. You're still the loud, smart and pushy girl I was harassed by on my first day. But I still like you that way. But what brought this on? It's not like you to suddenly reminiscence about the past." Leaning back and looking at her friend from the side, Tsubomi wondered just what could bother that Erika.

"Don't be ridiculous, even I think about the past sometimes! It's just that I'm usually busy with other things. I don't really have anything to do now, though." Erika didn't account for how sharp Tsubomi was when someone acted differently from usual.

"I want a garden, so why don't you open a small clothing shop? I for one would appreciate not having to walk around as Blossom every day, all day."

"I thought about it but I don't know how it would work. Maybe if I got the material, turn that into clothes and sell them. If I can sell them, that is." Making a short break, Erika focused on why she was here to begin with. "We've been through a lot together, right?"

"Dune, Sabaaku and the others... we survived a lot. Though the worst of all was probably when you missed a deadline by accidentally switching the date on the calendar. I never felt as close to dead before than after those four days."

"I was wondering... did you ever think about me the way you thought about Itsuki?" Moving her hand over the bed to Tsubomi, Erika averted her eyes, easing up on the pressure Tsubomi was feeling.

The pink haired girl was visibly shaken by Erika asking that and didn't come up with an answer right away. Was she really acting that way? And more importantly, was Erika right? Did she have feelings for her?

"I know I've fooled around with you quite a bit, but I didn't think you'd start to like me that way. Not that I dislike it... in fact, I'm quite flattered." She couldn't leave Tsubomi enough time to get caught in her own worries. She knew the girl well and while she was sharp with others, her own feelings seemed like a pretty big mystery to her. She had to push an instinctive answer out of her, a true answer, not one she formulated in her head. "When I asked Mint about Lemonade, you reacted odd. I wasn't really sure at the time, but I realized later that you were jealous. You figured out that I had spend some intimate time with her, and that bothered you. It made a lot of sense the moment I started thinking you might like me."

"Erika... stop, I can't..." Tsubomi was scared of what Erika might say next. She had been turned down by Itsuki once already, and ever since then, their friendship hadn't been quite the same. She regretted ever finding the courage to confess. She wanted things to stay the same, she wanted to keep being close to Erika. She didn't want the risk.

Turning around and facing Tsubomi, Erika smiled wide. "Stupid. You really think I would turn you down? You? The girl I spend most of my day with, every single day? Who helps me with work, cooks for me at times and who I spent more intimate time with than any other person? You're still the same old, silly Tsubomi that was scared of everything but flowers when she transferred into my class." Poking the forehead of the completely perplexed girl, Erika got up. "I'll go out with you as soon as you find the courage to ask me." The scene shattered.

Tsubomi woke up in cold sweat. Her room was dark, her hair sticking to her back, her heart racing. That dream explained a lot about her bad mood whenever Erika brought up that other woman. She had feelings for her long-time friend. But it was pretty unlikely that it would play out just like her dream. Erika was nice, but there was no indicator that she had any real romantic feelings for her.

She didn't want to turn the relationship with her best friend into something awkward. She had done that once already. Turning over in bed and sighing, Tsubomi didn't know what to do. On one hand, if she kept ignoring her feelings, it would eventually become a problem. But there was also the chance that she would just get over it. Confronting Erika and telling her would inevitably become a problem. At this point, she simply couldn't imagine it working out in her favor.

And worst of all, she couldn't stop worrying about it. She would be dead tired the next morning. And she couldn't even tell Erika what kept her up. Another heavy sigh escaped her lips. Why did she have so little control over her emotions and who she fell in love with? She knew so many people and yet the two people she became attracted to were not only girls, Cure's on top of that, but her best friends to boot.

She didn't really have anyone she could talk to about it as well. Yuri might be mature but she had her own emotional roller-coaster to deal with. Itsuki was out as well, given that she had turned her down in the past. She wasn't really that horrible at making friends, but just being friendly with others and being able to talk to them about her romantic troubles were two very different things.

Burying her face in her pillow, Tsubomi cursed her luck. On top of everything, Erika seemed pretty interested in Lemonade. She was absolutely certain that they had slept with each other. It wasn't really any of her business, yet it still bothered her a lot. Hopefully she wasn't being too obvious. The last thing she wanted was for Erika to alienate her because of the way she acted whenever the topic shifted to the yellow Cure.

"I wish I could talk to grandma about this." Tsubomi breathed heavy in the pillow, rolling over, unable to fall asleep. "This is going to be a long night..."

=== Dissonance ===

"Isn't this kind of wrong?" Kaoru was pushing Michiru against a wall, her right arm supporting her, her left arm wrapped around her sisters waist.

"Yeah..." Michiru had both her arms around Kaoru's neck. She had a small blue hickey on her neck that Kaoru left there a few minutes ago. They hadn't tried kissing yet and something was disturbing them quite heavily.

"This isn't how they were. Maybe the position is wrong? Should we switch?" Michiru suggested, trying to think of the exact position they had seen Melody and Rhythm in. "I think Rhythm is the older one but submissive. Which one of us is older?"

"I'd say I'm older. But neither of us is the submissive type. Maybe we're going about this wrong." Kaoru was feeling pretty excited but not the way it looked for Melody and Rhythm. They were missing something quite essential. "Do you know how Saki and Mai go about this?"

"I don't really know. This isn't bad, but it's not really all that special. There must be something we're overlooking, since everyone else seems quite satisfied with it." The fact that, as sisters, it was quite the unusual thing to just start making out, didn't occur to them at all. And thus, it of course didn't bother or hold them back either.

Leaning in and kissing her little sister, Kaoru broke off quickly. She was familiar with the process but not with the specifics of what it felt like. "Open your mouth." A normal kiss was too boring. Starting again, the blue haired girl swiftly slid her tongue into the mouth of her younger sister, the two of them engaging into a wild fight of who could excite the other one more. They both felt their pulse rise and their logical thinking getting weaker.

Moving her left knee between Michiru's legs, Kaoru turned the tide in her favor, pulling her sister even closer, intensifying the kiss. Things took a turn for the worse when the red haired girl started groping her, forcing her to break off the kiss, unable to contain the moan that forced it's way out. "I think we're doing it right. I'm having trouble thinking about anything but doing this."

"It's a really pleasant feeling, isn't it?" Without waiting for a reply, Michiru continued to grope the breasts of her sister, more excited about the unknown sensation than what she was actually doing. There was a certain addicting something to learning and experiencing new things. Pinching the now erect nipples of her sibling, Kaoru let out a painful gasp. "Too much force? Sorry." Adjusting her grasp, it was quite difficult to find the right amount of force.

"I remember a few things we can try too." There was no limit to their curiosity. Thankfully, the older of the two, Windy, had done a bit of studying on adult manga and movies a while ago. Letting go of her sister, Kaoru knelt down, lifting Michiru's dress and started kissing the inner side of her partners legs, her free hand slowly moving up and down the other leg.

"I remember reading the legs are a really erogenous zone but this feels... really good." Michiru started moaning and didn't stop, quite enjoying the impulse to just let go and do whatever her body asked for. Her right hand holding on to Kaoru's shoulder, the other making a total mess of her sisters hair, wildly moving through it.

Kaoru stopped briefly, trying to think of what was next. She had contradicting memories, part saying that she should pull down Michiru's panties and lick her, while others told her to stop and move up to play with her breasts. She didn't want to do all the work on her own, so she decided for the latter. Michiru's face was flushed red, and as soon as Kaoru dropped her dress, she jumped on her sister, pushing her down on the ground, kneeling over her, seductively licking her lips.

Laying down on Kaoru, Michiru let her whole body weight rest on her sister, her breasts pushing against those of her sister, her eyes glassy from the sudden flow of hormones in her body. The blue haired girl quickly laid her arms around her sister, eager to share that exhilarating feeling. Apparently all they needed was some patience to get their bodies in the mood.

Not quite a kiss but tongue play with their mouths wide open, drops of saliva slowly ran down their throats and chins as they kept intensifying their make-out.

They both hadn't noticed that they had an audience. Lemonade was, with a large bottle of sake in her right hand, sitting on a high balcony, watching the two sisters go at it. After having her fun with Muse, she found herself too psyched to sleep. Taking a walk and looking for a nice spot to enjoy a late night drink, she just happened to come across the sisters. She had seen the whole thing.

They were getting a little too wild and intimate for it to be just an interesting past time, not to mention that while she was good at holding her alcohol, it would be difficult to get back to her room if she was staggering. Urara didn't feel, not now or ever for that matter, like watching them actually have sex in public, so she got up and jumped down, losing her balance and needing a nearby walk to hold on until her balance returned.

She could still hear their moaning and from the sound of it, it wouldn't take much longer until clothes would come completely off. Despite everything, Urara didn't judge them. In fact, she quite liked them for ignoring common sense and the rules society imposed on them. They couldn't sleep with each other just because they're sisters? That didn't make sense.

To her surprise, Urara ran into someone unexpected. Of all the people, Urara thought that she would be fast asleep. "Yo, Nozomi. What are you doing up so late? Up to no good?"

"Getting something to eat. I skipped dinner." If Nozomi had learned one thing then it was that it was best not to act in front of Urara. She could smell a lie a mile against the wind and tell fake smiles and acting from real behavior in a heartbeat.

"Don't plunder the kitchen. The others are gonna lynch you if you cause any more trouble after that last stunt. Rin was so damn mad, I thought she'd literally overheat." Urara cracked up at the terrible joke, a little drunk. Nozomi just rolled eyes.

"It's not like I screw up on purpose. I tried to help everyone so we won't have to fight anymore. But after being there with them, I know that's not helping them. It's just me who's bothered by it. I still don't like it." She still felt like a miserable mess but she didn't want to show that to Urara of all people.

"I know that. And Rin knows it too. So do Karen and Komachi. But that doesn't change that it's a problem when you screw up. The fighting is not as bad as you make it out Nozomi. You're only hurting yourself by being stubborn. Anyway, go to sleep after you eat. Chances are, if your luck hates you, that you're going to have to fight tomorrow. I'm crashing, night." Urara waved and entered her room, leaving Nozomi behind, now slightly more depressed than before.

=== Dissonance ===

"I don't want to know where you got that, do I?" Everyone, excluding Lemonade and Dream, was sitting at the table, enjoying breakfast before they picked someone to do negotiations. Nobody had been particularly early that day, but to everyone's surprise, Melody and Rhythm volunteered to fix something for breakfast. They were now enjoying some sandwiches. Mai had noticed a big blue and purple hickey on Michiru's neck.

"From Kaoru." Michiru didn't see the harm in telling her. If Mai could make out and have sex with Saki, there shouldn't be a problem if she did it with her sister. There was really nobody else available.

"I think I need to talk to you two after this." Mai sighed and looked to Saki, who was blissfully ignorant of the situation at hand and stuffing herself while having a conversation about sports with Melody. Rhythm looked incredibly worn out, having huge black rings under her eyes. It was a relatively quiet morning.

"I want to handle negotiations. There are some peculiarities on both teams and I don't want to run into another mess." Yuri spoke up just as the general chatter died down a little. Nobody was objecting. Michiru and Kaoru tried to but Mai stared them down. For some reason they didn't quite grasp, Mai was angry with them.

And with that, breakfast was back to general chatter. "You've known each other for that long?" Saki was talking to Hibiki about her relationship with Kanade, the topic having somehow shifted there after they discussed the peculiarities of professional sports and how a lot of it had fiercer fights between sponsors and management than actual players.

"We were close even before we went to middle school. I don't really remember how old we were when we first met. We pretty much did everything together."

"And then Hibiki stood me up on our first day of middle school and the whole story was passe. We only argued for over a whole year."

"You stood me up too! And forget that, you know that it was a mistake for both of us!"

"It wasn't me who acted all huffy for seeing me walking with some other girls. It's not like we were dating back then!"

"You two really get along." Saki thought that they were really two of a kind. There was nobody else on their team that could keep up with their act.

"No we don't!" They were in perfect harmony as they kept arguing. "Don't copy me! Stop copying me! I said... stop it already!" Saki couldn't watch any longer without laughing, so she turned to Mai, who was in the process of staring down Michiru and Kaoru. The hickey was big enough to be easily visible, and Saki made the connection a few seconds after seeing both Mai's annoyed face and the blue mark.

White was seated next to Muse and Moonlight, the three of them discussing their next course of action. "Dream caused a massive incident the last time she fought. I'm not looking forward to letting her participate. If possible, I'll try to keep it down to four or five participants." Yuri was not going to let another incident happen just like this.

"She screwed up once, but you shouldn't keep on treating her like a problem. It will only make it worse." To Moonlight's surprise, Muse was on the opposing end of the discussion. "She deserves a second chance. If she messes up again, you can still exclude her."

Honoka bad been briefed on what happened. She knew most of the story from her own side and she had experienced the terrible effect of the hymn first hand, close up. She understood why they were afraid of letting Dream fight if there was a possibility that she would cause another problem. But making errors was human nature. "I agree with Muse. I can't imagine anyone here would cause a problem on purpose. There has to be a reason behind it."

"She's stubborn like a mule. She can't accept that we have little choice but to fight each other." Yuri was still furious but she tried to contain her anger and not let it show, though with only limited success.

"She will come to terms with it. We will be here for a while. If she continues to stay on that front alone, she will be alienated, alone. Nobody can endure that for long. Even if she has to bury her ideals, she'll come around." Ako was sure of that.

"Not Dream. Her ideals are her life. She has never yielded on them or changed them." Rouge was following the conversation with one ear. "But this is the first time she has no other choice. Friendship and good will aren't going to cut it. She'll realize that. If she doesn't..." Rin didn't meet any of the looks she was getting. Nozomi had really no choice. But could she really change and adapt?

"Regardless, her screw up was too recent. I can't trust her. Nor do I want to." Yuri didn't even want to see her, much less fight with her on one side. She wouldn't mind fighting **against** her and showing her some of the pain she had gone through because of her mess.

"We'll see what happens. You can handle negotiation, I have no problem with that." White didn't think Moonlight was incompetent at all, but there was something worrying about her. She seemed cool and calculating, but something didn't really let Honoka trust her, not yet anyway. Muse stayed out of it, saying nothing.

The only other black Cure beside Nagisa, Honoka was curious about her. Granted, her theory that a Cure's color scheme was related to their personality or powers was far-fetched, and so far, Muse seemed like the complete opposite of her partner.

"Honoka, are you done with this?" While they had argued, everyone else had finished eating. The first few were already leaving, Mai and Saki already cleaning the table. "Kaoru, Michiru, you're going to help too, **right**?" Mai put what she learned from her friend to good use, showing them a smile that sent cold shivers down their spine. The artist could be terrifying when she was scolding people.

"You still have them under tight control, I see. Do they still cause trouble for you?" Honoka knew about Michiru and Kaoru, but no more than that they were Cures and extremely loyal to Mai and Saki, their closest friends. And that they had an insatiable thirst for learning new things, which often caused problems, thanks to their curiosity and lack of common sense.

"Only sometimes. We'll talk later Honoka. I'm curious how things with you and Nagisa are." Showing her fellow Cure a genuine smile, Mai went after Saki, who was balancing more dishes than she should. At least she wasn't klutzy when it came to things like that. Her sense of balance was quite good.

"Saki, get the rest of the dishes please." Ordering her partner out of the kitchen, said partner quite relieved to be able to skip the scolding which was inevitably coming, Mai's expression turned quite serious. "So, which one of you would like to explain to me how exactly it came to be that you two got the idea of getting each other a hickey. I assume Kaoru has one too."

"You're wrong about that. At least not in a visible spot."

"I think I'm going to regret asking, but did you actually do anything beside kissing?" Mai wasn't sure about the extent of lack of common sense she was dealing with. Putting her hand to her forehead, Mai closed her eyes, not looking forward to the answer of the question she had just asked.

"I don't know why you're so angry Mai. You sleep with Saki all the time, so why does it make you angry that we slept with each other?" Kaoru was first to stand up to the unfair treatment. She would do anything for Mai, but she wasn't going to get scolded by her for something that was not wrong.

"So you went all the way. To be honest, I didn't expect that. And the big difference here is that Saki is not my sister. It's already a problem, sometimes, if people ask me who my partner is, but that's just how people are. If someone asks you who you are sleeping with and you tell them it's your sister, they're going to look at you like a crazy person. Normal people don't sleep with their siblings or close relatives."

"I understand if that applies to male with female relationships because of the increased probability of genetic defects, but not only are we both girls and thus neither of us runs in danger of getting pregnant, but we're also not normal people." Kaoru argued with Mai extremely rarely if ever. But she couldn't understand why she should let a social bias ruin her new found fun.

"That... that may be true, but doesn't it weird you out to sleep with your sister? I always thought you two are related by blood and treated you as such, which is why this is really weird."

"You only feel that way because your parents and the people you met have brought you up to think like it. In ancient times, a few hundred years ago, it was even quite common for a lord to marry a son and a daughter to keep the family line going. That was true both in Asia and the rest of the world."

"I still think it's wrong. Is there nobody else you're interested in? I'm sure there are quite a few-" Mai was stopped by Saki, who had heard most of the argument.

"They're right Mai. Well, logically, they're right. And that's just how they think, we both know that. And we're not exactly paragons of normality either." Saki just shook her head. She wasn't excited by the idea of Michiru and Kaoru being a pair, even if only for the sex, either.

"Fine... just don't do it in front of me please. You two are sisters for me and I'd rather not see you two kiss or make out." Mai found it hard to get over something she had thought of as right for so many years. What they said was true, she knew that. But still, it disturbed her.

"We don't understand why this bothers you. It just makes no sense from a logical point of view to be bothered when you're not only our friend but also in a lesbian relationship yourself." Michiru joined her sister, wanting to understand Mai's reason for disapproving.

"Most people get this drilled into their mind for their entire life. And almost nobody can put logic over something they have been told over and over." Mai didn't want to continue that conversation but she was aware that unless she did, they would come back to the topic again and again. That was just who they were. "We know that something is okay under specific circumstances and yet we can't accept it because it's not okay under any other circumstances and that is what we learned."

The sisters seemed to think about it, looking at each other and whispering quite a bit before Kaoru responded for the two of them. "We think we understand and we're sorry if it offends you Mai. We'll try not to be too obvious with it."

"I can live with seeing some hickeys and if you give me some time to sleep over this, I'll probably be okay with seeing you kiss too. Anything more would put me off no matter who it is anyway." Mai wasn't sure she could stick to those words, but she would at least try.

The four of them were startled and Saki jumped on Mai's arms when the door basically exploded and a panicked Melody came running through it. "Hide me!" The pink Cure shouted and tried to hide behind Michiru and Kaoru, who had not the faintest idea what was going on. It became obvious a few seconds after.

Rhythm, her face lit as red as a stop light and visibly about to burst with anger, had her eyes fixed on her partner. "HI...bi...ki!" Each part of the name was pronounced in a different shade of anger. A small golden orb appeared in the white Cure's hand that she aimed at the sisters, who reacted quickly and jumped out of the way.

Evading the blow and letting Kanade effectively blow a hole into the wall, Hibiki escaped through said hole at full speed, Rhythm right on her trail.

"What... just happened?" Saki was still on Mai's arms, the four of them looking like it had suddenly rained down cheese on them.

Hibiki was running as fast as she could. Maybe she had overdone it just a tiny little bit by groping Kanade right in front of Ako, while the two of them had been talking. But it was all Kanade's fault for ignoring her when she was right next to her. And then she throws a fit when Hibiki got her attention back. She didn't mind the groping at all last night after all!

Several white orbs crashed into walls, leaving dents and holes of various degrees, Kanade in hot pursuit of her lover. "You horny lust monster! Can't I even talk to our friends without you feeling me up?"

"It's your fault for ignoring me!" The two of them were fighting, verbally and literally, while one was running away from the other.

"You don't have a full-time right on my time! I can talk to whoever I want! It's your fault for getting lonely so quickly! I'm barely five seconds not at your side and you start doing stupid things!"

"Look who's talking! You just **blew a hole in the kitchen wall**!" Hibiki yelled on top of her lungs, trying to point out that Kanade had problems restraining her anger.

"I wouldn't have needed to do that if you didn't run away like a coward!"

"I'm not crazy enough to let you blow me up!"

"You were crazy enough to grope me in front of Ako!"

"So what's the big deal? She knows we're dating!"

"Maybe I'm crazy for going out with you in the first place!"

"That's my line! I didn't want to date a crazy energy orb throwing girl!"

"So I'm the crazy one now? Maybe you should look in the mirror!"

"**Enough**!" Hibiki was thrown flat on the ground and Kanade lifted high in the air. When the two realized what was going on, Muse was sitting on top of Hibiki, a chain of notes binding the pink Cure's arms to her body and her legs together, the white Cure suspended in the air, tied up by a golden chain, held by an extremely angry looking Lemonade. Ako's expression was constantly shifting from explosive angry to suppressed anger, a catastrophic mix between looking serious and gritting teeth in anger. "Do you two **never** learn?" Ako found it ridiculous that she had to scold those two. They were so much older than her and about as mature as kindergarteners.

"The nerve... to make such a ruckus early in the morning when some people sleep in." Urara was very pissed, fighting a bad headache from having a little too much excitement and alcohol the last night. The chains were pressing hard against Kanade's skin, leaving red marks and yet still tightening up. "I'm going to have to teach you a lesson so you realize that the world of adults has their own problems, even without you throwing a fit." Kanade gasped in pain as Urara pulled on her chain.

"Stop it, you're hurting her." Muse wanted to stop, but not hurt them. It wouldn't help anyone if they got rebellious instead of listening and seeing reason. Hibiki was trying to get free, eager to punch Urara for hurting her girlfriend, but she was pinned down by Muse's ability.

"You can't order me around. The bitch woke me up and almost blew off my head, so I'm going to teach her a lesson." Urara saw an excellent chance, knowing that those two were on the same team. Throwing another chain that wrapped itself around Ako's wrist, she pulled the black Cure up and a few steps towards her. "I might think this over if I had some company for a late breakfast."

Ako couldn't risk undoing Hibiki's bind. It would escalate into a real fight then, and Lemonade was a very dangerous enemy in a narrow hallway. Not to mention that she already had Kanade tied up. But she didn't want to give in to her demands either. "No? Fine then, a lesson it is."

Pulling on her chain again, Kanade started to groan, the chain making it hard to breathe, let alone talk. Her anger was gone, her eyes fixed on Hibiki, screaming for help.

Ako saw the situation going out of control. "I'm not going to accompany you. But I'm still hungry anyway since I spent too much time talking during breakfast. So I guess I'll also get something to eat." Looking away from Urara, the black Cure walked straight past Lemonade. A diabolical smile played around the lips of the former idol. Letting Kanade down in one go, the white Cure dropped to the ground and started coughing. Hibiki's bind came undone at the same time. Just as she glared up at Urara, the yellow Cure stared her down.

Not a normal look, but one that made Hibiki freeze dead in her actions, kneeling right next to Kanade. That look was a warning not to mess with her again, not to challenge her or it would end badly for both of them. When Hibiki didn't move even a single centimeter and slowly lowered her head, knowing that she might win a single battle but would lose the war, Urara showed a grim smile. "Smart girl."

"I'm sorry Kanade. I didn't think you'd get this angry."

"Stupid Hibiki... I don't mind when we're alone... but I don't want others to see."

"Can I have a moment?" Egret had finally caught up to the fighting couple, looking down on the two, an especially cold smile showing them that she wasn't very happy to have a hole blown into the kitchen wall.

It would be a long day for Hibiki and Kanade.

=== Dissonance ===

"Your sleeping posture is horrible as always, Love." The same complaint as always, Setsuna really wished she had a mirror to look at her face. Getting a comb, she had to fix her horrible bed hair, half of which was Love's fault.

Ellen was still half-asleep on the bed and trying to make sense of what was happening around her while Love was already up and feeling a little bored, watching the two dark haired girls.

"I can't help it. Ever since we missed that train because I fell asleep on the bench and couldn't get up quick enough, my body keeps moving even while I sleep."

"That's just an excuse you're using to not fix your bad habit of moving around like a circus artist in your sleep, and you know It." Setsuna was despairing over her hair and decided it was simply not going to happen anytime soon. Cleaning up the mess that Love caused, that was. Switching to Passion, she casually tossed Love the comb and sat down next to Ellen, who let out a huge yawn. Mornings were not really her thing.

"Sleepy?" A smile played around the red Cure's lips just as she asked. It was obvious that Ellen was still tired or probably again from sleeping too much.

Nodding slowly, Ellen managed to get up, immediately greeted by thunderous laughter from Setsuna. If she had bad bed hair, then Beat was ten, no, fifty times worse. Every single strand was completely out of control, her hairdo looking like she had just been shocked with a million volt. "I'll fix it for you." Realizing a bit late that she could have asked Ellen or Love to do the same for her, she didn't bother to bring it up again.

"I hear voices in the hallway. I guess the others are already up and going for breakfast." Love was commenting as she tried to fix her own hair chaos that was nowhere as bad as Setsuna's had been. "If we weren't stuck against our will here and minus the fighting, it's almost like a school trip, isn't it?"

"I guess the part of eating together and people taking turns making food is similar but... well... I can't really bring myself to think about the situation like that." The comb got thrown across the room once more after Love was mostly satisfied with the feel of her hair and switched to Peach. They really needed some new clothes.

Ellen was trying to get the drowsy look out of her face but only reached somewhat of a success. She had very rarely someone take care of her hair for her, mostly because she spent a great deal of effort every morning to keep it neat by herself, but Setsuna proved to be quite capable. And most of all, Ellen didn't think she could show up at breakfast looking like an exploded mop.

While their hair fixed itself when they shifted to their Cure forms, they still had to take care of it the normal way or it would become brittle really quickly. While it was magic, it still put a lot of stress on their hair.

Shifting to Beat, she felt most of her headache from the previous day gone and her throat was feeling better as well. Nothing had changed about her being unable to speak though. The three left the room together, running right into Luminous and Rose, who were slowly talking to each other.

"Morning." All five of them greeted each other briefly. The yellow and the purple Cure continued on their with conversation for a little while until it died down. Ellen was not going to be a great conversationalist right now, and Setsuna preferred her morning quiet and slow, with some tea and a bit of reading. Love decided to take the chance and pry just a little bit into the lives of those other two.

"Say, you two are on different teams, but you knew each other before we all got here, right? How come?" Leaving Ellen with Setsuna, the two of them walking a bit behind the three others, Love started a conversation with Kurumi and Hikari.

"We met each other when I visited the town where she works." Kurumi left out the detail that she had gone there with Karen on purpose. She didn't want to talk about that part of her life right now. "I talked a bit to her when I ordered something but neither of us knew the other one was a Cure too. So when we met again in the incident with Fusion, it was quite a surprise. We became friends right after that." She also left out not being human. Spending the last few years as one, it sometimes slipped her mind that the fact she wasn't originally one mattered at all.

"I was so shocked that I had met another Cure like that and didn't even notice. Of course I was surprised at how many Cures there are too, but I didn't meet any of them. At the time, I only knew of Bloom and Egret." Hikari rarely, if ever, told anyone she was not originally human either. It was simply easier for her and others that way.

"Everyone was surprised I think. It was my first time meeting other teams but it was quite a nice event. I had a fun time but it was so stressful, I forgot to get the phone address of anyone." Laughing it off, Love realized that it had happened three times to her already. Maybe she should do something about being a little forgetful in such situations.

"I always wondered this, but why **are** there so many Cures? Twenty-five is not really a small number and each team had their own battles. Isn't it odd that the others never really noticed anything?"

"There were some things we noticed occasionally, like that one time when everything turned into a big desert. But we didn't really have any leads on who caused it or where they were, so what could we do?" Love remembered that incident quite well. Everything went back to normal quickly, but it still bothered them. At the time, they had bigger problems to deal with though. Soon after, their final fight with Moebius happened.

"Nagisa, Honoka and I noticed that as well. Black was up and roaring to go and beat whoever was responsible, but we didn't have any clue where the culprit was or how we would get there."

"Same for us." The temporary desertification had been a big shock for everyone on the team, especially Nozomi. They all thought the enemy had come back or a new one appeared. It had been just a month after they had won their most important battle, too.

"It's awfully inconvenient that every new enemy targets a different area. Having Black, White and Luminous to help us would've put a quick end to our problems." Kurumi sighed, just thinking about how powerful those three had been at the time Nozomi and the others just started out. Sure, after all these years, it evened out a lot, but back then, it would've made a big difference.

Love was considerate enough of Setsuna's secrets that she didn't say out loud what she thought at the time. If some other Cure's had been there, stronger ones than they had been at the time themselves, Eas might have never become Passion.

"But it also means we get to meet new people and it's not as harsh here. Imagine if there were only three or six Cures. This place would be absolutely horrible compared to now. I like everyone here and even though it's not that nice to be locked up, if not for that, I would've never met Beat." Looking back at the blue Cure, the person she had just talked about blushed a bit, smiling shyly.

Reaching the living room, they saw a rather unlikely pair bring out a traditional Japanese breakfast from the kitchen. Pine and Aqua, the two of them working coordinated and efficient even while they were calmly chatting. "Inori has always been the type to plan things out quickly. It doesn't surprise me she gets along with the intellectual type." Setsuna didn't fancy herself that type, though she was more of a quiet and reserved person, especially compared to Love. Miki did well in everything she did, but she was different from Aqua. Smart, but not overly so.

Mint was reading a small book, sitting at the top end of the table, occasionally looking over to her partner. Marine was napping, resting her head on her arms on the table. Blossom was sitting at the other end of the table, looking extremely sleep deprived, offering Pine for the third time to help with preparations and getting told the two of them were fine on their own.

There was no trace of Berry and Black. The blue Cure wasn't a fan of breakfast and the black one likely too nervous to eat anyway. She was the exile runner and her absence only reminded Beat of the horrifying experience. Thankfully, nothing of that had appeared in her dreams. Instead, she could never, ever, tell anyone what she really had dreamed the last night. Not without getting a nosebleed and probably creeping Setsuna out.

Sitting down, nobody bothered to look at Ellen any different than before. A day had passed since the whole thing had come to an end, and people were no longer on edge because of it. It did wonders to her self-esteem that people were not afraid of her, just like Love and Setsuna had told her.

Sitting down next to Marine, Setsuna walked right into the Lion's cage though. Waking and looking at the taller blue Cure, Marine found her interest piqued. "Morning." Erika knew well enough how badly people could be traumatized by some things. Yuri was proof of that. "How do you feel?"

Having forgotten her notepad, Ellen looked for a few seconds for an answer and then just smiled, embarrassed she couldn't really communicate. "You lost your voice?" Erika made the connection from the silent treatment quite fast. "I hope you get it back."

Nodding happily and smiling wider now, Ellen signaled Erika with her index finger to stay put, imitating the motion of writing on something just before she left. Having watched the whole scene, Setsuna explained for Beat. "We gave her a notepad, so she can talk to people until she gets her voice back. I expected you to make fun of her, though."

"I might do things my own way, but I'm not an idiot." Erika knew that she sometimes left the wrong impression with people, but that was something that she couldn't help, considering her personality. "But I heard that you two, you and Peach, spent the night in Beat's room and even brought in another bed. I don't know who I should call the lucky girl. Peach, Beat or you."

"Jeez, it's not been twelve hours and apparently everyone already knows." Setsuna was a little shocked by how fast news like that spread.

"It's not like any of us will mind. It's your life. You're free to do whatever with it."

"You say some surprisingly deep things, considering that most of what we see from you is running around playing pranks on people."

"Everyone has their own way to enjoy life. I don't cause any serious problems if you really look at what I do. But if you think that's all there is to me, then you're pretty shallow. I have things I worry about, problems to solve and stress too." In fact, she was worried about something right now, which was also the reason she had been napping at the table. It didn't happen often, but when something was deeply troubling her and she couldn't just act on it right away, then it brought out her serious attitude.

"You're an interesting person." Setsuna was quite surprised that the otherwise so whimsical and energetic Marine could be so serious and mature.

"People who know me say that a lot." From the corner of her eyes, Erika looked at Tsubomi at the other end of the table where the girl was talking to Luminous. "People that know me, huh..." Mumbling under her breath, Erika let out a small sigh. "Say, how did you and Peach get together? You were on the same team and friends before it happened, right?"

"You really pry into personal things easily. I would call it shameless, but it doesn't look like you're asking just out of curiosity." She wasn't Love, but Marine was obviously dealing with some sort of problem. If talking to her could solve that, she saw little reason not to. There was nothing particularly embarrassing or shameful in how they got together either.

"Peach confessed to me after we had spent some time traveling together. We relied on each other to get by so we really trusted each other. It came as quite a surprise."

"_It never gets cold around here, even at night." Walking a step in front of Setsuna, Love looked every bit the local with her loose top and the hot pants, the tan lines from working at the beach every day, and the wild hair which she didn't bother to tame in the morning. It suited her a little._

"_I wish it would cool down a bit." Setsuna was missing the tan lines and wore a white t-shirt just slightly too big for her, accompanied by a short skirt. The men could be pigs, but she put on an aura of being unapproachable at work, so nobody bothered her._

"_It's been half a year since we left Japan. I wonder how the others are doing." Turning around and walking backwards, the blond woman looked a bit like she was day dreaming, staring at the night sky that was brightly lit by all of the towns neon and glamor._

"_The last mail Inori sent us said they were both doing fine though Miki is really stressed out. But it's already been half a year? Every day seems to just fly by... we already saw South Korea, China and the Philippines. I can't say I like Indonesia much though. The men are really obnoxious and obtrusive." Using a small hand-fan to cool down, Setsuna still enjoyed the sight of the ocean at night. They had a very small apartment right near where Love worked and it was a fifteen minute walk to where she was helping out. They could have afforded a bigger place, but they were saving up, planning to go to Malaysia next. Her dark purple hair slowly fluttering in the air stream she created, Setsuna felt happy to be at Love's side._

_Love only spoke a few words Indonesian and only as much as she needed for her job. A simple conversation was beyond her, but she could take orders and serve food. A waitress at a beach restaurant, which was more or less a stall with a bunch of benches they put away at night so the homeless wouldn't use them. That was one of the things both Love and Setsuna had found depressing in China and the Philippines. Japan really didn't have that many homeless, at least compared to countries in south east Asia._

_Setsuna's grip on the language was just a little better, good enough to do her job, helping around an office, doing mostly menial tasks and doing deliveries. She could drive a scooter and had a good sense of orientation. The country was much too hot for her tastes though. Neither of them could really read any Indonesian, but they didn't need to. Things like renting an apartment for cash worked just fine even without stressful paperwork. And amazingly, it was Love who always managed to pull through, with a dictionary in hand a smile on her face._

"_I'm happy you came with me." Love had stopped near a pair of stairs that lead down to the beach, only a two meter tall white wall between them and the sand. "I couldn't do this without you."_

"_I know. I couldn't do this without you as well. And I'm also happy I came with you. It's nice to see other places, hear new languages, work different jobs. Not everything about it is fun, but the experience as a whole is."_

_Without a word, Love walked down the stairs, Setsuna following her, the two of them greeted by a strong breeze from the ocean, making Love's hair fly in the wind. From behind, Setsuna was looking at her with a surprised expression. No, that was wrong. She was gazing at her. She had fallen for the girl some time ago but didn't want to risk their friendship by asking for more than she needed._

"_Traveling with you is fun... but I don't think I can continue the way things are now." Love turned around again, her back to the ocean, Setsuna's back to the bright city. "Don't look so shocked Setsuna. You know I'm good at knowing what people feel. And I also know you well, so..."_

_There was a moment of silence where Love just concentrated on her breathing, on her smile, on every step she took towards Setsuna until she stood right in front of her, looking at her friends dazzled face. "Go out with me Setsuna." She chose not to say 'I love you too' or anything of the kind because she didn't want to put pressure on the girl._

_All that time they spent together, Love had learned every little detail of Setsuna's habits, likes and dislikes, her faults, natural and learned biases as well as her way of thinking. So she picked the best spot and time, the best way to solve the situation. She knew that Setsuna was in love with her, she had known for some time but waited to see if she would act on it._

_Setsuna lowered her head, desperately trying to hide her red face, and pouted a little. "You really mean it?"_

"_Would I make a joke about something like that? I want to be with you from now on too, but not just as your friend. After we spent so much time together... I want more than just to be your friend."_

_Dropping her fan and running straight at Love, flying into her arms, the two of them crashing into the damp sand, Setsuna cried tears of happiness._

"And that's how I got together with Setsuna." Just as Setsuna had started to tell the story, Love joined the conversation and filled in her half. Ellen had come back as well and was listening to the story. She was amazed at the amount of insight proven by Love.

"You knew so you asked her out..." Erika didn't know if that was a valid way of going about things. Her situation was different from Setsuna's, though not by much. "Thanks for telling me." During their little story, Pine and Aqua had finished bringing out the food and the missing two people had shown up as well. There was a surprisingly large amount of people that looked sleep deprived. Blossom, Marine, Black and on a closer look also Pine.

"I'm surprised to meet someone else that has read 'A Journey to the Center of the Earth', and not a revised version either." Inori was having a discussion about their respective favorite literature with Karen. Komachi was calmly listening in, just commenting every now and then. She read too many books to have anything close to just a casual chat about the topic, so she restrained herself.

"I love Verne's work. I own most of his work. I even have a french copy of 'Around the Worlds in Eighty Days', although I can't read it." Karen never talked much to people outside her team before, and when they all went their separate ways, she became quieter still. It was nice to just chat with someone new.

"I'm a little jealous. Not just of the book, but in general. You're famous, aren't you? I didn't realize it's you until I heard your full name. Karen Minazuki, prodigy violinist that plays at national level events. That's what the papers say. And then you got Mint here as your partner. But I know it's not all roses and shine." The green Cure smiled at the flattery, slowly continuing to eat breakfast.

"Being famous is rarely reason to be happy. Only those who relate being famous to being rich and having a lot of privileges think so. " With a sigh, Karen glanced over to Kurumi. She was starting to get over it completely, but a bad aftertaste would always remain. She was happy that the girl was turning over a new leaf, but that it had taken so much for that to happen still saddened her. Pointing her chopsticks at Inori, which was usually considered pretty rude, Karen looked at her. "But I like my job. Sometimes I think I could have picked something else, but playing the violin is something I really enjoy. I don't like hard physical labor, too. What about you?"

"I was always good with animals and my family owns a pet clinic, so it was always a given that I would eventually take over. I like animals, I love them. But sometimes, it's a real chore. When people bring their pets in and have unreasonable demands or we find them treating their pets badly. When I have to come in at four in the morning for an emergency. We all have our burden to bear with our jobs I guess." Inori looked over to Komachi, who had stopped eating and looked rather distraught. "Everything okay? You look pale."

"I just realized how much time I have to catch up with when we get out of here... I guess I'll be doing all-nighters for a while." Letting her head hang, Karen took Komachi's hand, trying to cheer her up.

"I'll help you. Well, as much as I can. I'm useless at writing, but I can at least keep you supplied with coffee and the like."

"You two make such a nice couple." A wide smile on her face as she looked at them, Aqua and Mint, both of them blushing a bit at the compliment. Inori noticed that the first people were leaving, having finished their breakfast. It was about time for negotiations and the exile run to start. "I'll be on my way then. Karen, snatch Blossom and Marine if you need help cleaning up. I'll help you guys finish up if I get back in time."

"Was it a good idea to let her handle negotiations?" Komachi was a little worried about it. She couldn't quite make sense of Pine, but she seemed smart. Still, up until now, it had been mostly Aqua and Berry who handled negotiations.

"She's smarter than she lets on, really. Considering what the rest of her team is like, I think she fears being alienated if she acts too much like it." Karen knew what that felt like. Back when they all fought as a team, she used to go along with a lot of Nozomi's and Urara's silly antics too.

"Inori." Berry was leaned against the stone wall just next to the corner leading to the gateway. It was obvious she had been waiting for her teammate.

"There is something, or someone, on the other side of the team you have an interest in. And you think they're going to do negotiations because of the situation yesterday. So you want me to switch with you." It wasn't difficult to see through Miki's intentions. She was good at what she did, but she was also predictable.

"If you know that much, you're fine with me taking over, right?" No matter how much she expected out of Inori, it always came as a surprise when she basically read their minds or had a plan all worked out already when an issue arose.

"The one thing I can't figure out is who you're after. I have a guess but it's only a theory." She completely ignored Miki's question.

"I expected Love to be all over this, but for you to care this much is unusual." She wasn't in the mood to endlessly argue her private life. Inori was one of her best friends, but that didn't mean she would tell her just about everything freely.

"I care too, you know. You're my friend and I get curious when you suddenly start showing interest in someone. This is just a gut feeling, but you're after Moonlight, right? She's tall, strong, seems serious and mature. I asked Blossom yesterday. It makes sense for someone like that to be your type." Inori was making a lot of assumptions on her part, but she couldn't shake off the feeling that there was nobody else that fit the bill.

"Impressive as usual. Sometimes I think a detective is lost on you working as a vet. Please don't tell Love, I don't want her to meddle with this. She's our friend but this is my business."

"I know what she's like, so don't worry. She has her hands full with Beat and Setsuna. So you think Moonlight is on the other side of that door?" Inori pointed in the direction of the gateway, her eyes fixated on Miki. "Then go. I was just curious was negotiation is like. I don't have a specific reason to take them today. I'm surprised you fell for someone Miki. I wish you luck." Smiling, Inori turned around, a single giggle escaping her lips.

"Thanks. I knew I could count on you understanding." Turning to the big door, Miki took a deep breath. It would be disappointing if it wasn't Moonlight who was waiting for her on the other side.

Yet, things worked out for her just fine. A strong wind, where it came from was an inexplicable mystery to Berry, was blowing through her hair just as she entered the site. The new battlefield, a massive tower with a single large ramp ascending in a spiral manner. She was standing on the very top, the barrier cutting right through the middle of the tower.

"I'm happy to see you again." Miki turned to Yuri, who was visibly surprised that Berry had shown up. It didn't help that she was still troubled by what she should do about Momoka. The more she looked at the blue Cure, the more she felt attracted to her.

"This isn't really the time for chit-chat." Yuri didn't want to get drawn in by her charms and pace. She had to negotiate an outcome that would be beneficial to her team. Dream was a liability, so she couldn't go for the full amount of people.

"The time has been standardized, so why not? We only have to decide the number of people participating. It's been so long since I last saw you and I wanted to talk to you." Walking closer to the barrier, Miki saw Yuri back off a little, as if the blue Cure could just come right through the barrier and jump at her.

With someone like Berry acting like that, she wouldn't get anywhere if she tried to force her will through. Compromising a little wouldn't hurt. And there were some questions she had for the woman, too. "Just to make absolutely sure... you were serious, the last time, right?"

"I almost feel insulted you ask that. Did it look like I was making it up? It's not just your looks I like, but you're mature and smart. You're like me in many ways. I want you to be my partner, my lover."

"You know nothing about my personality and you're still saying that?" Yuri felt like she was being held to impossible standards. Berry would be horribly disappointed when she turned out to be so much less than 'perfect'.

"My intuition is rarely wrong. And even if I'm off the mark here, what are my chances to ever meet someone that comes as close to being perfect as you, who is also a Cure? Abysmal, at best. I see you, I want to hold you and be held by you. I hear you, I want to whisper in your ear and listen to your reaction. When we fought, I realized how quick witted you are, how fast you adapt to new situations, new enemies. And your indomitable, iron will. I've never seen anyone who could break free from my ability." Miki put a hand to her cheek, closed her eyes and recalled the moment Moonlight overcame her attack. "I shiver just when I think about it." She couldn't stop herself from happily sighing just a bit.

"I don't know if I should feel flattered or weirded out." Giving Miki a weird look was inevitable but Yuri did a good job hiding how much she really liked hearing those words. Being with Momoka was one thing. She loved her just for who she was. Or half of who she was. Cure Moonlight was not a part of the relationship and she had to constantly hide that side of hers.

"I'm just honest about it. Lies and hypocrisy rot the world so I prefer to do things this way." Walking around for a bit, Miki waited for a response from Yuri.

"You should give up on me. If you value honesty so much, I'll tell you why. I'm not perfect. I went through horrible things in the past and they still haunt me. Even now, I'm despairing over what I'm supposed to do with my relationship I have with a girl that's not part of our world. My father was manipulated by the enemy and died in the end because of it. And I had to kill someone that might have been my sister in another life. I have more issues than I can count by myself." Turning around, lowering her head and facing the ground, Yuri knew that all of that would have come out eventually but she might have been able to pretend just a while to be what Berry wanted.

"You're dealing with a lot but you're not running away. You worry, feel anguish, make decisions, don't you?" Shaking her head and shrugging, Miki walked up right to the barrier, close enough to feel the energy sizzle in the air. "That means you have a great character. Sure, it doesn't make you perfect and I'm disappointed, but if that were enough to turn me off from wanting to be with you, that would be really horrible of me. I don't know you, that's right. Even after you told me all that, I still don't know much about you. But that's not something I look at as negative or a fault. I have my own problems too, but even so, I strive to be perfect and do everything perfectly."

"I thought you were pretty shallow but it seems like I'm at least partially wrong. Guess I shouldn't judge a book by it's cover." Yuri looked over her shoulder, feeling relieved. Throwing all of that garbage at Berry just like that should have put her off if her interest wasn't absolutely genuine.

"Well, I have a very nice looking cover if I may say so myself." Miki presented herself like a real model would.

"So you're still going to say you want me to go out with you?" Yuri just had to make sure.

"I'm not going to go back on my word just because you have issues to deal with. I didn't expect you to live a life without worries and conflict. It's never that easy. What makes people perfect is not that they're without fault but that they don't let those faults stop them."

"Wise words. I'm sorry for thinking you're shallow. And still... it's hard for me to just leave the girl I'm with now. I work with her, I live with her, I do love her. But hiding our world from her is becoming too much. I'm worried about her too. What if she becomes involved in something after we're released from here? What if the new enemy is more dangerous than the ones we faced before? I could never forgive myself if something happened to her because of me."

"I'll aim for you to love me just like that one day too. Except I can fight with you, too. I don't intend to badmouth the girl you're with or you, but I think you're making the right decision. She's not part of our world. All the other Cures, if in a relationship, have picked yet another Cure as their partner. I'm sure that's not just coincidence."

"Let's start the negotiation. We'll have another chance to talk. I... can't keep talking about this for too long. It's..." Narrowing her eyes and staring at the ground, Yuri exhaled slowly. It hurt her heart and mind to try and let go of Momoka. But what Berry said was what she was thinking too.

"I'll let you pick and go along with it, as a favor. In exchange, let me see your face up close, without me having to worry about you hitting me." Cracking a smile, the model tilted her head slightly and waited for Yuri's response.

The silver Cure didn't see the harm in following her request, even if it seemed a little odd. Maybe not all that odd considering the conversation they just had. But facing Miki that close gave her a weird feeling. The woman wasn't just looking at her but almost... inside her. Being that close, Yuri realized for the first time what a beautiful face Berry really had. Her heart started beating just a little bit faster.

Closing her eyes and smiling, Miki turned around. "I worry you'll melt if I stare any more. Pick a number, I'll just go with that. Thanks for talking to me, listening to me and letting me gaze at you, Moonlight."

"Yuri is fine. After all this, it'd be weird for you to just call me by my Cure name. We'll go with four people then."

"You should call me Miki then. Four people is fine. I'll try to get the negotiation in two days. If you feel like talking to me, I'd be happy to see you." Waving with the back of her hand as she left, Miki smiled to herself. She was finally making progress. And she had not lied about anything.

The gate closed behind Yuri with a snapping sound. She could still feel her heart beating. She had lived though many difficult and intense situations, but just being stared at like that was surprisingly taxing for her. She wasn't used to the fact that people liked to look at her. That was, people other than Momoka.

"You look tired. Was the other team being stubborn about it? Honoka was the only one waiting at the gate, greeting Yuri, expecting to hear the chosen number of fighters. The time had been fixed and nobody had any intention of changing it.

"Yes, they were very stubborn. Four people are going to fight. I intend to leave Dream out of this. Someone else can rest as well." Yuri used a half-truth to answer at least part of White's question. That she had talked to Berry about herself was none of White's business.

"I'll fight. Black will be running exile, so she's out. Four people was a good decision. Are you feeling okay? You're looking a bit pale."

"I'm fine. Thanks. But could you do me a favor and ask the remaining people who wants to fight? If nobody else volunteers, I will, and we'll pick the remaining two from there. If not, I'll sit this one out." Yuri slowly walked past Honoka, feeling tired. She just hadn't been sleeping enough lately, her thoughts constantly swirling around Momoka.

"I'll take care of it." Being suspicious of Moonlight wasn't going to help anyone. She was curious what exactly had tired her out so much, but there were other things to do now.

=== Dissonance ===

"It doesn't feel right, not telling those two about leaving. They'd want to wish you luck at least." Kaoru was with her sister, standing nearby the gateway to the exile run, which was about to start momentarily. The two of them had silently disappeared while Mai was lecturing Melody and Rhythm.

"I don't want to worry them, you know that. It's hard enough leaving as it is." Michiru had been staring at the ground, slightly worried about what was ahead, the first time since long ago that she had felt so.

Taking away her sisters freedom, lips and worries, Kaoru managed to do all of that by just hugging and kissing the redhead in front of her. "You're strong, smart, and we both know, if it comes down to it, we can make the hard decisions Mai and Saki can't." The two of them looked at each other with cold, serious eyes. They clearly liked each other, but something else was overpowering desire and love.

"Don't tell those two that, Kaoru. I want them to think we feel just as much empathy for the exile as they do."

"They probably already know. We care about people but not in the way Mai and Saki do. They would sacrifice themselves if someone was in enough pain. We're not like that. We have to protect those two from this."

"So we're going ahead with the plan?"

"Yes. It's simply the easiest way to ensure neither of them gets stuck in exile. I don't like the idea of you taking the role, so see who the exile is before you decide. I have higher odds to get out than you because of my abilities."

"Sometimes I wonder if it was smart to focus the growth of my Cure powers into one category. Yes, it's the same for Bloom and Egret, even for Black and White, but I find myself lacking when it comes to speedy opponents."

"That's why I'm there for you. Black is undoubtedly going to be the one that runs today to get to White. Leave her alone, she's too strong to reliably knock out. I don't want you to take any risk. Today has too many variables for the plan to work flawlessly."

"So you want to delay it until tomorrow, your run? I'm not happy with that scenario, but I trust you. If you think it's the safest way to do things, I'll follow your plan."

"Good. One last warning. Black might try to get the exile out and leave you stranded. Don't bother with her and go straight for the exit."

"This way, we won't see each other for a few days. I wish we could have slept with each other one more time. It's sort of addicting. I can see why Mai and Saki enjoy it."

"Mai wasn't happy about us doing it, but there is nothing really wrong with it. As soon as we're both on the other side, we can spend a day in our room."

"Sounds good." Nodding and returning the kiss from earlier, Michiru separated from her sister. It was time to go. "See you soon, sis."

As Michiru's form vanished in the gateway, Kaoru too, vanished into the shadows of the hallways, undetected by all that could be watching.

The absolute darkness surprised her. She knew the new battlefield, a large tower with a spiral staircase and a wide open field. Taking a few steps in the direction she classified as behind herself, she found proof of her theory. A rough stone wall that ascended slightly diagonally. She was inside the tower. That was a problem.

The exile as well as Black, both of them had to be lost in the extreme darkness as well. No matter how long they would stay in the dark or trained their eyes, it was impossible to make out anything. It wasn't difficult to create a light, but it was much too risky to do so. Black and the exile would both see her and come right at her.

A solution presented itself quickly. Far in the distance flashed something briefly. Apparently Black didn't care that she could be seen. True, she was one of the strongest Cure's, but being over-confident was a mistake nonetheless, no matter who you are.

"One defends when his strength is inadequate, he attacks when it is abundant." A quote from 'The Art of War', a famous book by an ancient Chinese military general. It held true even in modern times. Black must either be not thinking things through or very sure that nobody could possibly beat her.

Either way, Michiru took a wait and see approach while slowly approaching what she believed to be the center. If the wall was right at her back at the starting point, then it was highly likely her exit was right across the field, at the other wall of the tower.

It was obviously impossible to walk into one direction and expect to arrive where one wanted to if there was no way of orientating or making sure of the route. It was worse than walking in a snowstorm or blizzard.

A few theories on how to navigate inside the dark popped into her head but none of them were any good. Cutting the ground, using rocks, using the walls, creating a glowing energy orb, relying on the idea that the vector of one's movement changed only slightly during a jump. It was all too unreliable.

Unable to see anything, the darkness started to irritate Bright. A natural reflex of being robbed one of her main senses. Turning about and facing the wall, Michiru hit the unknown material with nearly her full power, not even making a dent in it. Going outside and circling around, breaking into the tower again, was not an option either it seemed.

The darkness... eyes trying to adjust. There was a loophole there. It would be difficult to exploit and only work once or twice, but thankfully, her opponent was Black. She wasn't known to be a notorious planner.

"Full-moon Flash!" Amassing energy into an orb in her right hand, Bright threw the orb high into the air towards what she believed was the center point of the field, shielding her eyes with her other hand, only watching what was on ground level through a very narrow rift between her fingers.

The orb itself attracted attention enough to make anyone present follow it with their eyes that had desperately tried to adjust to the darkness. Just as it was, it was already a blindingly light. And just as Bright clicked with her fingers, the orb burst, bathing the entire field into enough light to hurt the eyes of whoever had been stupid enough to stare at the orb. Namely, Black.

It only lasts a few seconds, but Michiru saw the exit and a general layout of the field. A wide, open area only encased by the tower walls. Making a powerful jump towards the exit, Bright noticed that Black was dangerously close to the exile, a yellow Cure she recognized as Sunshine. The girl was sitting on the ground, apathetic and unmoving, her arms wrapped around her legs, her head resting on her knees.

She didn't feel a thing. Maybe it was because of their origin or that they were not exactly normal humans, but both her sister Kaoru and she could almost turn off their feelings. It wasn't really a switch but rather, they suppressed feeling anything that was not related to the mission at hand. Rarely, if ever, did they need to do it, but it came in handy during fights and the exile.

A second jump and the orb vanished, plunging the area in utter darkness. But she didn't need it anymore. Landing on the ground, Michiru didn't dare move even a single centimeter. Facing the same direction, knowing that she was straight on course for the exit, Bright leaped for the third time, coming close enough to feel the magic that originated from the exit.

Relying on touch, hearing and her mind, she slowly got closer to the source of the magic that would transport her to the light team.

"My eyes still hurt... who in their right mind would do this? Unbelievable." Nagisa had to rely on her luck. Her abilities relied on blacklight, which was invisible in this darkness. If only Honoka was there with her.

But Nagisa's luck was down. Instead of finding the exit, she found her remaining opponent, the exile. A weak, almost non-existent, glow originated from the yellow Cure, barely enough to see her from a few meters away. Nagisa had seen what happened to Rose, Passion and Beat, so she backed away cautiously.

No sign of aggression, however, came from Sunshine. She just sat there, whispering things to herself, bathing in depression and hopelessness. Nagisa was not exceptionally smart, but she could tell one obvious fact from another. The exile didn't just drive people crazy, it tormented them.

And people reacted differently to that. Standing a few meters away from the yellow Cure, Black was torn up on the inside. The girl looked like she was really suffering badly from depression, not even registering her presence or that an exile run was happening. Who knew how long she would stay there if she wasn't saved now? If the depression got even worse, where would it lead?

But no amount of caring for others could dominate her desire to be with Honoka. Her conflict ended as quickly as it arose, her decision clear. Leaving Sunshine right where she was, without saying even a word to her, Nagisa left, trying to find the exit.

There would be someone else that saved her. Or she would get a grip and get out. Maybe become crazy, just like Rose, and get out then. There were many possibilities for how she would leave. Right now, she needed to find the exit for herself, getting to Honoka her priority.

In the past, she might have helped Sunshine, but that was before she had become White's partner in more ways than one.

Navigating in the dark had it's pitfalls. For one, without seeing or hearing anything, one would start seeing and hearing things that really aren't there. Nagisa wasn't particularly fond of things like that.

Raising the speed she was walking more and more until she was running, trying to escape from things she thought she saw in the dark next to and behind her, things she heard, sounds that no animal or creature should make, all around her. A horror that sent chills down her spine.

Out of breath, she finally arrived. Back at Sunshine. Her pulse high, the skin covered in cold sweat, every single hair on her arms and legs standing up like she had seen unspeakable terrors. She was starting to feel the exile.

"I need to get out of here before I end up like her..." Looking at the faint glimmering Sunshine, Nagisa realized just how terrifying the exile really was. It wormed it's way into the mind, leaving behind corruption, making you think things you otherwise never would.

"I feel sorry for Honoka. Always having to put up with that klutz." "Yeah, she, like, can't do anything right." "You'd think she could do better than that." "Maybe she's just into worthless people?" "I heard she doesn't even have a real job! She's only working part-time!" "Eh, seriously? Wow, that's horrible."

"Shut up... shut up... shut up!" Nagisa shouted out, trying to drown the voices she was hearing. No matter where she looked, faint silhouettes of teenage girls appeared, looking, pointing, laughing at her. Their words were lies!

But she wasn't the only one starting to feel the exile. Michiru was getting sick of waiting, and she had trouble resisting the whispering, ignoring the shadows. "Full-moon Flash!" The same ability, but with reduced power. No matter who, as long as either Black or the exile would escape, they would get out of there. Throwing the orb in the air, it started to illuminate the whole place.

It would only take a moment for either Cure to reach the other exit. From the distance, Michiru could see that Sunshine was not moving. She would be the exile for another day, enduring the torment of it. Black would reunite with White.

To Michiru's surprise, it took over a minute for Black to reach the exit, despite the orb maintaining mild lighting in the area. As the field around her finally started to change, Michiru let her guard down just a second too early. For just this one moment, she could feel the ice cold grasp of the exile on her mind, making her feel sick to the stomach.

=== Dissonance ===

"I'm happy you made it through. I was worried since the runner from this side was Bright. She's not exactly... a paragon of self sacrifice." Letting Nagisa use her lap as pillow, Honoka felt that it was fine to spoil Nagisa a little. Her partner had come out of the exile run pale as a ghost.

"Unless you're Mai or Saki." Smiling and reaching up to play a bit with her partners long, dark blue hair, Nagisa tried to improve the atmosphere a bit. The two of them were just outside the living quarters, enjoying a bit of peace and quiet together. Not that there was any shortage of that. Or at least there shouldn't have been.

Honoka had fled the living quarters after Melody and Rhythm had continued on with their games of denial, rejection and making up. "Are you thinking about Melody and Rhythm again? Because you're making a face like someone made you eat raw lemons."

"They look so good together, but by god, they can be just as annoying. Mai already threw a fit earlier because they blew a hole in the kitchen wall. The favor to fix that came out of their pockets, obviously. And that only made it worse. They started accusing each other after that and-" Honoka was quickly interrupted by her partner. She had a nasty habit of talking herself into a rage when someone really annoyed her. Her patience wasn't what it used to be.

"Wow, they must really be getting on people's nerves if they get you to act like that."

"Mai was furious earlier. Saki had to calm her down. You don't see **that** everyday. They're nice people. As long as you keep them away from each other or somehow find a way to stop them from fighting." A heavy sigh signaled Nagisa that it was best to drop the topic.

"Bright's name was Michiru, right? I guess her sister will be the one to run next. Are Saki and Mai going to switch too?"

"They said so, and I can't imagine them going back on their word, now that one of those four has switched."

"Say... you met Sunshine in exile too, right? It's easy to piece together that she got stuck there during your run. I saw her during mine as well. She was... what was the word... catatonic? She didn't even register there were other people."

"She was left behind there when I got Beat out. I didn't want to get stuck myself and at the time, the priority was to stop Beat from singing. At least she's not going crazy. I mean the violent kind of crazy."

"I know what you mean. I still... feel bad about leaving her there like that. I didn't even talk to her. I hope she gets out during the next run."

"No matter what, someone will always be stuck out there. I have nothing against Sunshine, but I'd rather have someone in exile that doesn't turn into a murderous psychopath after a day. Being depressed and non-responsive is almost negligible compared."

"Don't say that Honoka. I know you like to look at things analytically but this is still one of our comrades that's stuck in what is essentially a personal hell. I felt some of it's effects shortly before I got it. Facing the Dark King was dangerous and a fight for our live. But even that didn't scare me as much, didn't terrify me as much as those moments where the exile crept it's way into my mind, made me think things... I understand really well now why people are coming out of there with their mind in pieces."

"It looks like it confronts each person with their worst fears, even those you never even thought about. It's a dreadful place. I don't want either of us to be left there. I already have a good idea of what it would show me. Fighting you, losing you, betraying you. Something along those lines. I love my job, my family, my life. But the most important part of it is you, Nagisa. Without you, I wouldn't be where I am. I wouldn't be happy."

Blushing fiercely from being told those things, Nagisa still smiled and looked at her partner. They were long past the time of when they would be embarrassed of each others secrets or habits. Living together, sleeping together, they couldn't imagine life without each other.

"Even with all this, even with all the fighting, I'm so grateful we got to be Cures. Because it let me meet you, get to know you, fall in love with you. Even though it wasn't always easy. Right, Honoka?"

"Did you ever notice that both of our names have three syllables? Mai's is just one, Saki's is two. We match better than them."

"I never really thought about that. I don't think it matters what our names- stop changing the topic Honoka. I know you're not too fond of remembering the hard times we went through."

"There's enough bad stuff going on around here without me dipping into bad memories. I could go well without knowing that you once almost set the kitchen on fire. Took me weeks to trust you with cooking anything." The white Cure rolled eyes and smiled, half amused, half annoyed.

"Honoka, Nagisa, are you around?" They were disturbed by Saki shouting, looking for them.

"Back here." Honoka shouted back. "I'm looking forward to not sleeping alone again tonight." Almost whispering the words, White leaned down to Black and kissed her quickly.

Though Honoka was back up in her old position, Nagisa didn't move at all. Saki and Mai knew them almost as well as Hikari did, so they didn't see any reason to act any different than they usually did.

"Finally found you. Mai needed to calm down a bit after the whole thing with Melody and Rhythm, so she got herself a canvas and some paint. She heard that Nagisa got here safely, so she wants to ask you two if you want to pose for her next painting."

"It's been a while since I posed for Mai. I think the last time was when we... help me out here Nagisa. Was it when we were in Okinawa?"

"On the beach, yes." Nagisa nodded, remembering Honoka in a swimsuit put a smile on her face.

"Let's go then. I've not seen Mai paint for a long time." White was curious about her friend and whether she had gotten even better. And she could use the distraction to make Nagisa forget about Sunshine.

=== Dissonance ===

Ako's mood was rapidly approaching the apex of being annoyed. The way Lemonade manipulated her, pushed her around, lured her in. She was barely in control of her own life. And now she was eating breakfast for the second time, any hunger she might have felt before drowned in anger over falling into another pitfall, and her mood deteriorating further yet.

"If your face freezes like that, you'll never be able to go out in public again. Calm down, I just don't like eating alone." Taking a bite from her toast, Urara sighed. The morning had started off a bit too wild for her tastes. Getting her head almost blown off by a stray energy attack wasn't exactly what she called a good morning.

"Whose fault do you think that is?" Despite her earlier resolution to punish Lemonade with the silent treatment, she found herself unable to follow through with it. Everything the yellow Cure said invited another snide remark from her. As if she was fishing for responses of any kind.

"By proxy, your own. Directly, Rhythm's. To make me out to be the bad one here, you need a few corners. Like I said, calm down." Urara sat on a chair across the table from Ako and watched her with remarkable interest and intensity. "You have some real hot heads on your team. Are they always like that? I mean, hunting each other down with murderous intent, causing massive collateral damage."

"Sometimes. They've never really gone that wild as Cures." Ako bit her lip as she found herself responding almost on order to whatever Lemonade asked her. That woman had a knack for catching people off guard.

Urara wanted her to struggle more, fight more, reject her. Seducing a girl like Marine was okay, but she wanted a real challenge. And Muse was interesting to boot. "You're on the same team as Beat, right? Any more killing hymns we should know about?" She knew there wouldn't be any. Finishing up her toast, leaning back and looking at Ako, Urara was smiling to herself. If the girl had really disliked sitting there with her, she would've just gone and left. There was nothing stopping her after all.

"Why do **you** care?" Ako was smart, but she lacked experience with people. She was like a puppet in Urara's hands.

"I don't like to sleep with the mysterious type, not even for a one-night stand. If you don't want to talk about it, that's fine though. What kind of music do you like? Your powers are music based, so you gotta like something out there." Lemonade had to try hard not to burst out laughing when she saw Muse's face turn bright red as soon as she mentioned sex. "I like mostly rock, little bit of power metal sometimes, bit of jazz to relax. Classical isn't bad, but I'm never really bored enough to listen to it on my own. Might give it a run if there was **someone** who's interested."

"I'd be surprised if you could really appreciate music. You don't seem like the type of person that-"

"That what, likes music? Oh come on now. Everyone likes music. Good people, bad people, crazy people, kids, the old. So, you like classic? Bach? Wagner? Beethoven?"

"Not exactly my thing, no. I prefer... modern things. Happy stuff, too." And it had happened again. Being swept up in her pace, Ako revealed more of herself, unintentionally. Unable to bear it any longer, she got up and stomped away, angry with herself for being so easy to manipulate.

"You enjoy teasing her. Sadism?" Kaoru walked slowly past Lemonade, looking over to the kitchen, where a few hours ago had been a big hole in the wall.

"No. I just like seeing her flustered. Curiosity killed the cat by the way." Taking a sip of coffee, Urara looked at the blue haired Cure from the corner of her eyes. "Feeling all alone now that your other half has gone and switched?"

"You must really like Muse to focus so much on her."

"You must really like putting your nose in other people's business."

Both of them trying to shift the topic towards the personal issues of the other one, neither had success. Kaoru caved first, seeing that it was pointless to play that kind of game with Lemonade. "It's part of my work. Does your work include seducing innocent girls?"

"Have you seen her? How can someone with a body like that possibly be innocent. Unless you mean by innocent she's a virgin. That I can imagine." Urara looked over to the exit, recalling the image of Muse's butt in her mind.

"You have a very... extreme view of innocent. Or should I say, absolute view?"

"To each their own. If you want to keep this banal meta conversation about nothing up, you can join me for a little run. I'm getting out of shape, locked up in this place. Otherwise, look for entertainment elsewhere." Putting her empty cup and dish on her tray, Urara put everything away in the kitchen.

It came as a surprise to the yellow Cure that Windy actually followed her, apparently bored and not knowing what to do with herself. The two of them started off slowly, at just normal jogging speed, randomly picking a path into the labyrinth.

"You're one of Egret's pals, right? Are they too busy to hang out with you?" Urara had a lot of stamina, most of it reaching all the way back to the time she had been working as idol. That was a competitive sport alright.

"Mai's painting Black and White. Saki is watching." Kaoru left out that she was simply bored with watching Mai paint. It wasn't something she took a great interest in. If she was painting herself, maybe, but not watching someone else.

"What's your job?" Lemonade figured that a simple topic was as good as any other to make simple conversation.

"We do all kinds of odd jobs. You can hire my sister and me practically for any kind of work, specific things like erotica related jobs aside."

"Pity, I'd have hired you as a pole-dancer. I bet you'd look good as that." It was a joke. She wouldn't really make the offer if not for her saying those things were out of the question. Watching Windy seriously contemplate it, she found herself clarifying. "I was joking."

"I know. I just tried to imagine if you were right in saying I would look good doing it. I think my hair would get in the way, and I'm-" Kaoru liked to analyze things like that.

"Just take my word for it. I know an attractive girl when I see one. You're not my type though." One blue haired girl a week was more than enough. The sex with Marine had been pretty good, but nothing special. Windy had nice looks, but her personality was...

"What is your type?" A rather unexpected question from Windy. They upped the tempo a little and continued on in silence while Urara looked for the right words.

"Someone I want." They turned right at a corner and went up the stairs. Windy was lucky to be quick on her feet, for the yellow Cure was pretty fast herself.

"That's not an answer."

"It is. It's just not one you can accept or comprehend. Doesn't mean it's not a valid answer to your question." Up another stair, this time one that was easily over a hundred steps.

"Which factors determine if you want someone?"

"Looks, personality, my mood." She enjoyed messing with Windy's mind a little. There was no real way to generalize what exactly her type was. Sleeping with Rin was nice, but she wasn't exactly a paragon of femininity. Marine looked the part, but she was too wild for her tastes. She enjoyed sleeping with both, but they had very little in common.

"Understanding you is complicated. But the same can be said about many people. What do _you_ for a living?" Seeing that she was not getting anywhere, Kaoru postponed that particular topic until a later date.

"Vocalist in a rock band." She didn't like to talk about the work she had done before, mostly because Urara didn't like the kind of person she had been five years ago.

Both of them came to an abrupt emergency stop at the top step of a long stairway as a literal burst of fire passed through the hallway right in front of them, leaving the ground deformed and partially melted. "Rin? Is that you?" Staying outside, Lemonade had a good idea who was the cause of the fire. Though, both parties had to shout.

"Urara? What are you doing out here?" Rouge had distanced herself quite far from the living quarters to do a little training and tests on her abilities.

"Getting almost roasted alive! Doing some tests?" The still scorching hot ground didn't exactly invite the two runners to go over to the red Cure. So they kept on conversing by yelling.

"Sorry about that! Just training a bit! If you go down the stairs and take a right turn, you can pass under this hallway!"

"We'll do that! Don't burn down the whole place!" With that, Urara went down the stairs and took a right turn just as Rin told her to. Using 'we' had not been an accident. Teasing Rin a little every now and then wasn't so bad. It kept her interested.

The conversation between the two having died down a bit, each side focusing on not falling behind, they went further and further, until Lemonade finally had to call a break. While catching her breath, the vocalist started looking around. "Hey. Where the hell are we anyway?"

"Are you saying you didn't memorize the way we came?" Kaoru found herself to be a little perplexed.

"Of course not. Do I look like I have photographic memory? Are you saying you remember every turn when all of this looks the same?"

"I could, if I had paid attention. I was making the assumption that you, since you were leading the way, knew how to get back." Kaoru felt a little irritated.

"Well, nice going, now we have to **find** a way back." Urara's mood took a dive. She didn't like the prospect of being stuck with Windy for a couple hours. Assuming it would take only that much to find the exit.

=== Dissonance ===

"That settles the combatants. The fight will be in four hours, so be ready then." The group of five sat at the big table. The full Fresh team was going to fight. Beat looked a bit depressed that she couldn't fight alongside her new partners, but with her voice still gone, she wasn't going to be much of a help. Bright had just arrived and didn't want to fight without Windy on her side.

"It's been a while since we all fought together. I wonder if we're out of shape." Inori gave Miki a look, knowing just from the satisfied look on her face that things had played out the way she expected.

"We've all been fighting in battles. If anyone is out of shape, then that has to be Setsuna." Berry leaned back and looked at the trio that sat on the other side of the table, Setsuna in the middle, Love to the right, Beat to the left. She didn't mind their relationship even though it was highly unusual.

"Now you've said it. I'll show you later." Looking to Love, who gave an approving nod, the four of them started laughing. "It's really been a long time. I'm happy to see you two after so long. We didn't really have a lot of time to talk, so... how have you two been?"

"Under stress, mostly. Love likes to pry, so she already asked us all about it. I'm working two jobs, I know I wrote that in the last letter I sent you, and it's taxing, but I like both my jobs. I want to succeed at them." Miki suddenly felt like coffee and some cookies and had to resist the urge. Too much coffee and sweets in general were a threat to her figure.

"Not so much stress for me, but I'm really feeling the responsibility of working as a vet. It can get pretty bad when I have to get up in the middle of the night for an emergency though. Get the rest from Love, she's like a walking information center." A sarcastic grin and gesture later, it was her turn to ask questions. "So how exactly did you three happen to get together? I have a rough idea but I want to hear it from Setsuna."

"It's... not really that long a story actually. I met Ellen on the other team, and..." Stopping and whispering something to the blue Cure next to her, Passion waited for approval to finish her sentence. She didn't want to blurt out Ellen's past without her consent. "Ellen used to work for the enemy of her team at the time, just like I did. We just... I don't know, we really got along quickly and..." Blushing and stopping again, she just couldn't bring herself to say it. Not only because Love was present but also because it was embarrassing.

"You hit it off. I can really understand Ellen getting a crush on Setsuna." Love nodded a few times with her eyes closed, making an approving mumbling sound.

"Your girlfriend is approving you getting a crush on another girl Setsuna." Miki pointed the obvious out as if it was something unheard of. In reality, it probably really was.

"Technically, she's not just **my** girlfriend anymore." The intensity of Love's gaze made Ellen blush enough to lower her head a bit. She finally realized that Love was truly always like that, not just when they were alone. It was a bit difficult to stomach at first.

"So you just thought: _Lets make this a three-way relationship, _Love? You're crazy. Nice, but crazy." Miki shook her head and looked at Setsuna, then Ellen. "You two are crazy too, for going along with this so easily."

"Cut them some slack Miki. If they're happy like that, we should be happy for them too. Not to mention, we're sitting on a table in some weird dimensional prison, or something like that, fighting each other as proxies for powers of nature of untold magnitude to restore balance... yeah, you know what I'm getting at, right?" Inori landed an overwhelming victory.

"Yes, yes. Sheesh, you're harsh sometimes Inori. Did you learn that by dealing with unfriendly patients?" Miki took the jab and hit back.

"You two are still like this? You're almost like an old married couple. I'm surprised you haven't tried dating each other yet." Love was joining the fray, just to tease her two friends a little bit.

"_I can't tell if they get along or not_." Ellen felt a little overwhelmed by the way the three seemed to argue.

"Look at their faces. They're all genuinely smiling, having fun. They get along better than anyone else I can think of."

"So which one of you three is the top? Or how do you handle that?" Miki brought out the big guns.

"Miki!" Setsuna felt the need to step in, the conversation shifting into an uncomfortable direction.

"I bet it's Love. I can't see Setsuna taking control of both of them." Inori joined the assault.

"That's..." Looking over to both her partners, Love grinned. ".. a secret."

Just as Miki was about to protest, the attention of the five was drawn to the exit of the room, where they caught a glimpse of Rose chasing Luminous around, laughing, holding something that looked awfully like a water gun in her hand.

"What are they doing...?" Inori was the first to recover from the confusing sight. The answer hit her seconds later, literally, in the face. Blossom came running into the room, jumping into a corner and pressing against the wall, breathing heavily, her eyes glued to the entrance. She didn't even notice the five.

There was total silence for just a moment. Then all hell broke loose as Aqua and Mint shot around the corner, the two of them aiming at Blossom, who saw herself outnumbered and in a bad position, with no cover.

"Erika, now!" Throwing herself flat on the ground, Erika appeared almost out of nowhere, right behind Aqua and Mint, who couldn't possibly turn in time. Instead of wielding a gun, Marine used her powers. A large wave of water was rapidly approaching the green and the blue Cure. But it was easy for Mint to defend herself. Putting up a shield, most of the attack was deflected.

And by then, the five knew what was going on. They were also soaked to the bone. It took them less than five minutes to track down the _base_ of sorts, where a handful of water guns were still available, joining the _fight_.

The entire light team was chasing, hunting each other, trying to hit the others with water guns, or in Marine's and Aqua's cases, with their toned down powers. Nobody could say who exactly started it, but the popular opinion was that Marine was responsible.

Inori was on the ground, pretending to be exhausted and defenseless. Up above her, on a balcony, was Miki, laying low and waiting for prey to stumble into their trap. And there she was. Rose, looking for anyone to shoot at, spotted Pine, who pretended to not see her. Trying to approach from the backside, the purple Cure walked right into the trap. In a split second, Pine jumped up, and Rose was hit from above and the front, looking like someone had just emptied a bucket of water over her head. By the time she realized it had been a setup, the two fresh Cures were already gone.

Pine almost walked into a trap herself, when she took cover barely in time to avoid Marine literally sweeping the floor with Beat and Passion, who walked right into an ambush. The situation grew catastrophic and Pine had to escape to higher ground when Aqua tried to overpower Marine with her own attack, setting the grounds under water. Thankfully, they had relocated to just outside the living quarters, so no real damage was being done.

It was kind of an odd thing to use their powers for something like that, but even Karen had fun letting really loose without being in a fight. Just getting soaked didn't do any damage after all. And it was fun to be able to really pay Marine back for being annoying every now and then.

Komachi tagged along with Karen and found herself enjoying the game more than she thought she would. Her aim was horrendous yet that seemed to lure people in thinking she was an easy target. With Karen at her side, she was like a walking on command tsunami.

Just as their contest of raw power reached it's high, the full fresh team assaulted the fighting parties from all sides, with Beat supporting them from above. None, except Inori, had taken into account that all the water had to go somewhere after Aqua and Marine lost control after being hit. Pine and Beat were the only ones to escape safely while everyone else was being swept away.

Letting off some steam felt incredibly good. Being locked up in the same place for a week could raise the tension between people, even if only subconsciously. The game went on for almost two more hours. Luminous was the first to drop out and take a hot shower, closely followed by Blossom. Next to go was Komachi and Ellen. Michiru had joined the battle shortly after the fresh team and kept sniping others from impossible locations. The last four standing were Karen, Erika, Rose and Bright.

"Let's... let's call it a draw..." Erika was completely exhausted, hiding behind a wall, knowing that Karen was just around the corner.

Rose was hiding above them. "I... agree." She too was exhausted and cold. She would've been less wet if she had fallen into a river or lake.

Michiru didn't say anything but was in silent agreement with the two. She, too, was soaked to the bone, unable to escape really every single attack over the course of the game.

"Fine... by me. You're... pretty good at this." Karen was just about to call it quits anyway. She didn't like losing, especially not if she had such a big advantage.

The four of them marched together, like a group of beaten soldiers, to the shower. They had let off a bit too much steam. The people who were going to fight had pulled out early, knowing they couldn't exhaust themselves like the last four did. "I'm so happy I don't have to fight today." Karen took the first cabin. She could hear Marine pull on her own hair, trying to get the cold water out of it, in the cabin next to her. That small girl was a formidable opponent, not just in a real fight.

"You people have insane stamina... I got tired just using the gun." Rose was in the last cabin, but talking loud enough for the others to hear her.

"You're one to talk... it was hell to get away from you. You're like a bloodhound. I saw you chasing around poor Luminous." Karen was leaned against the wall, enjoying the hot water. Like everyone else, she had switched back to civilian mode.

"You're no better. You had Mint protect you until she dropped out from being worn out." Michiru didn't know any of those people all that well, but that didn't stop her from trying to change that.

"I had a lot of fun. I didn't expect that you would lower yourself to some wild playing around, Aqua." Marine was happy that everyone had participated, even the calm Komachi and the extremely nice Luminous.

"I was surprised too. I didn't think you were the type to participate in this Karen." Kurumi knew her well, which was the reason why it surprised her so much.

"I don't mind something... exciting sometimes." Thankfully nobody could see her blushing under the shower.

"It's almost time for the fight, isn't it?" Michiru brought it up, interested in who would fight today. The battles had grown on her over time. It was more like a contest than a real battle now, despite the brutality.

"The full fresh team is going to participate. Whoever is on the other side is going to need luck to win this." Kurumi was not uninterested as well. She liked competing.

"Black and White are there. If they're going to participate, it'll be hard. They're really strong. There's also Lemonade and Rouge, and both of them can be a big problem for a whole team." Michiru didn't know who was chosen, that usually happened after the exile run.

"I've known Lemonade for a long time and it still surprises me how strong she's gotten. Not so surprising for Rin, she was always someone who I thought would grow up to be really strong." Karen rarely talked about either of them, ever since they broke off contact back then.

Marine remembered the time she spent in bed with the yellow Cure. Recalling it was both pleasant and unpleasant at the same time. The first simply because of the experience, the second because she could tell Tsubomi had feeling for hers and she was trying to figure out where she stood herself. Was it worth a try to go and pursue Lemonade? "What's Lemonade like? As a person."

"She's not who she used to be. I don't really know her all that well now, to be honest. You're better off asking Rouge or just getting your own impressions." Karen didn't inquire why Erika was interested in knowing more about Urara. She could figure that one out pretty easily on her own.

=== Dissonance ===

"We're going to win this one." After sitting around for hours without being allowed to move, Nagisa was eager to get a good workout. Cracking her knuckles, Black was ready for action, waiting in front of the gate.

"You're annoyingly excited about this." Urara's mood had taken a dive down to the deepest depths of the world. Getting stuck finding a way back with Windy had been a horrible experience. May someone have mercy on whoever got in her way now, because she wouldn't have any.

"Don't go crazy and drag us down." Rin feared that Urara would snap and just do whatever she wanted without considering the rest of the team.

"Who the hell do you think you're talking to? Me? Dragging you down? Ha!" Lemonade had a fearsome blaze in her eyes, one that spelled pain and misery for her opponents.

"Calm down and save it for our opponents." Honoka tried to save the peace, but with Nagisa eager to go, Lemonade pissed off and Rouge as a wild card, that seemed like a futile thing to do.

And finally, the gate opened. Pushing Black aside, a pissed off expression on her face, Urara was the first to step through. "Haven't seen her that angry in a while. Something must have pissed her off really badly." A final comment from Rouge as she followed the chain using Cure.

Nagisa and Honoka stepped through the gate as well. The red light had barely faded from their eyes when they saw Lemonade already attacking the other team. To make matters worse, they were barely twenty meters apart from each other and on a platform. The top of the tower.

A dozen long chains spawned from her hands and arms, Urara used the first like a whip, catching Peach on her ankle, pulling abruptly on the chain, smashing the pink Cure into the ground, tearing the chain to the side, smashing Peach into Passion, the two of them flying right over the edge.

Berry attacked from the air, aiming for Lemonade's face, when she was blocked by a multitude of chains. But that was not enough to stop her. "Spade Sphere!" Ramming an energy orb between the cracks in the chain wall, Berry clicked her fingers, making the orb expand and explode, rupturing the blockade.

"Spade Six!" Pointing quickly at six points around Lemonade, Berry clicked her fingers again while still in mid-air, making each point explode with the force of her Spade Impact attack. Lemonade had no time to evade the attack and took the damage head on and was thrown high into the air by the attack.

Pine came up right behind Berry, ready to take out Lemonade. "Blacklight..." "Whitelight..." Those two words spelled danger in big red letters for her. Grabbing Miki by her arm and throwing her out of the way, Inori had to pull out the big runs right away.

A quickly blown kiss and wink reached Black just in time. "Domination." The whispered name of a dangerous ability reached Nagisa, who instantly stopped targeting the yellow Cure and instead rushed towards White.

Peach and Passion had problems dealing with Rouge, who was literally both fired up and on fire. The heat she emitted was turning the tower into a stone grill, and there was the issue of her weapons as well. Facing each other off, Rouge was confident that she could beat either of them in an one versus one, but two was risky. Neither of them could get too close, but she didn't know if they had any range based abilities.

They couldn't go into hand to hand combat with Rouge. It would boil them if they stayed too close to her. It would be really useful to have Marine or Aqua with them just about now but alas that was no option. "Club Bomb!" Passion aimed carefully at Rouge and launched her ability, a small shell of magic flying at Rouge at the speed of sound. Just as she heard the name, Rin felt a hole in her right arm. Passion had shot her, almost like a gun. Checking the wound, she found that nothing was actually there. It was magical damage, giving the illusion of a real wound.

Using the red Cure's confusion to increase the distance between themselves and their enemy, Peach and Passion started running down the ramp.

If Lemonade had been pissed off before, now she was about to boil over. Seeing the airhead Black getting taken over didn't add to improve her mood. Throwing one chain and hitting Black's right arm, throwing another and hitting Pine's left arm, Urara changed her vector just slightly and went over the edge, pulling both annoyances with her. Throwing Black simply far over the edge, sending her falling down several dozen meters, Pine was not as lucky. Using her full power to flail her around like a piece of wood on a rope, Lemonade smashed Pine continuously into the wall until she stopped moving.

And again, Berry took aim at her. "Space Slam!" Extending both her palms towards Lemonade, first moving them up in the air, then throwing them down like she was throwing something. The yellow Cure was flattened on the ground by a faint blue force.

Shooting a chain at Berry, the same old trick didn't work forever. The blue Cure grabbed the chain and pulled Lemonade off the ground, using the force of her descend to pull her with her, further descending down the tower. The kidnapping was off as Berry was hit by a massive white energy burst coming straight out of the wall, passing through her body, making her cough up blood and crash on the floor, holding her chest in pain.

"Club Bomb! Club Bomb! Club Bomb!" Passion was firing rapid shots against Rouge, keeping her at bay at a distance just outside her effective range. Rouge was keeping her guard up, having lost sight of Peach while the two were running. She had no longer any idea where the other three were. There was no other choice. Gritting her teeth, Rouge rushed straight at Passion, ignoring the pain that surged through her body from taking bullet after bullet. There were no visible wounds but the pain itself was numbing her reactions.

Peach had just waited for her to rush in. Jumping down from the upper level, landing a direct hit with a double kick in Rouge's face, they believed her down. But Rin was sturdier than that. Grabbing Peach's leg so forcefully that Rouge's nails cut straight through her boots, burying themselves into Peach's skin, Rouge took the full force of the kick, endured the pain and the damage and hammered Peach so brutally into the ground that the pink Cure bounced off the hard stone before rolled over and coughing up blood.

White had saved Lemonade's ass once and was aiming at Passion from the distance. "Whitelight Illumination!" Another burst of white energy but she missed. The red Cure was quick on her feet and was already close enough to Rouge to hit her again. "Club SDS!" A single red orb appeared on Rouge's chest, increasing it's size at terrifying speed. Resisting all physical contact, Rouge left Peach and charged at Passion. "Burst!"

The ramp was consumed by a monumental fiery explosion, Rouge's magic absorbed by the sphere and then detonated on command. A devilish attack that utilizes the power of the enemy to deal damage.

Black, rid of Pine's domination, was almost back up when the red energy detonation happened. Lemonade was dealing with Berry and Pine, who had just managed to crawl out of the hole in the wall, coughing in pain. Her left arm was horribly broken but thankfully the pain in battle was reduced. It was bent in an unnatural way and already swelling up. She couldn't use that one.

Lemonade had all her attention focused on Berry who, despite taking a direct hit from White's burst ability, was surprisingly nimble and powerful. Unable to defend against Pine from her back, she felt something insanely sharp cut a few centimeter into her back. "Diamond Sting."

"Spade Impact!" Berry was right in front of her, ready to take her out now that her guard was down. But she wouldn't go that easily. Using her elbow to hit Pine in the stomach, Lemonade let herself drop flat on the ground, using a chain to bind Berry's ankles together, making her lose balance. The attack was off.

"Blacklight Devastation!" Berry was literally sent flying through the air was the terrifying brute force attack hit her from behind while she was off balance. Lemonade's eyes didn't say a word of gratefulness, instead it was the look of someone who wanted others to mind their own damn business. Nothing else was on Nagisa's mind as she pursued Berry, who already regained her balanced in mid-air.

Rolling over and kicking Pine, who had not yet recovered, Urara ignored the loss of blood that was already making her vision turn blurry. She would take out that bitch, no matter what. A golden chain wrapped itself around Inori's neck, another around each ankle and wrist, all of them sunk into the wall, locking Pine's movement completely down. Hitting Pine with everything she got, Lemonade punched her four times until the blood loss from the wound that crafty Cure had given her became a problem. She only had a few more seconds before she would pass out.

Tightening the chains around the wrists and the ankles, Lemonade only stopped when the almost unconscious Pine was wide awake again, screaming out in terror as her bones were breaking under the tremendous pressure. A simultaneous cracking sound signalized the double knockout of both yellow Cures.

Peach, Passion and Rouge were all very much still alive and kicking, the two fresh Cures still keeping their distance from the highly dangerous ability Rouge had. Passion was on the run from White, while the fiery Cure was hunting down the pink one.

"Club SDS!" Setsuna aimed at White but she was too quick witted and fast to fall prey to an attack she had witnessed before. Rouge had taken a significant stamina and energy loss, but she was still formidable because of her physical attributes.

Honoka knew that she won't be able to hit Passion with her special move unless she somehow nailed down her movement. Black was busy trading blows with Berry and Rouge wasn't going to be a help for anyone after taking damage like that.

Stopping for a brief moment, White took the risk of getting hit by a dangerous ability, yet she needed the time to focus energy into her legs. Passion was just about to launch an attack when White was done focusing, pushing herself off the ground so hard that the red Cure didn't see her move until Honoka's fist hit her enemies face. It lacked the force and impact a punch from Rouge or Black had, but Honoka was a highly tactical and still skilled fighter at close range. Good enough to beat her partner in a match of pure skill.

Her next punch blocked by Passions elbow, the follow up hit by her left hand, a series of quick blows only hitting the front of her arms and hands, not causing any real damage. Trying to increase the distance between herself and White, Passion jumped away, only to find her enemy at the exact spot she was moving to, a kick hitting her right in the back.

Grabbing Passion by her ankle, White threw her on the ground, dropping down and ramming her knee in the red Cure's back, making her scream out in pain, her right arm grabbing Passion's left arm, bending it back so hard that it caused enough pain to make Setsuna's vision red and blurry. It was a risk, but she had already endured it once. "Whitelight..."

Passion tried desperately to get away, without any luck. "Lucky Seven!" Honoka heard the words but couldn't associate any specific attack with it. She felt like something was ripped straight out of her and something slightly alien took it's place. Something she knew very well but it was not truly her own. Her attack faded and Passion used the confusion to get away, knowing exactly what that previous attack was.

"It's showtime!" Using Berry's ability, Passion forced White to pay absolute attention on her enemy, completely stunning her. "Club..."

Passion didn't get to finish her attack. Rouge was quick to figure out new things and just happened to be right there, behind the other red Cure. "Whitelight Devastation!" The energy ripped her costume to shreds both on her back and around her stomach. Spitting out blood and falling over, Passion was unconscious within a second of the direct hit. Rouge's left hand was slightly deformed, multiple bones broken, but she had taken down the other red Cure.

Nagisa met a similar fate but it was not enough to knock her out. The sudden appearance of fire claws on her arms completely threw off her focus. Berry took the chance and hit Black with a Spade Impact, sending her crashing into the ground.

"Spade Reave!" Miki's right hand was glowing brightly in a blue light when White came to Black's aid. She didn't have time to evade. Trusting that the force from her descending from over twenty meters in the air and her most powerful physical attack was enough, Berry went for it.

"Blacklight Devastation!" Luck really hadn't been on the side of the fresh team. White had received Nagisa's special ability, and she had little problem using it. Two nearly equal forces meeting, Honoka was still pushed back, but she could hold out long enough for Berry's attack to weaken significantly and for Nagisa to recover and get out of the way.

The fire claws were just a little bonus, and she couldn't quite figure out how the other ability worked, but it was undoubtedly Rouge's. Berry was helplessly locked into a stalemate with White, though she was quickly gaining ground and forcing Honoka on her knees.

Black didn't need any fancy moves to deal a lot of damage. Jumping up and aiming properly, Berry took a devastating blow to the back of her head. Her vision was like she had spun around her own axis a thousand times. Standing became impossible. "Blacklight Devastation!" White took the chance and used the attack a second time, hitting Berry right in the stomach. Gasping for air, the attack lacked the power to knock her out, but it dealt a lot of damage. Black put her hands together and swung both her arms high over her head before slamming them on Berry's back. The blue Cure bounced off the ground, rolled a few meters down the ramp and stopped moving.

Rouge had finally managed to catch up to Peach, who protected herself with flying, heart-shaped shields against any attack. Jumping at her and grabbing her waist, Rouge held on tightly to Peach as both of them flew far over the edge of the ramp.

No special attack, no attempt to change their vector, the two of them fell and fell. Love punched and kicked Rouge but she wouldn't let go. Peach could feel a dozen and more bones breaking, her vision turning dark and her whole pain trying to burst apart from the pain she felt as they hit the ground after over fifty meters fall. Rouge was hit just as badly as Peach. That last almost suicidal attack, the battle was over. Black and White were still standing though heavily injured. Fresh was down.

=== Dissonance ===

"I have blue spots all over the place. To face those four... our luck is horrible." Setsuna was twitching every time Ellen put a bit of ointment on a blue spot on her new partners bare back.

Ellen periodically checked on Love. Over twenty minutes had passed since the battle had ended, and she was still unconscious.

Miki, her sides and back still hurting quite a bit, checked in on the others. She had already talked to Karen and Komachi about the result of the battle. It was depressing to lose twice in a row, but they had a really hard match up there. Black and White were really strong and experienced fighters. Lemonade was... difficult to handle, and so was Rouge. Setsuna had done well to keep at her bay with ranged attacks.

Knocking on the door of the room the trio was staying in, Beat's room, Miki waited for Setsuna to ask her to come in. "Love's still out too? She and Inori got hit pretty hard it seems. I'm full of blue spots too, though." Sitting down on the edge of the bed, Miki gave the unconscious Love an amused look. "She looks really peaceful like this."

"_I'm sure you fought with everything you had. I don't think anyone will say anything about losing to those four_." Ellen's voice still hadn't returned. The pain in her throat was gone, the rest had to be something she needed to work out by herself. She really did want to cheer the others up, but she couldn't right now.

"If anyone asks if I'll show up for dinner, I'm skipping. I'm beat, literally even. If Love doesn't wake up before dinner, just save her something. For Inori too. I'm going to sleep, good night you two." That she was beat and tired was only half the story. Losing to the others like that was a blow to her pride. Losing to Moonlight was one thing but...

Setsuna spent the next thirty minutes laying on her stomach and telling Ellen about the fight while said girl finished up treating the leftovers of the fight. Her partner still twitched every time but didn't complain even once. Considering what she had gone through, getting away with blue spots was really nothing.

There was little surprise that, as soon as the smell of food reached their room, all the way back from the kitchen, that Love started groaning and coming to. "I thought I was done for... ow..." Rubbing the back of her head, she felt sick just trying to move. Maybe a slight concussion. "Sorry we lost."

Slowly, as if in slow motion, she rolled over and looked at Setsuna, who was still laying flat on her stomach, Ellen sitting next to her. "I didn't think Black and White were that strong."

"They've been Cure's for six years, longer than anyone else. Even when you randomized abilities, White had no trouble using Black's ability. Luck wasn't really on our side." Setsuna slowly got up, knowing that it was just about time to go to dinner. "Feel like you can stand up? If not, we'll bring you something to eat. I don't mind doing that."

"Thanks, that would be a great help. My head is still ringing from the impact and I feel a bit sick." Love rubbed her forehead and closed her eyes. She had fought before and been knocked out before, but this was on a whole different level. Even with the reduced level of pain in the fight, it had paralyzed her whole body.

"Ellen, let's go." Switching to Cure form and twitching a bit while she got used to some places stinging as she walked, Passion left together with Beat, leaving Peach behind to rest.

"_Is she going to be okay?_" Ellen was not so sure about leaving one third of her new relationship behind to go and eat. It felt like something was missing. Instead of being happy that she got to spend some time with Setsuna alone, she was worried about Love. It really surprised her.

"Love's really, really tough, despite what she looks like. If she voluntarily stays down, she must really need the rest. Oh, you're up Inori?" The two of them came across Pine, who was still staggering after every step she took. Her wrists were colored in a mix of blue, purple and green.

"Damn that Lemonade, she really knows no mercy at all. Broke both my wrists and my ankles in the fight. How did it go for the rest of us? Did we win?" She hadn't seen anyone else yet.

"We lost. I'm pretty sure I heard Rouge's voice just before I lost consciousness, Love got hit so bad that she's awake but not getting up. Miki said she's going to bed, she looked really exhausted, too."

"Well, that's a given. Everyone always looks exhausted and beaten after a battle. Though I'm happy we don't carry over more that some scratches and this." Pine showed her wrists to the other two. They reduced their walking tempo to something Pine could keep up with.

But they were not the only ones late for dinner. Luminous and Rose caught up to the small group, the two of them just coming back from doing a little training after spending most of the day playing around. "I heard you were up against Rouge and Lemonade." It was a casual question from Rose, not meaning anything specific.

"And Black and White." Hikari added with a scolding look. They were in constant disagreement about who the bigger threat was.

"All four of them, yes. I thought we would have the advantage of teamwork, but it's not really as easy as that if you're being overwhelmed." Setsuna didn't see the need to hide that they were outclassed by those four.

"Lemonade is a real pain, literally. I took over Black and had her going against White, but not only did she stop me from turning it into five versus three, she even knocked me out for a bit. My Domination went to total waste." Inori was not too happy about her plans being completely spoiled. "I fought Rouge before so I know she's a problem with that bothersome ability of hers. But I didn't think Lemonade would be this strong."

"Honoka and Nagisa have been Cure's even longer than me. They fought a lot of hard battles and they kept on improving even after that, thinking that someday, another enemy would appear." Hikari had trained as well, but by far not as rigorously as those two.

Kurumi couldn't really comment on either of her former friends. She didn't know how they spent their time until now and how much they had trained. But based on everything she heard, Urara had gotten really, really strong.

"I know this smell." Kurumi only needed a single sniff to determine what dinner was. "Pasta Carbonara. I'm fairly good with western food since Karen often cooked it." That memory ruffled some feathers but she hid it well. Losing Karen had been a shock, but she was trying to cope with it the best she could, taking the chance to turn over a new leaf.

"Who's cooking?" As soon as the five entered the room, Kurumi asked loudly everyone already sitting on the table.

"Karen and Erika." Komachi answered without even looking up, completely hooked on a novel she had wished for.

It was increasingly common for the Cure's to call each other by their first name. They ate together, fought together, played together. It would be odd to just keep on using Cure names as a way to speak politely.

"That sounds like an explosive combo." Kurumi sat down next to Blossom, Luminous to Rose's right, the other three filling in the spots between Hikari and Komachi. "Is Berry still unconscious?"

"She said she's skipping dinner and going straight to bed." Setsuna didn't feel like explaining what the real reason for Miki to distance herself for a bit was. Losing a battle like that hurt her pride and consciously or not, she blamed herself for not being strong enough. She had known Miki for long enough to understand that much.

"Food's ready! Since the pot's too big and heavy, come one at a time and get it!" Erika shouted from the small window in the kitchen wall inside the living room. The smell alone was inviting, making it hard to line up and wait for everyone to be done. There much more than just enough for everyone. Setsuna would get a big portion separately later and bring it to Love.

=== Dissonance ===

"Stop wolfing down the food Nagisa, there's plenty left." Honoka had to remind her partner just what exactly table manners were. Having gotten just the workout she needed, Nagisa's appetite had peaked just as they got back. Finishing up her second plate of meat, Nagisa reached for more. The people preparing the mixed grill meat had been Hibiki, Kaoru and, to everyone's surprise, Nozomi, who finally dared to show her face outside her room again. She was still greeted with a bit of a sour mood, but it wasn't as bad as she expected it to be.

Sitting at the same table as everyone did raise her spirits somewhat. Hibiki to her right, Kaoru to her left, Nozomi was still getting glares from Moonlight whenever she happened to look in that direction. Rin had come late to dinner and sat on the other end of the table, so she couldn't see her.

The dinner was a lot wilder than usual. Skewered meat was easy to eat with just the hands, and with a few exceptions, nobody bothered to use table ware that evening. The battle had been won, and everyone was quite happy to have won twice in a row now. It meant another increase for the teams favor, so they could upgrade facilities. Instead of the old stone table and chairs, they had nice, comfy wooden furniture now.

As a treat, they had some beverages to drink together with the meat. The first to make clear that even beer could make one drunk if only bad enough at holding their alcohol was Saki, who had started to tell all kinds of embarrassing stories. Mai, barely any better than Saki at drinking, was constantly interrupting and correcting her to the point where nobody knew which one of the two, if either, was telling the truth.

While Kanade tried to abstain from drinking, Hibiki didn't see things that way and eventually roped her partner in as well. It wasn't really that unusual for sixteen or seventeen year old people to drink beer. It was even legal in many countries. Sure, it wasn't allowed in Japan, but that didn't exactly stop one from going a bit wild at a party. And that was exactly what was happening.

Even Nozomi was sharing some stories with Kaoru, who seemed to be very experienced at holding her alcohol. The blue haired girl had her own amusing tales to tell, though she herself didn't perceive them as such. For the first time since she got there, Nozomi had some resemblance of fun.

"That's nonsense and you know it! You were the one who leaned back too far, I tried to save you and we both dropped in the river!" Another argument where Mai was trying to correct a story Saki was telling to the best of her, now cloudy, knowledge.

"You were the one that had me lean back for the photo! And when you tried to **help** me, you pushed me over the fence!" It was a rare sight to see those two argue, even though it was only in good fun, and they both still knew that.

"Nagisa is just as bad as that." Honoka, not a great drinker but certainly not detesting drinking at all, was joining the story telling round, while Nagisa was distracted by her self inflicted pressure to try and have a bigger pile of empty skewers than everyone else. "We took a vacation at Shiretoko and Nagisa just really wanted to see the brown bears there. I never understood her fascination with bears, but anyway. We're close to the fence and it clearly says _Do not trespass_. No brown bear in sight, Nagisa lost her patience, checked if anyone was nearby and transformed, going over the fence as Cure Black, wanting to check out the bears. It didn't take five minutes until she came running back, chased by an angry brown bear, who apparently wasn't very happy to be disturbed while taking a nap. The look on Nagisa's face was absolutely priceless." Honoka mimicked the face, the eyes wide open in terror, teeth gritting together, breathing hard as she pretended to be running. She lasted a few seconds before everyone around her and Honoka herself broke out in roaring laughter.

"I know someone else who loses her patience easily. Right Hibiki?" Ako was making a jab at her teammate. Hook, line and sinker, Hibiki reacted exactly the way Muse wanted her to.

"You're one to talk! I remember when we were catching notes and you had problems because you were **small**, so you got your hands on some platform boots to compensate!" Hibiki was grinning wide, believing to have won, but it was not that easy.

"At least I didn't walk all the way to the elementary kids school while my head was up in the clouds. Maybe the classes there are more your field of expertise?" Ako shot back with a big bang, That half the table was watching them argue with nonsense didn't bother them in the slightest. Even Lemonade couldn't stay pissed off with a mood like that.

"At least I can actually say what I'm thinking out loud!"

"Don't be ridiculous. How many times are you going to argue with me just to tell me later how much you like me and my cakes?" Kanade jumped right into the conversation, earning applause from the rest of the audience for such a brave act. People were still eating and drinking, but the arguing and storytelling had by far overtaken those aspects.

"Might as well drink something good. One for you, one for me." Lemonade had managed to procure something better than beer, a big bottle of something that smelled like really strong alcohol and two very small glasses. Sharing a drink with Rin in good friendship after a battle to let old issues rest was always appreciated. People had already changed seats to better listen and nobody was really paying attention to who was eating what anymore. "Time to get over yourself Rin. Come on." Urara didn't need to explain what exactly she meant. Taking her drink and walking over to where Nozomi was, she sat down and put down a third glass in front of her former leader. "Let's drink and forget the past."

Rin almost crashed on the chair, pouting enough to make Nozomi uncomfortable. "Fill up." Sighing hard and leaning against Nozomi, Rin shook her head just a bit. "You're such a piece of work Nozomi. But you're still our friend."

Nozomi was really happy to have both of them back at her side. She was afraid of the content of that glass though. But sometimes there were things one just had to deal with and forget about the consequences. Picking it up, taking a deep breath and emptying the glass in one go, Nozomi felt her throat on fire. Coughing, leaning on the table, her face turned into a deep crimson and a few tears ran from her eyes. That was a lot harder than she was capable of dealing with. But she still earned applause from both Urara and Rin, who took their glasses up and emptied them with ease, though Rin was still shaking her head hard as she swallowed the swill.

"If you think that's a long day, you should see my schedule. Getting up at five in the morning, trying not to wake up Momoka, spending some time in the bathroom because I got horrible bed hair and already dealing with mail at the time. Getting breakfast on the go, I have to deal with possible clients and negotiate new shoots and deals with labels. And that's just up to ten in the morning." Yuri had taken a liking to the drinks and had been spending more time emptying one glass after another than actually eating.

"At least you actually get around. I love my job, by god I swear I love my job, but sometimes you just can't see any more numbers, vials and long waiting periods of nothing happening while you wait for results. It can be fascinating but also mind boggling boring. I'd love to have a treadmill in my lab." Honoka was still sitting next to Nagisa, who was just leaned back on her chair, having decimated as much of the grilled meat as she could and finally giving up. The white Cure was one of the few that were of legal drinking age, and she did enjoy a glass or two after work, but only sometimes.

The party got wilder yet when Lemonade and Rin captured Kaoru and Muse, both of them already slightly drunk from going with the mood and having a few beers. Ako's resistance wasn't enough when she was at her peak, so she had absolutely no chance to refuse and get away now. The glasses multiplied magically and soon they had a small round of taking one glass at a time for every stupid story told.

"...and just as I get back up from cleaning up the broken dish, I hit my head on the tray of a co-worker, knocking it out of her hand and the contents all over her and myself. Trying to apologize, I slip, take her down with me and we're both on the ground, dizzy, full of food and about to get the lecture of our life from the manager. She talks so fast! She's like a crazy hamster on steroids! Her mouth opens and closes so fast, you'd think she talks at the speed of light!" Nozomi finished up her story and Lemonade grabbed the bottle to fill up the glasses in the round. Even the pink Cure had gotten used somewhat to the strong stuff, by mixing it with some of the non-alcoholic refreshments that someone had brought in. It was a lot easier to bear if it tasted like fanta or sprite and not liquid fire.

Kaoru and Ako had both been hit with surprise by the liquid and both had the same reaction Dream initially had. Rin's face had a deep crimson red on her cheeks already, while Urara seemed mostly fine, if extremely easy to amuse by now, but that was something they all shared already.

An hour later, only four people were left. The rest was either sound asleep in their chairs and sometimes half on the table or had managed to sneak away to their beds. Urara had trouble filling the glasses by now, and Rin was worse yet, having trouble just holding the glass. But neither of those two wanted to endure the shame of giving up before the other two.

Ako was comfortable asleep half in her chair and half leaned against Lemonade, a peaceful look on her face. Peaceful and ridiculous, as she was drooling in her sleep.

Honoka had just finished her story, though she was just about to give up, grab Nagisa and go to sleep, if she somehow managed to get back to her room in one piece. Kaoru was there as well, switching from wide awake and laughing loudly to asleep and peacefully quiet.

It was Kaoru's turn to tell a story now. The bottle was almost empty, which was a miracle by itself, considering how very small the glasses were and how big the bottle was. "Lets... see. That one time, we took a repair job from a dry cleaner... no wait, it was a repair job for a laundromat shop. They had one.. or two, I don't remember, machines broken and the mechanic couldn't make it. Michiru's pretty good with that stuff, so we said we'll give it a try. We barely touched the thing and my sis just somehow managed to set the whole place underwater. Worse, they had the washing powder in the back, so it turned into a giant bubble bath that smelled horrible. It took us hours to clean up the place. After we were finally done cleaning up, I found the problem. It was no wonder the thing didn't work right! They moved the machine from one side to another and forgot to adjust the pipes and stuff!" The entire story was filled with exaggerated gestures and a much more loose style of speaking than Kaoru usually employed.

Taking another shot, Kaoru was finally done for. Waving, unable to even strand properly, she was headed for the bathroom, not quite sure why herself. "I'm out too. Let's do this again though. Hey... Nagisa... wake up... Nagisa..." Honoka tried to wake up her partner by shaking her sufficiently, but she was only greeted by mild success. Moaning and groaning, Nagisa slowly got up, and the two of them staggered away, leaving behind only Urara and Rin, who were just about to go to sleep as well. "She looks so peaceful like that." Rin didn't need to ask for confirmation after seeing just how much Urara flirted with the black Cure. She was definitely going after Muse.

"Not so peaceful when she wakes up. You going to sleep as well? Not much fun with just the two of us playing." Looking for an excuse to go to sleep like the others, Rin took the hint and played along.

"Let's call it quits for today. We'll do this again another time." Rin had to hold on to her chair to avoid falling over. Slowly moving off, Rin waved her friend. "Night."

"Now... how do I get back to my room while carrying her?"

=== Dissonance ===

After over-eating and bringing Love a nice portion as well, Setsuna had left Ellen with Love and went for a walk, hoping that it would rid her of feeling bloated. Lights were already out, which is why it surprised her to find someone else taking a walk. Most of all, it was Marine.

Erika had been in such deep thought that she didn't even recognize Setsuna until the taller girl called out to her twice. "I didn't notice you. Can't sleep?"

"Ate too much. I blame you and Karen for that, the pasta was delicious." Walking a few steps past Erika, the blue Cure followed up quickly, the two of them walking together. "What were you so deep in thought about if you don't mind me asking?" She didn't have Love's insight, but she still wanted to help when she could. Something was clearly bothering Marine.

"It's not really that hard to explain, but... remember how I asked you how you and Peach got together? I was wondering if there are any others who went from friends to more." The matter with Tsubomi bothered her a lot.

"I think almost all the couples here were friends before they became more. I heard Karen and Komachi were friends for years even before they became Cure's and it took them a long time to get together." Setsuna didn't know if she should make the push, but it didn't look like Erika was going to talk about the real issue on her own. "This is about Blossom, right?"

"I must be really obvious. Yeah, I'm sure that Tsubomi likes me and I don't mind. It's just that I'm not sure where I stand with this. She liked Itsuki, Sunshine, before and that didn't work out. Itsuki turned her down and their friendship has been a little awkward at times ever since then. I don't want to ruin what I have for a gamble of improving it."

"If you're sure she likes you, it all comes down to whether you like her as well. If you don't, you should just stay friends. If you do, it's not really a gamble. It's closer to the situation Love and I were in." It felt odd to give others relationship advice when she had just thrown herself into a new, unusual one herself.

"I suppose so. But that only makes it worse. I've known Tsubomi for a while now and I'm not sure how I feel about her. I can't really go up to her, kiss her and decide then if I liked it or not. Although that might be kind of hot." Erika laughed briefly and shook her head. "No, can't do that."

"Keep thinking about it and you'll figure it out. It's your feelings, nobody but you knows them." Setsuna yawned. The drowsiness from digesting was setting in and though it wasn't exactly perfect, she could go to sleep like that. Love had probably already asked Ellen a thousand questions. "I'm going back. You should get some sleep too. Nothing is going to come out of brooding over this when you're tired."

"You're right. I'll go back in a few minutes as well. Good night." Erika waved Setsuna as she left. Feeling really sluggish, Setsuna was ready to throw herself in bed as soon as she got back to her room.

Setsuna could think of a lot of things Love would do while she was alone with Ellen. But she didn't expect her to make a move on her that soon. Entering her room, Setsuna found Love and Ellen in a peculiar position. Ellen leaned back, as if she was not quite sure about what was happening, and Love having both her arms wrapped around her neck, her face a few centimeter from Ellen's. "I was waiting for you to get back. I didn't want you to miss this." Love had a happy smile on her face just seconds before she gave Ellen a brief kiss.

The last few words she had scribbled on her notepad spelled _Just a kiss is okay_.

Setsuna didn't feel betrayed at all. On the contrary, when Ellen looked to her with her face painted crimson red, she smiled approvingly. "Love's always been a bit pushy with this. She won't ever do anything you don't want to, though."

"I don't know if you're praising me or making fun of me." Love had already let go of Ellen and leaned back, supporting herself with both arms on the mattress.

"Praising you. And Ellen too. I'm happy you can let Love get that close. I feared the whole time it would be awkward if you two wouldn't get along, but I guess I don't need to worry about that anymore. It's cute you waited for me to come back."

"I wouldn't kiss her without you being there as well. We need to trust each other, so of course I waited, silly." Love wasn't so much experienced with such a rare kind of relationship than her instincts pushing her in the right direction. She was going to make it work, no matter what.

=== End of Event XIV ===


	15. Broken

**Dissonance**

_Event XV_

**Broken**

"Why... is this room... upside down..." Honoka was fighting to keep her eyes open. She couldn't quite grasp the reason why she was fighting, when the real world was so full of pain and much too loud sounds and voices, the dream world much preferable.

Trying to roll over, her head started exploding all over again. A kingdom for a gigantic pillow to shield her from everything. The girl next to her was being way too noisy, too. When did Nagisa turn into a gorilla that was doing breathing exercises?

Lifting her arm and trying to push the girl next to her a bit further away from herself, the only reaction Honoka got was some movement from under the blanket, two arms wrapping themselves around her waist, a head pressing against her shoulders.

"Why does she have to be so clingy after a night of wassailing... for the love of..." But even with all that, Honoka couldn't be truly angry with her. She had partied with everyone else and stuck around till the very end. She knew the next morning would be hard.

Nagisa hadn't hit the alcohol nearly as hard as she did, so how in the name of all that was good was she still asleep. How long had they gone? Mai and Saki had been carried off, both of them peacefully passed out, some time late by Moonlight, who had pulled the emergency brake just short of passing out herself.

Her memory of the evening was pretty good, except the last bit, where it got increasingly misty. Slowly turning over, every single second of moving hurting her head like she was standing right next to the trumpets of Jericho. "You need a haircut..." Honoka ruffled Nagisa's hair a bit and closed her eyes, unwilling to deal with anything before her head cleared up.

Wasn't Nagisa's hair a bit too wild, even for bed hair? Probably just her head messing with her. Trying to fall back asleep, Honoka tried to ignore the horrible feeling of being dehydrated badly. She should have gotten some water before she hit the straw.

Not even five minutes passed before she couldn't stand the feeling of her sore throat anymore. Judging by how sticky she was from sweating a lot, Nagisa must have gotten pretty horny after all that partying. Why couldn't she have stayed comfortably passed out?

Getting up and noticing that her idea was pretty accurate, judging by the complete lack of clothes and civilian form, Honoka transformed and slowly staggered to the door, leaving her partner buried under the blanket. They both needed a shower.

White was barely halfway down the hall when another door opened and yet one more still. Mai had also woken up and looked even worse than she presumably did. Her hair was a catastrophic mess, even as Egret, and the smell of sex was easy to detect even at over ten meter distance. The other early bird, if it could be called that, was Dream, who looked every bit as miserable as Honoka felt. The black bags under her eyes were enormous. At least Dream didn't reek of sex. Two of the three smelling like a brothel was more than enough. Raising their hands slightly to signal that they saw each other, Honoka waited for Nozomi and Mai to catch up to her.

Not a single word was said until the three Cures had arrived in the showers. "I feel sick..." Mai was saying what they all felt. It was a given that there would be some repercussions after partying that hard, but she didn't expect them to be that harsh. "But it was so worth it..." Mai couldn't recall details, but she felt really good about the party and especially the sex after.

"The last thing I remember... is playing truth or dare." Nozomi couldn't even remember with who or what she had done. At least there were no cellphones or cameras, no proof of whatever she and the others had done.

"Regret it?" Honoka felt a bit better as the hot water hit her, but her head was still killing her. She only noticed then that she had several new hickeys, which was just a little odd. Nagisa wasn't usually the type to do that. The alcohol must have really gotten to her.

"Are you crazy? I haven't had... that much fun in months." Nozomi, while she had many normal friends, didn't have any with whom she could go wild at a party. "Thank god whoever invented hot showers."

"You can say that again." Mai wasn't feeling so well, even with the shower, so she leaned against the wall. "I wish I could get the taste out of my mouth."

"Same here." It wasn't just Urara who had come out with harder stuff. A bit of favor vanished in exchange for glasses and an assortment of drinks sometime that evening.

"Feel like doing it again? Maybe next week?" Honoka didn't think she could handle another party any time sooner than that.

"Won't be around then. I'm leaving tomorrow or the day after." Remembering that Michiru had missed the party gave her a bit of a somber feeling.

"I'm gonna have a word with Nagisa after this... I got half a dozen hickeys, two of them where I can't hide them." Honoka was a little annoyed with her girlfriend. It was okay to go wild but she had clearly gone overboard.

"I'm surprised I don't have any. Saki usually leaves me one or two after we sleep with... each... other..." Their heads cleared, both Honoka and Mai were starting to have a horrible thought.

They looked similar and all, but no matter how much alcohol was involved, they surely wouldn't... would they? They felt a lot worse all of a sudden. That certainly wasn't how they wanted to start their day.

The bathroom fell into an awkward silence. Nozomi didn't mind so much as her head was still a world of pain. Mai was the first to get out of the shower, not taking well to too much hot water. Honoka followed suit a few minutes later.

Going back into their rooms and meeting back outside, they didn't need to say a word. The look on their faces was giving away everything they needed to know. "We joked about those two looking alike before but... What do we do?" Mai was hoping that Honoka would come up with some kind of magical solution that preserved everything as it had been before the last night.

"Hiding it is going to look really suspicious. Though I don't really want to tell them either... We did joke about them looking alike before, but this is really ridiculous. I remember clearly I was taking Nagisa to my room, not Saki..." Honoka didn't even realize she was almost word for word quoting Mai.

"I barely remember anything, so I won't be of much help. This situation wouldn't be so bad if we hadn't slept with them."

"Thankfully we're both mature enough to not start bickering. I slept with your girlfriend, you slept with mine, at least we're all in this together." Honoka didn't feel particularly good. Sleeping with Saki was not exactly on her top ten list of things she wanted to do. The same must be true for Mai.

"At least it's not us two and those two. We couldn't explain that with a simple, **they look alike**."

"Don't even joke about that. Makes me afraid of the next time I touch alcohol." The two of them let out a heavy sigh, continuing their meeting in the middle between their rooms. "I guess we'll just have to tell them. They're as much at fault as we are."

"Let them wake up and take a shower before we tell them. We don't need to make this an even bigger mess than it is." Mai was grateful that Honoka was good enough of a friend to deal with it calmly. Maybe partially due to being hungover, but that didn't matter.

They weren't the only ones with problems waiting for them as they woke up. In a different room, Kanade had just gotten up and miraculously avoided stepping into vomit on the ground. The entire room was smelling bad like alcohol, digested food and sex.

"I'm taking a shower... clean up your mess..." Kanade was just about to leave the room when Hibki grabbed her hand, holding her back.

"Who say's it's my mess...? You were drunk worse than me..."

"I'll help you clean it up... let's... not argue this morning." Kanade didn't like giving in, not one bit, but what she liked even less was the prospect of having an argument with Hibiki when the room smelled like puke and the two of them really needed a shower.

"Agreed..." Hibiki saw things in a similar way. She wouldn't have been satisfied with a halfway solution like that if she were her normal self, but... The two of them had never partied like that before. And they had also never experienced a hangover like that before.

Leaving their room, they came across Nozomi, who was just returning from the showers, looking eager to go back to bed. "Morning..." Being considerate of them and herself, it was almost a whisper. Both suite Cures nodding and marching off to the bathroom, they really didn't look forward to getting back to their room and cleaning up.

They also could only imagine what the living room had to look like. Neither of the two could remember when exactly they stopped drinking and went back to their room. What they did remember was that they had a big argument right at the table, while drunk, that ended with Hibiki pushing Kanade down and kissing her, the girls around them whistling. Hopefully, nobody else remembered that.

Entering a cabin together and changing back to civilian form, there was no need to even bother undressing. Turning on the hot water and letting their head hang, they sure felt as bad as they had felt good the last evening. "Do you remember how we got to our room?" Hibiki was curious just for the sake of making a little conversation. It was too odd to be all quiet when showering together. And making was out of the question.

"My room... no idea." Kanade's head felt like she had eaten a bunch of balloons that were now resting comfortable just behind her forehead. "I think I know now why they don't let minors drink. It's hell to wake up afterwards."

"Dream looked just as bad as we do and she was already done showering." Hibiki commented and grabbed some shampoo that stood on the ground. Not a cheap kind but not a brand type either, someone had decided a few team favor to supply everyone with shampoo was a good investment in keeping up everyone's mood. "Turn around, I'll wash your hair... do mine after that."

Kanade rested her arm against the wall and her forehead on said arm, closing her eyes. She was so incredibly thankful for Hibiki to be by her side right at that moment. "I can only imagine what those that kept up with Lemonade and Rouge are going to look like."

"Honoka was already up but she did look pretty bad." Hibiki had holes the size of the grand canyon in her memory. "I don't remember all that much from last night. We didn't even drink that much or long..." Going through Kanade's long hair and cleaning it properly took a lot of effort and care. Hibiki felt her arm muscles ache halfway through but endured. That was just fatigue from last night. If she kept ignoring it, it would go away.

"I kinda wish Ellen was there to party with us." Kanade thought about it for a few seconds and then shook her head hard, spraying foam from the shampoo everywhere, some of it getting in Hibiki's mouth, who started spitting it out quite loudly. "Probably for the better she wasn't here..."

"I wonder if things worked out for her... she said she was leaving to talk with Passion. I feel horrible for not being able to save her when she was in exile." Hibiki dropped the idea of making a fuss about the shampoo spraying. Her headache was bad enough as is, without starting another argument.

"Even if you had gone, you wouldn't have been able to be on the same team for a while. Ellen isn't the helpless girl we first met when she became a Cure. I'm sure she's fine." Kanade waited for Hibiki to finish washing her hair before she turned around again and stepped back under the shower. "But I know how you feel. I worry too... Hibiki, where did you get those scratch marks?" Kanade looked at four long scratch marks that stretched over the entirety of Hibiki's back.

"Scratch marks?" Trying to look over her own shoulder after Kanade whirled her finger around to tell her it was on her back, Hibiki couldn't see anything. "Probably the same way you got that hickey. On your neck." Grabbing Kanade by her shoulder and turning her around, Hibiki put her finger on the hickey, Kanade twitching as she did. "There."

"I don't feel like stepping out of this shower and finding out what else we did." The blonde girl covered her face with her hands.

"Still need to clean up our room..." Hibiki really didn't want to leave the shower, much less even going back to their room.

They were not the only ones that didn't want to be in their room. Judging by the groaning, Moonlight was somehow dragging herself into the bathroom and into the shower. With the exception of the occasional groan and "Never again..." followed by silence and then "How many times have I said that now...?" and more groaning.

"Alcohol is fearsome." Kanade looked at the right wall, knowing that Yuri was just two stalls away.

"I remember having a lot of fun though. Not exactly **what** we had fun with, but... having fun." Hibiki tried to smile but it looked very forced. Kanade didn't mind and caressed her partners cheek regardless.

The person who was hit the worst by the late evening party was just coming to at that moment. Her head a kaleidoscope of pain, feeling sick and memory loss, Ako cursed under her breath. The second time! That was twice now that Lemonade had gotten her drunk. At least she was in her own bed, she could tell by the faint smell. The bit that was not completely overpowered by her own smell, which was more of a stench. A strong alcoholic smell mixed half with the stench of sweat, there were two others she couldn't quite put. One was extremely sweet, almost abnormally so, the other was making her feel weird. The taste in her mouth was something she didn't even want to try and describe, much less experience what it actually was.

Trying to move resulted in her limbs almost refusing to abide by her command. Everything seemed to happen in slow motion, and lifting her head a little caused the entire room to start spinning faster than the the surroundings did on a roller-coaster.

"Simmer down girl..."

No. That had to be a bad joke. But now that she tried thinking about it, there was this odd sensation of pressure against her back and around her waist. Slowly moving her own arm towards the general area, she could feel the relatively smooth skin of another girl as she touched someone's arm. The voice had been really faint and more of a whisper than actual spoken words, but she recognized it.

Lemonade was laying in her bed, hugging her from behind, and not making any attempts to clarify the situation. Ako wanted to jump up and be furious, but both the sudden realization that she was also naked, as well as the incredibly lucid pain in her head stopped her.

Sensing the panic in the weak movements of Muse, Urara yawned, pulled her a little closer and repeated her words. "I said simmer down... calm down and I'll explain stuff... Just... keep your voice low." Urara was not immune to hangovers either, although she came well prepared.

"...passed out on my shoulder..." The sound of Urara's head rolling over the pillow, her lips mere centimeters distance from Ako's ears, so she could lower the volume as much as possible. She actually managed to talk with such a faint voice that it didn't hurt Muse, who was likely having the worst hangover of all.

"Took you to my room... piggyback. Was lazy..." Another yawn, a few noises one would generally attribute to a sleeping person and she continued on. "Got you... on my bed and you started... puking all over it." That wasn't something the young girl liked to hear. Puking all over the bed of someone else was certainly not within her usual attitude. "You got... puke all over yourself too... got you to the toilet... waited... took off your costume.. trashed it... took you to your room... don't worry... everyone was passed out..." Urara's left hand moved slightly upwards towards Ako's breasts, passed right past without touching them even in the slightest and softly poked her cheek.

"Since you... ruined my bed... I crashed... with you. Don't worry... didn't do anything. Now... lemme sleep. Was up for over... an hour... getting you... in bed." Never even having opened her eyes, Urara instantly fell back asleep as soon as she finished talking.

Literally just laying there with her mouth open, her mind in a state of complete confusion, Ako tried to regain what little composure she had before she noticed Urara. She drank alcohol at the party that was started on a whim. She didn't quite remember who talked her into it, but there was no doubt that was Lemonade's handiwork. Then everything was lost in a hazy mist near no-memory land.

But she had the distinct feeling that the woman behind her wasn't making those things up. Considering how extremely awful she felt, the whole part about puking sounded pretty accurate. But that wasn't really that important now. Judging by the body warmth, she wasn't the only one that was naked, and that made her a bit uncomfortable. She might have the body of an adult, but that didn't mean she was one.

Getting up was not an option. Just trying to made the room spin again, and there was no doubt that she'd end up crashing on the floor. Switching to civilian form was an even worse idea. With all the leftover alcohol in her blood, and most of all, Lemonade right there, she couldn't turn back into a child. Absolutely not.

What she couldn't really comprehend was Lemonade not taking advantage of the situation. She must have been completely defenseless the whole time, but she couldn't detect even the faintest smell of the older girls lips on her own. She would recognize it from before.

And then, there was something else she didn't quite get. She wasn't feeling relieved or happy that nothing happened but confused and disappointed. Did Lemonade lose interest? It would be good for her if she did... wouldn't it? Trying to think about those complicated things was hard enough when she was sober and wide awake.

For now, there wasn't a lot she could do but accept the situation and try to cope with it the best she could. A bit more sleep certainly wouldn't hurt. And Lemonade seemed to behave herself well enough to just about accept her being there... for now. It wasn't... really that uncomfortable, physically. To have someone in your bed and hold you. A thought like that passed through Ako's mind just as she tried to turn over, feeling sick all over again, the bed spinning around her. She needed to see if the yellow Cure really was asleep.

What surprised her, when she finally managed to turn around without reliving the terrors of the last night that Urara described to her briefly, was that Lemonade was in her civilian form, peacefully sleeping with her arms around Ako.

It was so unexpected that she let her guard down and wanted to make sure she really was asleep. Trying her best to make her voice as faint as it could possibly be, Ako whispered a single word. "Thanks."

No reaction at all, the older girl really was fast asleep. Relieved again, Ako wondered just what kind of fascination that woman had with her. And what was her intention to begin with? If she just wanted to sleep with her, she surely wouldn't have passed up the chance to do so last night. If that wasn't it...

The mere idea that Lemonade might actually want a relationship with her was crazy. A rude, pushy, manipulative, egoistical... well, maybe she wasn't that egoistical... or rude. Just honest and focused on what she wants.

Adults really were complex and hard to understand. Hibiki and Kanade were pretty obvious in what they liked and didn't like. Ellen a little less so.

"After this... call me Urara." No matter how well she slept, with Ako in her arms, she woke up every time the girl moved. It annoyed her that Muse was so much taller than her. It wasn't that obvious in bed, and still... "Go to.. sleep..." Urara's words were followed by an almost too loud yawn before she pulled Ako a little closer yet, and went back to the realm of dreams. With everyone surely being as hangover as Urara was, nobody would notice those two missing for a while. They could go and sleep for a while longer.

With no acceptable alternatives to actually following Urara's advice, Ako sighed a little and closed her eyes. She wasn't in as much discomfort as she would have expected to. It wasn't really that terrible to share a bed with the blonde if only when she restrained herself from messing with Ako. In fact... maybe... it wasn't... that...

Before she could finish that line of thought, she dozed off, the adrenaline from the situation wearing off and her body demanding rest urgently.

=== Dissonance ===

The light team was already at breakfast when the first people on the other side woke up. Again, it was toast with things like marmalade on top of it, and again, it was Hikari and Kurumi making breakfast. Those two got along even better than before, thanks to the whole ordeal Kurumi went through.

A couple of people still looked worn out. Berry appeared like she had spent the entire night brooding over something, a look she shared with Marine and Blossom, the first not even trying to fake she was tired.

It was by all means, and considering their location, a normal morning. The love birds trio were late once again, Inori continued her discussion about literature with Karen and now also Komachi, who gave those two some insight in how professionals work and what kind of hardships there are beyond the writing itself.

Hikari and Kurumi managed to have a rather interesting discussion with Bright about her work and relationship with Mai and Saki. Marine had seemingly fallen asleep in her chair, her right hand still resting on the table, holding a piece of toast. Blossom was too spaced out to correct the behavior of her friend.

"Do we even want to know why all three of you are late?" Inori looked like an imp when she asked. Love sat down in the chair next to Inori, Ellen next to her and Setsuna to Ellen's right. They decided to just switch the center spot every other day.

"You have the mind of an old man, Bukki." Love didn't look tired out but she lacked her usual energy. "If you really want to know, we-" Love was interrupted by Karen, who didn't feel comfortable hearing a saucy story so early in the morning.

"I feel comfortable not knowing. We don't need to know-" Love continued like Karen didn't even exist regardless.

"-needed Setsuna to untangle Ellen's and my hair. I don't know how, but we managed to get them so badly mixed up, we couldn't move a meter apart of each other." Love sighed and looked to Setsuna, who was barely holding back wild laughter. Ellen looked at her own lap, embarrassed with the situation.

Inori broke out in roaring laughter, just imagining the situation and seeing the look on Love's face. Even with knowing two of those three really well, she couldn't have guessed that. Karen looked like she had walked under the only rain cloud in the sky and stopped there. She had been completely off the mark.

"You sleep as civilians, right?" Inori hadn't seen Love in months prior to becoming trapped in the odd dimension, so she wasn't sure how long her hair had gotten.

"You don't?" Love answered the question with another, making a grab for the toast in the small basket. While it happened at an almost inconceivably slow rate, breakfast was slowly getting fancier. Or maybe that was not the right word to say it. It was getting... comfy.

"I was just curious. Setsuna has really long hair as Passion, and so do you Love. If you slept like that, it wouldn't surprise me if your hair got all tangled up."

"It's more comfortable to sleep in civilian form. Not everyone's costume is that easy to take off, and I would feel bad, tearing it off by force." Setsuna joined the conversation, enjoying coffee instead of toast. Maybe it was just her getting used to the brand the others used, but she really liked it.

"How about you two?" Inori turned to Karen and Komachi, who seemed to be a bit embarrassed to talk about their sleeping habits. "I can already guess by your faces." Giggling, Pine started looking for whoever had captured the sugar. She couldn't drink her coffee without at least two cubes. Finding the small pot with the sugar cubes hidden behind a basket near Kurumi, Inori returned to her initial conversation. "Where did we stop?"

"I was asking what you do in your free time." Komachi had already finished eating. She had gotten a new idea for a novel while talking to Inori, and even if she had to write it by hand, she would start as soon as breakfast was over. She did enjoy eating and sitting on the same table as everyone.

"There isn't really anything specific I do. I often have to be on call, so I can't really do anything fancy. I really like playing billiards and darts. I have really good eyesight so I make use of that. I only ever play for free drinks, never for real money though."

"You play with random people?" Komachi was too introverted to do anything like that.

"Miki, who apparently has her head in the clouds right now, is always too busy to come with me and I don't really have that many other friends that are close to me. I always tried to keep..." Inori finally realized something very important. "So that's why I never hit it off with anyone... I didn't want to. I kept them at a distance since I was always careful about hiding I'm Cure Pine. Oh well."

"You kind of lost me there Inori." Karen couldn't quite follow her train of thought. She had a rough idea based on what she said after the brief moment of silence, but asking for confirmation would be pretty rude.

"Nothing, just a case of not seeing the forest amidst a lot of trees." It explained a lot about her social behavior. How could she have not realized this before? By not letting anyone as close as Love, Miki and Setsuna, there was obviously no way she could have ever successfully dated someone.

Not realizing that until now felt like a giant blunder, stupid even. She always had some kind of backup plan and yet, she didn't realize something so extremely basic about herself.

"What about you two? I suspect Karen doesn't have much free time and Komachi reads." Trying to shift the topic away from herself, Inori turned the question around.

"I actually browse the net a lot. When I don't have a concert, I still need to practice a lot and I do so at home. Other than shopping and meetings, I don't actually go out much. I sometimes play an online game when I get bored."

"I didn't expect you to be the net savvy type, it's so... hard to imagine you sitting in front of a computer, browsing. Komachi, you use a PC for writing scripts, right?"

"For the final product yes. I started using one after I tried hand writing a small novel. It's just so much faster and easier. I can make safety copies easily, too. I don't really browse the net much, except for research on my novels, though."

"What net game are you playing Aqua?" Michiru joined the conversation, bored with herself after Hikari and Kurumi started cleaning up. Breakfast was almost over after all.

"Monster Hunter." Karen answered on reflex without thinking about it. She didn't really like to show off how much time she was spending on the computer when she was free. But some games could be really addicting.

"Character name AquaSlash?" Making a random guess based on who she was, Michiru had played the game before. Having gotten bored with it after two months, having beaten the last boss, she was quite a famous person in the community. Of course, Michiru didn't know about this.

"How did you know?"

"Played the game a few months back. Got bored after I beat the last boss. What was the last big hunt you did?" Both Komachi and Inori watched with fascination how Karen dealt with a world that was a little alien to them.

"Raviente. I don't play all that much. What was your name when you played?" Karen found herself to be surprisingly interested in talking to Bright about the game. Komachi and Inori both obviously wouldn't understand any of it, but they had more than enough time to themselves.

"That's not so bad. I was just called Bright." Michiru looked confused when Karen almost dropped her cup and stared at her.

"The famous veteran who was the first to take down Gogomoa on it's release date?" Karen was familiar with the game, more so than she wanted to let on. But to think such a famous character was one of the other Cures...

"That's the big ape, right? It wasn't all that difficult, just tedious. Kaoru kept annoying me for hogging the PC at the time so I died once." Michiru wasn't aware that other people took a long time to finally do what she did. To her, it was just another somewhat amusing way to pass the time.

"You make it sound so easy... It took me over a week and fifteen tries to kill Raviente. I can't imagine taking Gogomoa on and beating him in a single day."

"If we ever get out of here I suppose I can help you. I get bored a lot at home when we don't have a job to do."

While Karen and Michiru continued to discuss various aspects of the game they both played, Hikari and Kurumi finished up cleaning the table and keeping busy in the kitchen. Taking the now vacant seat next to Inori, Komachi talked to her a little more, mostly explaining details about the editing process of published books.

"Everyone's getting along nicely." Hikari took a quick look through the window, seeing Michiru talk to Karen, who seemed to be quite impressed by something.

"It would be bad if they didn't. Considering we all have to switch sooner or later and meet the people we fought before, it's better that they all get along."

"You say that, but you still don't like it when you get beaten in a battle." Hikari had taken a clue or two from Honoka when it came to teasing stubborn people.

"That's different! This is this, and that is that. Everyone keeps these things separately. If they didn't, there would be no way to ever get along in this place."

"I'm surprised you're not awkward around Karen. You don't feel sad anymore?" Kurumi stopped washing dishes for a bit and sighed as she thought about how to answer that.

"Nothing is going to come out of being sad or awkward around her. I messed it up, so the best I can do now is to become her friend. The only thing that's different then is that I can't kiss her or sleep with her."

"Are you going to try and look for someone else to go out with?" While many people might have taken that as a implication that she wanted to be that someone, Hikari meant no such thing. And Kurumi knew her well enough to realize that too.

"Not for now. It's only us twenty-five here and most of them already have a partner."

"That doesn't mean nothing can happen. Peach and Passion seem to have taken Beat into their relationship for example."

"Stuff like that is the exception Hikari. I've never ever **seen** a three-way relationship before. It must be really complicated for those three. And I can't really think of any couple who I'd get along with so well to ask them that either."

"I wonder what it's like to be in a relationship. I never had one and maybe that's because I hang around Nagisa and Honoka too much. Maybe I'm seen as part of them and then people don't even try to ask me out."

"You want to be asked out?" Kurumi had a smile on her face as she looked over her shoulder. She could only imagine a funny scene happening, no matter what, when someone asked her out.

"I don't know. Maybe. Just to find out what it's like."

"As long as it works out, relationships are really nice. But they have their downsides too. You'll feel really bad when it breaks, and every time you fight... well, let's just say that it's not all happy times." She didn't want to imagine the bad times she had with Karen. The arguments, the fighting. Maybe she was just better off with Komachi in general.

=== Dissonance ===

Breakfast was a lonesome activity that morning, hardly anyone showed up, and those that did, found that nobody had the energy to go and prepare something. Kaoru was the first to be at the table and was just enjoying the silence with some coffee she had made.

The next exile run was soon and it was time to put her plan in motion. How exactly did she let herself get so drunk that it would affect her morning after like this? She couldn't tell just how much time passed. Occasionally, someone walked into the bathroom and came out of it, but she didn't pay attention who it was. The first to actually join her at the table was Rouge, who looked even worse than Windy.

"I hope this is the strong stuff..." Walking past Kaoru, looking at the big can filled with the black pick-me-up liquid, Rin went to get a cup for herself only to find out that there were no clean cups left. Sitting down next to the blue haired girl and filling an otherwise empty cup with coffee, she didn't bother to use milk or sugar or wash out the old cup. Strong, black coffee, best strong enough to wake the dead, was just the right thing now.

The living room was otherwise a mess. Empty glasses, dishes from last night, leftover food, empty bottles and cans. It looked like a horde of barbarians marched through the room. And still, she couldn't get herself up to do any cleaning.

Emptying half her cup in one go, Rin wanted the caffeine to kick it and override her hangover, but nothing much happened. Putting her arms crossed over on the table and resting her head on them, she just wanted to go back to sleep.

They had only partied for about an hour and a half. How could everyone be that hung over? It... was only an hour, wasn't it? Everyone's perception of time got a little fuzzy even under normal circumstances in this place. Drunk and having fun...

Kaoru didn't say anything. For the first time in months, she just wanted silence, wanted boredom, so her boiling mind could cool off. She couldn't tell how much time passed and whether Rouge had fallen asleep again, but something in her head kept bugging her. They were forgetting something. She just couldn't remember for the hell of it what it was.

Nobody else was coming in for a while. They all had their own issues that morning. The first to join the silent aftermath of the party that consisted only of Kaoru and Rin was Yuri, who didn't feel comfortable just laying down.

Her eyes still half closed, she walked towards the kitchen like in trance, grabbing a big glass as she walked, vanishing into the room and returning about five minutes later, silent sitting down across Windy, who slowly pushed the can of coffee towards Moonlight. None of them said a word, for they could all communicate in the universal language of people with hangovers.

Yuri's eyes twitched as she tasted coffee so strong, it could have doubled as an adrenaline injection. And it still wasn't enough to remove her headache. At least she didn't have to come in to work today. That would have killed her for sure. And just what for the love of god did they pass around last night.

The unlikely trio just sat there, drinking coffee until the can was empty. With a silent nod, each of the three agreed to decide who had to make more coffee by chance. Getting up just for that and otherwise resting her head in the usual position, they played a single game of rock-paper-scissors. Kaoru lost but at least she already knew where everything was.

While the remaining two were alone, Nozomi came in and sat down next to Rin, who was just about to freak out by the possibility of Nozomi talking endlessly this early in the morning. To her surprise, the only word Nozomi used, after pushing several dishes and glasses away from the spot on the table she sat at, was "Coffee?"

Usually not the type to even drink it, Nozomi felt she was given little choice. Knowing that hungover people would always drink strong coffee in the morning to get the day over with. The single answer she was given by Yuri was "Five minutes."

While not as hungover as the others, four others were clearly exhausted with what was happening. Both pairs back in their rooms, they were bringing closure to an issue before it got big and annoying.

Nagisa and Saki were woken up, each by their own partner, then they were sent to go and shower before anything else. Thirty minutes later, they finally returned to Mai and Honoka, the two of them waiting in front of their rooms, going inside with their partner.

Having decided it was best to tell them independently, Honoka found Nagisa to be surprisingly realistic about it. Instead of making a big fuss about it, she simply lowered her head and apologized, looking more sorry than Honoka had ever known her to be. "It's my fault too... all four of us are." Honoka didn't want to put all the blame on her girlfriend.

"It's really mostly our fault." Nagisa could remember the reason why Honoka and Mai had mixed them up. Not because they looked alike by nature, but because they had taken a joke too far. After playing truth or dare for a while, someone asked them to pretend to be each other. Vanishing and coming back ten minutes later, Nagisa was wearing Bloom's costume, although her hair was not quite long enough to fully copy her hairstyle. The same was true for Saki looking like Black.

"We didn't think that would end in you two taking back the wrong person. Or maybe we just didn't really think at all anymore at that time."

"You still didn't do it on purpose. It would be unfair of me to get angry over something you did as fun that just happened to cause a problem. I still love you just as much as before, Nagisa."

"I love you too, Honoka. Just... don't be angry if I don't kiss you now. I still haven't gotten rid of the bad aftertaste in my mouth." Nagisa scratched her chin and forced a small smile.

The room next door had the exact same problem and a very similar discussion. "Just don't dress up as Nagisa again. Swapping partners once is already one time too many, okay?" Mai was hugging Saki from behind, who was blankly staring at the bed they sat on. She felt really sorry for things to turn out that way. "Or better yet, if you ever get asked to do this again, don't forget to tell Honoka and me, so we can switch as well. That way, it all works out."

"I never knew you were into kinky stuff like that Mai." Saki grinned and found herself relieved that her own partner was so understanding. "Just... isn't it going to be awkward to look at Honoka and Nagisa now?"

"One of us is going to leave tomorrow. The other the day after. By the time we're all back on one side, we'll have forgotten about this. Hopefully." Their friendship wouldn't suffer under a single mistake, but they too, were only human. Of course it would be awkward for a bit to talk to and look at Nagisa and Honoka.

"I... want to go back to bed. I almost threw up in the showers. I feel sick and I'm really tired. Remind me to take care the next time we party." Saki leaned against Mai, feeling that her partner too wanted to get a little more sleep.

"No promises." Her first impulse was to hug Saki, the two of them letting themselves fall on the bed and go to sleep just like that. The somewhat delicate situation of their stomachs objected to that idea and instead had them slowly crawl under the blanket, changing back to civilian form.

Honoka was feeling less horrible than Mai yet she didn't have the willpower to resist when Nagisa asked for the same thing Saki did. They really were similar in a lot of ways, down to how they acted when they were suffering from a hangover. But most people would act like that in such a situation.

Down the hallway, in the living room, it was slowly getting more crowded, with the same level of silence being maintained. It was like a public camp for people about to face execution. After mostly cleaning up Hibiki's room and almost throwing up again from the disgusting smell, Kanade and Hibiki joined the four others in the living room. Hibiki usually wasn't one to drink really strong coffee, but she could really use it right now. Anything was okay as long as it would destroy that bad taste that was left in her mouth from last night.

"Today... 's horrible." Rin's head was still face down on the table, resting on her arms. She only ever got up to get more coffee and drink said liquid.

"You can say that again..." Kanade was, similar to Kaoru, leaned back in her chair and somehow enduring the coffee. It helped, but not as much as she would have liked, considering the taste. Hibiki was in the seat next to her, letting her head hang, slowly working her way through her first cup of coffee.

Even with six people present, they still didn't talk. Nobody felt like getting on everyone's, including their own, nerves by making unnecessary small talk. They all understood that silence and waiting it out was the best course of action. Still, they couldn't shake the feeling they forgot something.

Every single one of them thought that one of the others would eventually remember or fix it. Of course, if everyone thinks the same thing in situations like that, it leads to problems.

=== Dissonance ===

She finally knew what it all meant. The missing parts, the incomplete hymn she had found within herself. It was no coincidence that she was incapable of singing it properly the first time. At the time, her feelings had only been longing for Setsuna, without any hope of ever actually having her feelings returned.

A broken puzzle that was now a whole, the missing pieces not found but created just for her. A song born from her soul, her heart, her true feelings. She needed to show them, make them listen, knowing they would understand her song, understand how thankful she was.

Asking Setsuna and Love to follow her far out into the labyrinth, Ellen still couldn't talk. But she trusted in herself, because those two did too. If she needed her voice to communicate her... no, that was wrong. It wasn't just her hymn. It belonged to all three of them.

"Why are we coming all the way out here?" Setsuna kept looking around, seeing only hallway upon hallway, room upon room.

"I suspect I'm about to see her sing for the first time." Love and Setsuna both walked a few meters behind Ellen and the blond Cure whispered to her first partner. "She looks really excited and there is no other reason I can think of that would make her call us out here."

And Love was correct. Stopping in a big room, Ellen walked a bit around to find a nice spot, where she stood still, reaching for her notepad. "_I finally found the missing parts for this after last night. It's all thanks to you two. So I want only you to hear it. I don't know what it will be like, but I just know it's not dangerou_s." Getting a little nervous as Setsuna and Love walked up to her and held her hand, Ellen took a deep breath. It wasn't so much physical singing as her voice was doing much more than just supplying vocals.

Giving a quick nod, Ellen stretched out her arms to her sides and looked deep inside herself, finding something she held so dear she never wanted to let go again. Her mind was in a different place when the blue sphere formed around her, notes and score lines hovering around her. Not Setsuna or Love had ever seen something like that before. It wasn't just the sphere that amazed them. Music originated from the blue construct, something almost lullaby like.

"Faura yerwe murfan anw sol ciel," The same alien language that could be faintly heard when her hymn Purger reached the living grounds. A language dating back centuries, usable by few, understood by less. But only to an uninvited bystander would the lyrics sound alien. Love and Setsuna did not hear Ellen sing in a foreign tongue. What they heard were words crystal clear. "_The little bird chirps her feelings to the world,"_

Her right arm moved downwards in a swinging motion, rearranging notes to come together and form a stanza, her left hand drawing lines in the sphere, like moving through water without resistance, yet leaving her mark. "Faura sonwe murfan anw sol ciel ee, _The little bird sings her feelings to the people," _Her voice was shining through the songs like a light beacon, guiding the listeners to the place they wanted to return to. An alluring tone, Coloratura.

Repeating both lines twice, Ellen started to slowly move, whirl without disturbing the natural chaos inside the sphere, which slowly extended. A warm feeling filled her, the same that had driven her to show those two her completed hymn. The feeling of being loved and loving.

This first part was about herself, her own feelings translated into a song. About wanting to sing, wanting to bring happiness to the people, to the world, with her music. An irreplacable desire that she would have tried to bury if not for Love and Setsuna.

"Ridalnae sol ciel yanyaue manaf, _This irreplaceable world, and these precious lives," _Her voice, the sung words, were distant, a little faint, calm and soothing. Little different from before but now, the listeners had arrived and found their place at home. It sped up a little and yet it kept people at a distance without scaring them off.

Turning ninety degrees to the right, Ellen arranged a new set of scores, the notes glimmering in her signature blue, the sphere still extending, soon to fill the entire room. "Presia yasra lusye enclone anw omnis, _Please, let the light of love enshroud all of them,_" Her voice collecting strength during this part, which belonged to Setsuna.

Her voice becoming stronger with each word passing. "Presia kiafa sarla mea, _Please, listen to my hymn,_ presia firle sarla mea, _Please, feel my song,_" A small interjection that belonged to her and carried over into Love's part. She was now moving constantly, the notes obscuring the view of her, stanza's being created and vanishing without break, her voice echoing far and wide. Love and Setsuna were absolutely speechless by what they saw, heard and felt.

The sphere almost exploded, increasing suddenly, the notes swirling around like a storm hit them, stanza's merging and separating, creating multiple layers from a single verse. Where the previous segment had been calming and lovely, this one was powerful and dominating, but not in an unwelcome way. "Van fandel viega heighte mea, _Even if I were struck by countless blades,_ van fandel wis lurrea, _even if I were terrorized by countless terrors,_ van fandel crudea ousye, _even if I were assaulted by countless sufferings,_ Van fandel deleir ousye, _even if I were assaulted by countless calamities,_ van fandel gauzewiga der lamenza, _even if I were bent to despair by the countless laments,_ was ki ra tasyue eterne sarla yor, _I would never stop offering this song to you_." Love's segment was incredibly strong and powerful, the song embodying what Ellen saw, knew and learned to appreciate.

Shifting back to her own segment, Ellen knelt down and looked at both Setsuna and Ellen briefly, lowering her head again, the notes assembling in front of her, forming a majestic stanza. "Alroetsue kierre iem, _Now it's the time for atonement_, fandel zadius, hierle melifan, iem endia, _All that hatred, and these sad histories, will come to an end now." _The stanza bursting into blue flames, vanishing, and new notes being created around her, the segment shifted again, back to Love.

"_Presia kiafa sarla mea, Please, listen to my hymn, _Presia yehar zadius rum ferda yor der sarla mea, _Please, let my hymn release you from the flames of hatred that dwell in you,_ Presia metafalica rifaien tou yor sphilar, _Please, revive the song of hope in your heart once more._"

The great power in her voice subsiding and making way for her higher, calmer tone, Ellen touched her own collarbones with her fingertips, closing her eyes, singing in total harmony with the sphere. Her own segment was being repeated now, the sphere reaching right in front of Love and Setsuna, who didn't back away when it kept extending, involving them, letting them stand amidst such great magic, as the hymn was being sung.

Love and Setsuna could feel Ellen's thoughts, her emotions. Every little thing was crystal clear. The sphere came slowly to a still stand, each segment repeating once again, Setsuna's slightly more powerful than before, Love's completely different, now gentle and caring instead of strong and dominating.

When it was finally over and the sphere dissolved, Ellen fell to her knees, breathing hard. Love and Setsuna were right next to her, taking her hands, both of them tears in their eyes. At the end, they could not only feel Ellen but also each other. And they were sure that this went both ways.

"I... could only sing it because you two were there for me. Only one third of the hymn is me. The second third is Setsuna." Ellen looked at the red Cure and smiled. "I fell in love with her and that created the first part of the hymn. After she returned my feelings, the second part was created. And when Love accepted me, even started to try and get close to me just the way Setsuna was... the third part was created when I started returning those feelings." Her face was fiercely red when she leaned forward and kissed Love on the cheek.

"I've never heard a more beautiful song." Setsuna didn't know what else to say. She was just so in awe about it.

"I've never heard of magic like this. I could feel, hear your thoughts. I felt really calm through all of it." Love was no less in awe than Setsuna.

Uninvited guests showed up just as Love tried to help Ellen up. Aqua, Mint, Pine and Bright almost stormed the room, looking around. "The music stopped? What happened?" The three could see the confusion and worry in the faces of the four that had just arrived.

"You girls need to calm down. This wasn't like the hymn from before. Can't you even tell a killing hymn from a calming one?"

"Are you telling me you understood it? All we heard was gibberish. The sound wasn't threatening, but after what happened, you can't blame us for being worried." Karen was the most worried out of the four. Inori was slowly walking towards Setsuna, a neutral expression on her face.

"It was a song for just you two, am I right?" There was no way to tell what Inori was thinking as she stood there. She was worried as well, having experienced the horrors of Purger first hand. But this time, the hymn had been fundamentally different. Like they were listening in on something not meant for them.

"It wasn't gibberish for us. But apparently only those for who the hymn is meant can understand the lyrics." Setsuna wouldn't stand for the others treating Ellen like that. "I'm disappointed that all of you still don't trust Ellen."

"It takes time to build trust but only one moment to lose it all. Miki stayed behind, saying we're silly, thinking that another dangerous hymn surfaced in her. It seems she was right." Turning around to the others, Pine smiled and sighed relieved.

"Great, I feel incredibly silly now." Karen hid her face in embarrassment. People were quick to jump on anything suspicious, judging people. Cures were no exception to that. And of course it was embarrassing to admit to such a thing or have it show to others.

"Please calm down everyone. I just... didn't want to worry everyone. Only Love, Setsuna and I can understand this Hymn. It has no effect on anyone else, and for those two, it calms their mind and lets them feel what I feel, what the other one feels." Ellen tried hard to defuse the situation. Komachi was the first to step up, feeling sorry for how easy they were to suspect her of anything.

"I'm sorry. It's just... we can't understand your hymns. It's easy to frighten people with something they don't know. I'm happy you got your voice back though, Beat." Accompanied by a smile, the green Cure dragged Karen in front of the blue Cure, giving her **that** look.

"It's like Komachi said. I'm sorry I suspected you." Inori and Michiru apologized as well. Especially the latter knew how hard it was to trust someone who was once a danger. It would've been so easy for Saki and Mai to reject them, see them as enemies. And yet they didn't, while she had done exactly that. It was a horrible feeling.

But none of the three held it against them. To some degree, they could understand their fears and worries. It was hard to accept, but Ellen would need to work just a little more to completely erase people's fear of her hymns.

"Let's go back. Miki should be about done with the negotiations, and we haven't decided on an exile runner yet." Inori was trying to redirect everyone's attention to something different, away from suspecting each other. She didn't tell anyone yet that she was thinking of going, just to see what the other team was like.

=== Dissonance ===

Something was wrong. Miki was waiting much longer than usual in front of the gate. Not only that, but the distinct feeling of when the right time to enter had come was missing. Like the negotiation would simply not happen. Was there a problem on the other side?

After about ten minutes of waiting senselessly, she started to feel restless. Walking up and down, her eyes fixed on the gate, almost as if she was trying to open it with her will. Why wasn't it opening? Was it because she had already covered negotiation the day before? But there was no such rule.

The weird singing had stopped halfway while she waited. It was no louder than a faint whisper in the back of her head, easily overshadowed by the sound her boots made on the stone ground with each step. If Beat had tried to do anything bad, she would've done so much closer to the living quarters. After seeing her virtually glued to Peach and Passion, it was obvious to everyone that those three had something going on. She must have thought ahead and ventured far out to prevent what was happening now to begin with.

Her patience was about to hit her limit when the gate finally opened with a loud creaking noise. The light felt unwelcome, different from usual. Stepping through, Miki found herself in the exact same spot as the day before. Except that there was nobody on the other side.

"What's going on?"

Did the other team simply forget to send someone? Had something happened that stopped every single one from attending? Had the gate malfunctioned if that was even possible? Stepping closer to the energy barrier, Miki had to look thrice to really make sure. It was missing. There was no barrier separating the platform. She could move freely in the battle arena without anyone else present.

Without anyone else? That was not quite the case. There was an awful noise in the back of her mind. Something... someone... was whispering to her. Unintelligible gibberish that was no more than moans, groans and hissing. It was worse than a bad toothache. She couldn't focus on the situation at hand.

But it didn't take much focus to realize what was going on. The battle arena. The negotiation field. The exile. Those were fundamentally the same place, only slightly adjusted depending on who entered and when. The entire function must be broken since the negotiation wasn't happening. There was nobody from the dark team after all.

That brought up a very important question. If she couldn't finish negotiations, how would she get out? Getting stuck in exile wasn't exactly something she was looking forward to. Especially not outside an actual run.

Stepping on the spot Yuri had appeared the day before, Miki couldn't feel anything out of the ordinary. There was a faint energy in the air, but it felt so familiar that she doubted it had not always been there.

"What do I do now? Would be handy to have Inori with me right now..." Miki was smart but not good at adapting to situations like now. Both Love and Inori would be a big help to have around now.

The exile effect was already starting to worm it's way into her head. The whisper was growing louder, more obnoxious. At times, she could understand fragments of it. "...not so per..." "..forgotten..." "...pretentious..." "...arrogant..." "...unable to... without... and..."

Shaking her head wildly, she tried to escape from it. If it was like that after just a few minutes, she couldn't imagine what a full day did to a person. Or rather, she didn't need to imagine it. She had seen it. Rose, Setsuna, Beat. Two of them had turned completely insane, attacking people even after they escaped. The other almost killed all of them.

Would that happen to her too? No. She wouldn't stay that long. There had to be a way out. A common fault of hers was to over think simple things. If there was no negotiation... was that even correct? She was present. Before a judge, if only one side of the process was present, the other party automatically lost. So... shouldn't she be able to impose conditions freely now?

Four had fought the last time. To be safe, she decided to keep it that way. "Combatants, four." Miki's voice echoed down from the tower multiple times. There was no reaction. The confirmation from the other party was missing.

Something must have happened on the other side for even Yuri to forget about negotiations. Finding out about that started to look more and more irrelevant as the nagging whispers started to become louder again, now seemingly coming from random directions.

Jumping around, Miki could have sworn there was something behind her, breathing down her neck. Something... she couldn't quite describe. Terrors from the depths of her mind maybe. No matter where she looked, how many times she turned, she couldn't shake the feeling of being followed, about to be attacked. She felt weak. All her fighting power, self-esteem, abilities, they were all useless.

She had to get out of there. Walking over to what used to be the dark teams side, Miki took a deep breath. Maybe, just maybe...

"Participants, four." Her voice didn't echo that time. It got stuck in something. Just as she felt her feet get stuck in the ground. She was slowly sinking into the stone. Eyes widening in terror, Miki felt like she just woke up, standing exactly where she stood before.

Looking down to the ground, she felt something icky on her arm. Slowly turning her head, almost afraid of what she would see, Miki shrieked in horror. Cockroaches, centipedes, worms, all kinds of insects were crawling over her skin. Flailing her arm as hard as she could, the insects got thrown off, flying everywhere.

A warm, wet and inhuman breath was blowing on her neck. Something was there. Something much taller, bulkier, stronger than her. Something with big, razor sharp teeth, a breath that smelled of death. Not the death of herself, not impending danger, but the smell of many a rotten body, of a corpse decomposing. The breath smelled like that, overwhelmingly so. She was getting sick, but her legs refused to move. Her instinct told her "Move and it will eat you."

It smelled her, a big, loud sniffing noise, absorbing the smell of her fear. Something dripped on her shoulder, a liquid that smelled so foul, she could barely stop herself from throwing up. It soaked into her costume, more drops of it falling near her feet.

Miki was shaking, trembling. She had fought Moebius and survived, she had fought many monsters and survived, but nothing in the world could have prepared her for what she felt now. It was no different than throwing an incapacitated hare into the den of a blind, hungry lion, that would follow the smell of the hare, track it down, and then...

How much longer would she be able to stand this? How much longer until it attacked her? Unable to take it anymore, she'd rather face death than be eaten without a fight. Collecting all her courage, she jerked around, facing... nothing. It was gone. The smell was gone, the liquid still soaked in the shoulder part of her costume.

Berry almost screamed in terror when long, slimy tentacles started to move past her, on the ground, above her, right over her shoulder, next to her hips. Each... arm or leg... was gigantic, over two meters thick, with large suction cups. Each arm drenched the ground more and more in the foul liquid she had dripped on her before, the breath reeking of rotten body blowing at her from behind.

Breathing was difficult, moving impossible, just keeping her eyes from frantically moving from tentacle to tentacle almost beyond her. Each drop landing on the ground making a horrible noise, the sliding noise of the arms feeling around driving her insane. Holding her breath seemed like a wise choice. Don't move, make no sound, play dead, pretend to be a stone pillar, whatever it takes to avoid being detected by the monstrous creature behind.

Her chest hurt from holding her breath, her eyes dried up, too scared to even blink, the tentacles moved around her, touched her arms and legs as they slid by. Her skin was itching, but she couldn't scratch, the liquid she thought to be drool burned on her skin like acid, the breath was making her feel nauseous, sick, dizzy.

And then it was finally over. From one blink to the next, the tentacles were gone, the liquid was gone, the smell, gone. Miki exhaled, relieved, frightened still, and took a step forward, lowering her head briefly, her neck hurting. As she looked up, she saw right into hell.

A enormous monstrosity that resembled an octopus was extending it's tentacles around her. She stared down the mouth of the creature, with row upon row of bleak, white teeth staring back at her. The creature moved in to devour her and all she could do was stand there, paralyzed with fear, unable to even scream.

When the teeth buried themselves into her body, her instincts finally took over and she screamed out as hard as she could, as long as she could.

Not until something shook her, something whispered to her, was it that she realized that she was still alive. Looking straight ahead, she saw the face of Marine, who's expression spelled worry. "...ry... berry..." Her voice was so distant at first that Miki didn't realize she was calling her. "Berry, get a grip!"

Her eyes flying wide open, Miki tried to jump up, looking at every single part of her body, trying to make sure she wasn't being eaten by a Kraken. There was nothing. No bite mark, no liquid soaked into her costume, no resident smell of the breath.

Breathing heavily, still frightened, Miki looked around her. She was in front of the gate, back in the living quarters. She only realized now that it had all been a hallucination. At some point, she simply forgot that the exile was tormenting her. It took away the knowledge that it was all a trap, then it wormed it's way into one's mind. "What happened? You were screaming like someone was killing you!"

"I had a little involuntary run-in with the effect of the exile during negotiations... which fell flat because the other side didn't show up."

=== Dissonance ===

"Who... took care of negotiations?" Yuri felt still miserable. Hibiki and Kanade had returned to bed, this time into Kanade's room, for the other one still smelled badly. Rin had fallen asleep on the table, despite all the coffee. Mai, Saki, Honoka and Nagisa were all fast asleep in their rooms.

"Probably... Mai or Honoka..." Kaoru was the last to be awake beside Yuri and she felt just as terrible as the silver Cure. Nozomi had fallen asleep in her chair and was happily drooling while dreaming about a giant donuts.

Going back to silence, Yuri was wondering if Miki had shown up again. She... kind of wanted to talk a little more to her now. She wasn't really as bad as her first impression had made her out to be. Saying stuff like that... maybe it was time to make a decision. She couldn't keep thinking about Momoka the entire time, it would only depress her.

Getting up, feeling sick, and moving slowly towards the bathroom, Yuri found the extraordinary quietness of the area pleasing. Everyone was equally tired, so nobody bothered to make a fuss or play anything. They all wanted more sleep, a quick rest to get over their hangover just in case they had to fight.

The same was true for Ako, who just crawled out from under the blanket, still feeling like she had taken a hammer to the head. Urara, somewhere during their extended sleep, had let go of her and gotten up, fixing her hair while sitting on the edge of the bed. "How do you feel?"

"Horrible... you really didn't-" Ako couldn't quite understand why.

"I told you. I just stripped you because there was no way I would go to bed with someone who smells like puke. Sure, I have a pretty good image of you naked now, but that's about it. There was no reason for me to take advantage of you while you're dead drunk." Looking over her shoulder, an evil grin dominating her face, her eyes told Ako that she thought she could take advantage of her anytime. "Don't make me talk so much so early. Here, drink this."

Passing the black Cure a bottle of water, Ako covered herself with the blanket, unable to stop staring at Lemonade's bare back, and emptied half the bottle, feeling so much better after that. At last her headache was finally down to just a wasp's nest in her head.

"Why me?" Ako couldn't really comprehend why Lemonade was so fixated on her. It was a little bit flattering, sure, but...

"Do I really need a reason? I can make one up if you feel better." Talking without paying any real attention to the girl behind her, Urara finished fixing her hair and turned around, letting Ako get a good view on her naked body.

"There's... always a reason." Staring for a few seconds, Ako averted her eyes, not comfortable with just staring at another girl like that. Speaking from a objective point of view, she couldn't deny that Urara was good looking but... did that mean anything to her?

"I'm not getting into a philosophy argument with you." Turning back around and sniffing her wrist, Urara pulled a painful expression. "I need a shower. Got puke on me apparently."

"What do you want from me then? If you... wanted sex you could-" Ako was still too drowsy and unfocused to properly follow the movement of the yellow Cure. In a matter of seconds, she was pinned down by the girl, who stared right in her eyes. Anyone could have seen that the girl was not comfortable with what Urara was doing.

"See? You don't like this. Why would I force it on you when you're drunk? Not like you would like it any better then. Now give me a break, I need a shower. And maybe get **your** ass over to the showers too, you need one. It's quite a nice ass by the way." Shifting to Cure form, Urara left Ako behind.

"I can't understand her..." Just what did Urara want from her? Her aggressive behavior was hard to deal with, but she didn't mind as much as she first did. That kiss... touching her... she was slowly upping the level of intimacy. But what for, if not to sleep with her? She couldn't imagine that Urara wanted anything more substantial than sex from her. And just wanting that was already a lot, considering she was only thirteen. Her experience with stuff like that was basically zero.

Urara knew that much. On her way to the bathroom, she found the whole grounds to be extremely quiet, something she could appreciate that morning. The situation was spiraling a little out of her control. Sure, she wanted to sleep with the girl, but not if she was going to be mentally scarred after it. There was... just this weird kind of naivety about her, like she had never even dated anyone. What had the Kiryuu's said? Innocent? Maybe that really was the right word for it.

She didn't have things planned this way. She never really wanted to end up sleeping in the same bed without doing anything. It wasn't her style. She didn't have any problem having sex with Marine after all. And now the situation was either go forward or abort. Her pride didn't allow her to break it off, so...

Was it possible she actually liked her? Not just in the sense of her physically being attracted, but liking her emotionally. To tease her, to lead her on... "Too much heavy thinking too soon after drinking." Scratching her inner monolog, Urara spotted a glance of a few others being miserable at the table. Looked like nobody really had that much experience with drinking heavily.

Getting under the shower and washing off the smell of the last night, Urara had time to think. It bugged her, annoyed her, irritated her to the point where she wanted to punch someone. Where exactly did she go wrong? What had started as a decent challenge to get Muse in her bed and sleep with her, was now a mess she wouldn't get out of easily. If she even wanted to, which apparently wasn't the case. It had been a while since that last happened to her. Not knowing what she really wanted.

Thinking about it made clear that there was little doubt about it. She mixed well, at least from her point of view, with Muse so she became interested beyond her original goal. That it had taken her this long to realize this was bad. She was slipping.

Giving up was not an option, but was it really a good idea to put any more emotional investment into it? Muse was good looking, fun to tease, but there was something about her that bugged her. Nothing major, just... like sometimes her behavior wouldn't add up with the rest of her personality and looks. There were people like Nozomi, who never grew out of acting like a kid, and people like Karen, who seem mature almost their entire life. For the bigger part, Ako seemed like Karen in that aspect. And then she acted weird, unexpected.

It could just be a trick to throw her off, maybe. Either way, she had to make a choice about whether she wanted to commit to it, or try to switch paces, sleep with her and be done with it, each going their own way. Considering she hadn't been this interested in anyone for a long time, maybe it was not such a bad idea to try and see where it went. She was clearly the dominating one right now, so if she kept it up, it was still up to her when to break it up.

"Should have thought about this yesterday. I could use a drink now." Urara sighed and turned the small metal wheel to the right, finished with her shower. "Could have saved myself the combing, too. What a shitty morning." Uttering a few curses under her breath, Urara moved herself towards the living room, seeing Muse slowly walk towards the bathroom, the black rings under her eyes visible even from a few meters away.

Yawning loudly, with little regard for the groaning complaints of Moonlight and Windy, Urara sat down on the table, yet didn't reach for the coffee. Both Yuri and Kaoru watched speechless as the yellow Cure took a still half filled glass and downed it. She had survived a lot worse than just this.

"Aren't you up for exile?" Looking at Windy, Urara was amazed at just how badly they were all doing. Didn't they ever go drinking? Urara had said to herself, screw the legal drinking age. It's lower in a lot of foreign countries anyway.

"Yes... on my way." Getting up, emptying her cup one last time, she was kind of relieved to not see Saki and Mai around. She wouldn't be seeing them for a couple of days, and saying goodbye, even for just a few days, was something she didn't deal very well with.

"See you around." Urara waved Kaoru off as she left, changing chairs and leaning down on the table, looking at Rin's face. "Like a hibernating bear. Just as angry, too, when woke up." If others had been in a better condition, she would have woken Rin up just to see the situation unfold.

Arriving at the gateway and waiting, Kaoru exhaled deeply, tightening her resolve. It was easier this way. The gate opened and she stepped through, her surroundings consumed by pitch black darkness. It wasn't particularly cold, yet, she started to shiver. A lack of sleep, leftover alcohol and general uneasiness made a chilly environment a cold one.

Stepping out of the circle, she tried to get her bearings. There was no way to even tell up from below beyond thinking that where she stood on was down. In this place, it wouldn't be a stretch to expect gravity to reverse. Laws of physics didn't always make sense or apply when one was a magical girl. Still, Kaoru held logic and rationality in high regard. It was simply part of who she was.

"I'm forfeiting!" Kaoru shouted into the darkness and focused. She wasn't anywhere as skilled as Bright in energy shaping and manipulation, but she could do a little. Creating a small azure orb, illuminating maybe the next ten or fifteen meters around her, she mimicked her sisters ability to a much lesser degree. Dropping the orb right next to the portal, Kaoru started to walk in a, for her, unknown direction.

It was, for anyone there, unthinkable to just forfeit the chance to avoid being the exile. But only she would have the skill and the knowledge to hide, as the exile, from Mai and Saki, so they would not come into danger of sacrificing themselves. The rule was that one had to stay for six fights, participant or not, before it was possible to change again. With Michiru leaving first, and Kaoru following second, there was no chance for either of them to go and rescue Saki or Mai in case they became stuck.

The obvious and logical conclusion was to eliminate all possibilities of them getting stuck in the first place. Without the interference of the exile, it would always be a straight exchange of team members. Even in the case someone would seek out the exile and try to swap places for some incredibly weird reason, she was smart enough to avoid being seen. If nobody saw or heard of the exile, if she was like air, then there was no way for a runner to become the exile themselves.

The only difficult part was to stay true to that resolution. Of all the people that had changed, Rhythm, Dream, Rouge, Lemonade, White, Black... not a single one of them had been the exile. The best info they had access to was White and what she saw during her run, when Beat had been the exile. Based just on that, it was an extremely powerful psychological torture, personalized depending on who was there. The things that ranged among her worst fears were simple.

The fear of dying, the fear of somehow hurting Mai and Saki, the fear of losing her sister. There were a few primal fears as well. She was surprisingly enough immune to almost all learned phobias of humans, such as fear of spiders, poisonous animals, needles and other very common fears. That, too, could be related to her creation. Those fears could never be learned and she generally found lacking them to be useful.

Of course, like every living creature, there existed things that would frighten her. Something of such incomparable power that the outcome of a battle was inevitable death. The potential loss of her loved ones. Potential mutilation. All of those, too, things that humans were afraid of. It was odd to always refer to such things as if she wasn't human herself. Biologically, genetically and highly likely also on a molecular basis, she was human, just like her sister. They had enough time to test and learn that much. Yet, their inhuman intellect, their sometimes cold rational thinking and their learning capabilities made them in some ways better than humans. And still, the believed themselves to be often the contrary. Worse than those in whose midst they lived.

Humans greatest gift as sentient beings is often said to be not self-awareness or logic but emotion. That was something they were fully capable of but had limited experience. When a normal person was sad over losing their favorite toy, it was hard for those two to understand why they could not buy the same toy again and thus replace it if the old one was nothing but an anchor of memories. If the toy was swapped with an identical one, the person would never know the better, as memories are intangible.

Her thought process came to a halt when she came across an extremely faintly glowing area, in it's midst the previous exile. Getting cautiously closer and erecting a wind shield around herself, Kaoru saw that there was no need to be wary. The exile, Sunshine, was barely conscious. Touching her face or arms, talking to her, moving her limbs, nothing caused a reaction. She was in a completely non-cognitive state. For the exchange to work the way she needed to,bring Sunshine to the other team so the Cure from their side would reach the dark team.

Thinking about it, it was highly odd to not have heard or seen the other runner by now. She must have walked for over ten minutes, easily enough to adapt to the area and come up with a solution. Who the heck was out there?

=== Dissonance ===

"Negotiation fell flat? What do you mean?" Peach had a worried look on her face. It took Miki over half an hour to finally calm down enough to explain what had happened in full. She would never forget that particular experience, though. She could still sometimes hear the tentacles slither over the ground, hear the breathing noise.

"Whatever happened on the other side, it stopped them from attending negotiations. There was simply nobody from the other team. And as soon as I got in, the exile effected me. It took a bit until I noticed it, but it's... horrifying. It's subtle at first. Like, you know it will creep up on you and use your own fears against you. But what we didn't know is that it takes away your knowledge of that. That is what makes it so terrifying. No matter how prepared you are, no matter how many times you tell yourself it's just an illusion... it doesn't matter jack, because the exile takes away your knowledge of that first." Miki was explaining the situation to everyone in the living room.

"There's another problem beyond this." Inori returned to the room, looking grim. "The exile is not working either. I tested it just now and nothing. I decided to change just a few moments ago, but usually, the specific person knows by a feeling when the time is right. I can't feel anything like that. Does anyone else?"

A lot of head shaking and silence. "This is bad." Karen ran several scenarios on the situation through her head but there was not enough evidence for all of them.

"No need to state the obvious. What are we going to do?" Michiru was all but pleased by the situation. If the exile system was broken, Kaoru's part in their plan was at risk. Leaning against the wall behind the table, her eyes made very clear that she couldn't stand sitting still and doing nothing. There weren't many situations where Bright lost her cool, her sister being in possible danger was one of them.

"There is nothing we **can** do. We have no idea how that gate works, and trying to break through walls only to find a barrier at the border is not going to help. We barely know anything about this place."

"Setsuna, can't you teleport over to the other side?" Love was worried about what might be going on there. If it was something severe enough to stop them from attending negotiations, then it must be bad.

"Even if I could teleport in this space, I could end up teleporting into a solid wall because this place is constantly shifting. I don't know where to port to, either. Before those two things, I already tried a while ago to teleport but it doesn't work here. Sorry." Passion let her head hang. After coming back with the others, after hearing Ellen's hymn, they faced pretty dire news. Why couldn't a day just be nice for once?

"So we're practically stuck doing nothing until something happens. I don't like that." Tsubomi was worried about both Itsuki and Yuri.

"They're gonna be fine. They're tough, you know that." Marine whispered to Tsubomi from behind, knowing exactly what she was thinking. A short look from the pink Cure spelled thanks.

"We should still decide who is going to fight today, just in case. Since we don't know how many of us will have to fight, let's just take volunteers for now." Karen picked up the conversation and tried to wrap it up. "Mint and I volunteer. Anyone else?" She didn't need to ask Komachi to make that decision. She knew full well that if she volunteered, Komachi would as well.

"I'm in too." Erika needed more favor for her plans, and the only real way to get it was to fight. Tsubomi refrained from joining the fight, not feeling up to it due to lack of sleep lately. It only ever got harder for Erika to decide what she was going to do. It was pretty clear that her friend was suffering by her being indecisive about whether to confront Tsubomi or not.

"We'll join as well." Luminous and Rose raised their voices. They hadn't been in many fights yet and had their own needs for favor, let alone exile protection.

"Nobody else? Yesterday it was four, so today's maximum number is going to be eight. I don't think it'll happen though. Not with the current arena being like that."

It was hard to just sit tight and endure until the appointed time for the fight. Nobody was in the mood for any games or having fun. Blossom went back to her room to catch up on sleep, Marine, unexpectedly, did the same but for different reasons.

Hikari and Kurumi both stayed in the living room together with Karen and Komachi. Miki wanted some time alone but couldn't shake off Inori, who was too worried to just leave her friend. Love, Setsuna and Ellen returned to Ellen's room to talk about her new hymn.

"What do you think happened on the other side?" Rose was the first to bring up the topic again. "I didn't think it was even possible to just skip negotiations. I expected someone to be chosen at random and just get... I don't know, teleported in maybe."

"I suspect it's like that with the exile, but the current situation speaks against that. Given that Miki was affected by the exile, it's possible she was seen as a runner... but why was she returned then? I wish we knew more about this system. It's hard to even guess at this point." Being the Cure of intelligence meant very little when there were so many unknown variables.

"How about this? Nobody from the other side turned up for negotiation, so the system started the exile... program, I don't know, instead, taking Miki in. But there was still one person missing and it was time for the negotiation, so she was returned after time was up."

"Sounds reasonable. But only if the system is simple enough to break down just because one side messes up. This still doesn't give us a hint what happened to them... Nozomi is on the other side... I wonder if this is her doing."

"I don't want to think about that." Komachi didn't want to imagine the repercussions Dream would face if that were true. "There is probably a good explanation for all of this."

"It doesn't always work like that Komachi. We both know that." Rose wasn't too pleased with the idea that Nozomi was the cause of the issue either, but there was a high likelihood of it being true. She was stubborn and fixated in her ideals. It wasn't out of the question she would do something drastic to stop the fighting.

"Let's calm down. No amount of worrying or guessing is going to get us anywhere." Hikari tried to make peace between the two arguing parties before it got out of hand. She could smell the tension in the air. With everything that happened lately, it was easy to get people on edge.

"I have a bad feeling about this. If we had at least some way to contact the other side, we could make sure of what's happening." Changing the direction of the conversation, Karen tried to keep the peace as well.

"Kurumi, want to help me bake a cake?" Hikari often found that something sweet could raise one's mood quite a bit in stress situations. The suggestion was met with surprise and bewilderment.

"A cake? Now of all times?" What was the girl thinking? They were dealing with some pretty serious topic right now, so it was hardly the time to go and happily bake a cake.

"I like the idea." Karen caught on quickly and gave Kurumi a challenging look. "I guess you're just not up to the task of making a good cake, huh?" Hitting her pride was a surefire way to make her do it. And, just as expected, Kurumi took the bait hook, line and sinker.

"You're on! Let's see who makes the better cake!" Of course the situation at hand was not completely forgotten, but Luminous had a good point. Without a way to find out more, all they would do was slowly grind down their own nerves and patience. It was better to focus on something unrelated and even irrelevant, such as making a cake.

"Wait... I didn't mean..." Karen tried to get out of the challenge now, but Komachi wouldn't let her.

"I like the idea. I want to eat something Karen made herself." And surely, that was the only reason she would back stab her partner, cornering her into committing to her own taunt. "I'll help you. Us two versus the Kurumi Hikari pair? The loser has to make a fancy dinner for everyone."

Karen was glaring at the green Cure from the corner of her eyes. What was she saying? There was no way in hell that they could win that! Kurumi might have been lazy as hell, but she was good at almost everything she did when she tried. And they both had tasted Hikari's cooking more than once already, so why...

It took her a few seconds to get the general idea. If the loser has to make dinner as well, Komachi would get to eat Karen's food twice. If she only had asked, she would have made something for her without it turning into this chaos...

"You sound pretty confident. I hope you know a bit of exotic cuisine, because we're going to win." When it came to food, Hikari could be competitive. Having Nagisa as friend was a big help with that.

"I've never heard someone say cuisine before..." Kurumi was a little impressed by Hikari. The four continued to taunt each other a little, much to the raising desperation of Karen, and in the end, they all headed to the kitchen. They didn't notice that Bright had been watching them from the entrance, concealing her presence.

"They're sure taking it easy. We might be in much more trouble than we know." Michiru wasn't too pleased by their carefree attitude. Going from an important topic to baking a cake was hardly going to solve the problem. They had to come up with a solution. There had been an area, a few days ago, where people from both teams could meet and talk, though a barrier separated them still. Maybe she should go there and see if Kaoru had the same idea, that was, if the area was still around.

"Sneaking around and eavesdropping? How suspicious." Erika, unable to settle down in her room, had taken a little walk and came across the newcomer from the other side. There was no reason to be seriously suspicious, but she supposed she could push her buttons just a little.

"In that case, you're just as suspicious as me, for you did the exact same thing." Michiru didn't even bother to turn around. Her mood was deteriorating quickly, the prospect of Kaoru being in danger making her really tense.

"They're forcing themselves to be carefree to avoid what you're doing." Seeing that Michiru was not the kind of girl that could be poked for a reaction easily, Erika didn't bother anymore. "Getting worried and restless is not going to help."

"Neither is sitting around and baking cakes." Dealing with stress was something Bright was very bad at. Her great intellect and ability to adapt to new situations often let her avoid stress, especially when she was with her sister. Suddenly being without her and unable to even make sure Kaoru was okay was too much to adapt to.

"It helps **them**, that's more than can be said about you worrying." Erika leaned against the wall and watched Bright from a few meters distance. She couldn't really make sense of her. She seemed like an extremely calm person the day before, so what exactly riled her up so badly?

"What about you? You don't look like you're doing anything but worrying either." She wouldn't let Marine talk to her like that. She had her reasons to be worried.

"Not about the situation we're in. The gate is blocked, there is no way to get out, we can't contact the other side and all we can do is wait, so I don't see any reason to stress myself over this." It was none of Bright's business what her actual worries were about. If anyone, she might have talked to Itsuki, but she was on the other side.

Michiru didn't like that answer but she was not about to start internal strife. Mai would lynch her if she got wind of that, and she could literally smell when someone had done something they shouldn't have. "Fair enough." More of an answer was asking for too much.

Leaving Marine behind, Bright walked off, passing the hallway and into the labyrinth. She would look for that meeting area, if it still existed. She couldn't just sit still and do nothing.

Erika was left alone, not sure she wanted to think any more about the relationship trouble she was facing. All things considered, it was likely a bad idea to go after Lemonade. She said it was a one-time thing, too. Which left only her own feelings. Tsubomi was a nice girl, beautiful too. She had known Tsubomi for so long now, Erika knew just about everything about her.

But was she romantically interested? Imagining kissing and making out with her was easy and she liked it, but going beyond that was a little awkward. Having been friends for that long, it was simply a bit odd to view her as anything but the same old Tsubomi now.

But as things were now, it was even worse. She had hardly talked to her best friend in two days, and the situation was constantly getting more awkward by Tsubomi's reluctance and her own indecisiveness. If only it was as easy as simply making up her mind on the spot and going with it. Usually, she could do that much easily, but when it was something as important as potentially ruining her friendship with Tsubomi permanently, that just wasn't an option.

Someone else, who really did simply make up her mind and went with it, was being very pushy that very instant. All three of them back in Beat's room, Love was making Ellen answer all kinds of questions, most of them incredibly trivial. Her favorite food, movie, music and so on. Having just gotten her voice back, Ellen was still a bit on the slow side to respond.

"Slow down Love." Setsuna was very amused by the sight but she had to stop Love occasionally. "You're choking her with questions." Laying flat on her stomach on the bed, completely unimpressed by the problems outside, Setsuna was incredibly happy right now. Ellen had gotten her voice back, and on top of that, sang a very lovely hymn just for Love and herself.

Kneeling on the bed, Love was constantly rocking back and forth, over-excited to finally hear what Ellen sounded like when she talked normally. "Can you explain that hymn to me again?" She had already heard it twice and understood it the first time, but it was just so adorable when Ellen got embarrassed while telling her.

"You're just teasing her now. Don't explain it all over again, Ellen, she just wants to see you blush." Setsuna poked Love's leg and stuck out her tongue. "Go easy on her Love. She hasn't known you long enough to feel when you're just being silly."

"She definitely has known me long enough to kiss me. Right?" Looking at Ellen, who was sitting next to Setsuna, Love moved in and tried to give the black haired girl a kiss. Instead of shying away, Ellen noticed the look from Setsuna and shoved Love back. "You're already rubbing off on her Setsuna!"

Leaning down and waiting for Setsuna to look up, Ellen kissed her instead, making Love pout. "No wonder your segment of the hymn was so powerful. You're a really unique person. And quite pushy. But I really like it." It surprised her just how quickly she was getting used to being with those two. If there was such a thing as fate, she certainly hit the jackpot with them. Still, kissing Love was different from kissing Setsuna. The way she felt about her was different, but not in a bad way. She just wasn't as heels over head for Love as she was for Setsuna. Getting some self-esteem and confidence back through her new hymn and the return of her voice, she felt a lot more comfortable being with those two.

A single kiss was no more embarrassing than sitting next to her. Of course, that was limited to when they were alone. Kissing any of those two in public still turned her into a walking tomato. She had barely returned to sitting upright when Love practically threw herself on Ellen, pushing her down, laying next to Setsuna now. "Love...!" Setsuna had a scolding tone to her voice, feeling she needed to protect Ellen a bit.

"You're no fun Setsuna." Rolling down from the black haired girl, Love pushed herself on top of her older partner. "You'll make up for this, right?"

Wrapping her arms around Love's neck, Setsuna pulled her in close, kissing her so passionately that Ellen could hear the sounds of their lips meeting and parting, their tongues fighting. That was more than enough to make her avert her eyes, blushing heavily.

And that didn't escape the attention of the other two. Exchanging a quick series of looks, Setsuna thought it was too early but Love was pushing for it to see how far Ellen was willing to go. Surprising the girl, Love hugged her from behind while Setsuna approached from the front. Before Ellen could say anything, Love kissed her neck, Setsuna putting her forehead against her younger partner's, smiling for a second, waiting to see if she would show any sign of reluctance and discomfort. There was none. Kissing her, while Love switched to nibbling on Ellen's ear, Setsuna was surprised when the vocalist laid her arms around her shoulders.

That unbalanced the three of them just a bit too much and Setsuna fell backwards on the bed, pulling both Ellen and Love with her. "You two are heavy..." Setsuna gasped jokingly and watched Love press against Ellen's back.

Rolling down from their partner, the three of them all started to laugh at how comical the situation was. It was still very new to them but not nearly as bad as they figured it would be. There were still some issues that presented themselves just as time went on. Like taking a shower. While it was very well possible to go two people into one cabin, three was more than just stretching it. Positions when sleeping, when they ate. And of course, trust. Love suggested that they would never get intimate without all three of them being present.

"Setsuna, I just thought of this, but have you shown Ellen your Memento Mori yet?" Love was curious how Ellen would react to who Setsuna truly was. It might be a little inaccurate to think that her human form was not real, though she really was a denizen from Labyrinth, not a true human.

"You remember how I told you I'm not from earth or actually human? I can still take my original form, if only while I'm under an ability I have as Passion. If you ever want to see what I... I guess used to really fits here, look like before, just tell me. I don't take that form because I connect a lot of bad memories with it, but if you're going to be with me, you have a right to know."

"I don't want you to do it if it'll wake bad memories. I have some of my own, and even though I also connect happy times with my original form, I don't really want to go back. I suppose Love doesn't know about this yet... It's time I told you." Turning about on the bed and facing Love, Ellen was surprised by how serious the pink Cure looked. It wasn't just something she would listen to casually. She understood fully how important a topic it was for her.

=== Dissonance ===

"What do you mean, you didn't go?" Honoka and Mai had returned to the living room after getting a little more rest. Nagisa and Saki were still fast asleep and they didn't see the need to wake them when they were so peaceful and quiet.

Yuri was holding her head in agony, one problem piling up on another. Not only had everyone a bad hangover, no, now there was the issue of who actually attended negotiations. "I assumed one of you, Lemonade or even Muse would go. So who went?"

"Nobody. Take a look. Dream and Rouge were here the whole time. Muse was with me until just a little while ago, and I came here after waking up and taking a shower. If those two and their partners slept, Windy left for exile and it's pretty obvious that neither Melody or Rhythm went either, nobody actually attended." Urara wasn't as calm as she was usually about these things. Screwing with systems put in place by powers so big that they were barely comprehensible was never a good idea. She got burned by a system once and that cost her more than she wanted to admit.

"Is that even possible?" Honoka looked to Mai, then to Yuri. "Doesn't it usually just call someone if nobody volunteers?" The racket they were making was slowly waking up the others at the table, who found themselves confused by the high tension.

"That's the case for the exile I guess. It said so in the rules. But apparently, they didn't think as far as to make it a rule that someone had to attend negotiations." Urara didn't like where the situation was headed. "Windy hasn't come back, so, for now, lets assume that she went into the exile run. That was a while ago. Why has nobody from the other side arrived?"

The others didn't need to say anything, the worry was written in their faces. They had screwed up badly and now they had no idea how dire the situation really was. "What was the worst case scenario for when negotiations fail?"

"All twelve will fight the other twelve, with repercussions to both teams. It hasn't happened yet so we don't know anything beyond that." Yuri's memory was good enough to have memorized something like that. "We had a rule book, where did that go?"

Nobody answered. There were many mysteries to the place they were in, and the number was only ever increasing. Having figured out a few details of the favor system recently, they were now put in a bad spot because they knew next to nothing about all the other mechanisms.

"I'll wake Saki and tell her to stand guard near the portal, in case someone comes through after all." Mai walked off, much faster than just casually walking. She was on edge, understandably so.

"Can we be sure the worst case scenario is going to happen?" Honoka was putting a lot of thought into it. "The rule states that if the two people negotiating cannot come to an agreement if I remember this right."

"That's what it said. I'm not sure if you can interpret this literally, White." Yuri wasn't looking forward to any more trouble than she already had at hand. Catching herself thinking that Miki might be helpful to have around in a situation like this only made her feel worse.

"If negotiation didn't happen, it could have multiple outcomes. First, the worst case scenario where it's treated as negotiation having failed. Second, the conditions of the day before are carried over. Third, It will pick random conditions, which may even violate the rule of who can fight. Fourth, no fight happens at all and the system resets back to normal. Fifth, the system breaks down and we're stuck permanently with no way out. The last one..."

"It's a death sentence. We get by with favor for food and drinks. Without the system and battles, we don't gain any favor, so it's a zero gain situation where we still use up our reserves. We'd starve to death, slowly." Yuri didn't like saying it out loud like that. It was incredibly morbid to even think about it.

"Whatever happens, pick a few people that volunteer to fight. The other side will have noticed that something is wrong by now. If we're lucky, both sides picking volunteers is going to satisfy the system and have those people battle. If we're really lucky, that is." Urara looked over her shoulder as she heard familiar footsteps approach. Was Ako finally done being sulky?

"What's going on? Egret just went past me, looking like something spooked her." Cleaning Urara's room under the pretense of going back to her own, Ako had not caught on to what was going on.

"Nothing much. We're just all possibly doomed to starve to death or engage in full scale war with the other team." Urara's sarcasm was so thick, it was almost tangible. She was also staring at Muse, giving her a good look from head to toe. She really did like her outfit a lot.

The corner of Ako's mouth formed a sharp sideways V as she tried to suppress how annoyed she felt whenever that woman acted like she knew absolutely everything. "Anyone else willing to tell me what's going on?"

"Nobody from our side attended negotiation and nobody from the other side came through the exile run. Come to think of it, I should call Nagisa. She came through yesterday, she'll be able to give us some info on the exile area." Leaving the rest of the Cures behind, White hurried to her room to wake her partner.

Headaches could be ignored if just enough adrenaline from a sudden surge of stress and tension flooded the veins of a body. Dream and Rouge had been listening to the conversation but not said anything until now. Nozomi wanted to speak up, wanted to say she saw something like that coming and that the fighting was wrong to begin with, but Rin physically stopped her, sitting down next to her, one hand grabbing her wrist, her eyes telling her up shut up as she glared at Nozomi.

"What worries me the most is that the other side has absolutely no info on what happened here. If they knew it was just a little screw up because we were dealing with hangovers, they wouldn't worry. This way, they'll assume that something happened to us that stopped us from sending someone to negotiations." She didn't need to say anything more. Instead, Yuri looked at Dream, and that look spoke a very clear and easy to understand language. Anyone who knew of the incident she had caused would suspect her of causing a problem yet again.

"Let's not accuse people, alright?" Rin glared at Moonlight with such intensity that Yuri backed off and Urara seemed a little proud and even impressed. There was obvious malice in Rin's eyes. After Nozomi tried hard to get along with everyone despite hating the situation, she wouldn't tolerate Yuri trying to make her a scapegoat of any kind. And that was exactly the impression Rouge got from the way Yuri had looked at her friend.

In that moment, Honoka returned with Nagisa, who seemed oddly wide awake. Giving everyone present a quick rundown on what the exile area looked like, Muse was the first to comment on it. "If it's complete darkness just like you said, then it might take hours for any runner to arrive on this side. They might even never find the exit if they don't have some kind of ability to light the way. And if the exile starts affecting the runners after some time..." She didn't need to continue that train of thought.

=== Dissonance ===

Kaoru found that adrenaline and physical pain kept her senses sharp enough to withstand the enormous psychological assault. Seeing images, hearing things, the exile was already affecting her harshly. Blood was trickling down her left arm, a minuscule flesh wound keeping the pain strong and fresh. The second she had felt the exile start to affect her, she had taken extreme measures and shot her own arm with a tiny energy blast. It would take time to heal, but at least she could keep going. Dragging Sunshine around was like dragging around a large bag of concrete. She was unnaturally heavy, as if gravity was amplified to three, four, maybe even five times it's normal state. Even with her inhuman natural strength and her Cure powers added, it was a slow and painful process to get anywhere.

And even with all the measures she took, pain, adrenaline, preventing herself from thinking anything unnecessary by bombarding her mind with complex mathematical problems, she still felt the exile. A voice she grew to despise echoed through the very back of her mind.

Akudaikan. His words seemed so natural to hear now, so... true and guiding. They were something she should not question, she should not doubt, simply follow. "You have persisted for so long and now it is finally time for it to pay off. My defeat, your defeat, your alliance with Bloom and Egret, a ruse beyond a ruse, a hidden plan unknown to all until the time was right." She simply couldn't block out his voice. Dropping Sunshine, gritting her teeth, she rammed a finger into her wound, unable to suppress the outcry of pain. A roar of pain shaking her mind, another surge of adrenaline, of pain, of blood. Picking up Sunshine at her right arm, she pulled the yellow Cure over the ground like a bag of potatoes. The girl was like a vegetable anyway, no need to treat her differently. But she had to get her out of there. Then there was no other exile runner. Leaving orbs everywhere and using her powerful speed to check the area, she was absolutely sure there was nobody.

The portal on the other side was inactive as well. There was only one direction she could send Sunshine and that was right back to the dark team. Dragging her further towards the open portal, she realized that no matter how much she injured herself, she would eventually lose in to the psychological warfare. That wasn't something sentient life could fight. But she had a solution she could use that would allow her to escape the exile for at least a few hours.

"Now... kill the girl. She's the first stepping stone for my return. All your actions, all your decisions, they were all predetermined. A trick to gain true trust needed for true betrayal and victory of Dark Fall." Such lies. She was in enough pain to be able to still tell they were lies. What a horrifying fate it would be to not know and believe what she was hearing. That she was still undercover, still an agent for dark fall, plotting their victory half a decade after their defeat still. It seemed so easy to believe and there was no proof to deny it. A truly terrible masterpiece of horror. If every exile went through that, it didn't surprise her that Sunshine turned into a mindless doll. It was the only form of protection most of them had.

"You have done well Kaoru. Michiru will be most pleased with her sister. You two are my finest creations, above and beyond humans, those foolish creatures that throw trust and loyalty around like they're nothing. You know where your true loyalty lies, you always knew. For you could never oppose your creator. You're a tool to our ultimate victory, and you are designed to serve. You always were. Why do you think you only have limited emotion, limited understanding of the human psyche? Because you only needed that much to complete your mission of course. Now... **kill the girl.**"

Kaoru's blood was boiling with anger when she realized her hands were tightly wrapped around Sunshine's throat, strangling her with all her power, quiet but desperate coughing coming from the helpless girl in front of her. Her hands wouldn't obey her. She was so close. A few more meters. Just a little more... and she could kill her... no, that wasn't right... she wanted to... kill Mai and Saki... no!

Her mind was chaos, her body torn between obedience to her master... creator... no, her enemy... and her own... own... she was a puppet... puppets don't have... she wasn't a puppet. Kaoru had never felt rage like that before. Unable to control her thoughts, her actions, to be at the mercy of her inner terrors was something so outrageously unacceptable that it flooded her mind with rage. Letting go of Sunshine and beating her own head against the ground, her fists hammering on the hard stone, she got up in an act of desperation, grabbing Sunshine and lifting her high of her head, eager to throw her down, break her, kill her. Her left arm hurt enough to drive her insane, the pain ten times worse than any other she had ever experienced. With her final resolution, she killed... no... threw Sunshine into the circle gateway that lead back to the dark team. With a loud gasp, the yellow Cure almost bounced off the ground. A last look, "Stormflair," and both Windy's consciousness and Sunshine were gone.

=== Dissonance ===

"It's not a good sign that she came back to this side." Yuri felt like the situation was getting out of hand more and more. Itsuki coming back to their side was a problem. Not only because she had voluntarily left, meaning she had a reason to want to get away, but also because it meant there was only one possible outcome of the exile run. Whoever tried to switch from the light side got stuck and Windy got through, not knowing anything since she left before they noticed the problem.

"Her condition is a bigger problem than that." Nozomi had, despite her nature, studied a bit of psychology in preparation to becoming a teacher. She took her own dreams very seriously. "She shut herself off from all outside factors. You could likely break her arm and you would only get screaming and whimpering, primal reactions, nothing else. She's traumatized and her body must have shut down her mind in order to protect her life. Whatever happened to her in exile, it was bad."

"So how do we get her to wake up?" Yuri still couldn't stand Nozomi one bit. Deep down, she still wanted to punch her hard, but she was an adult. There was a limit to how selfish she could act.

"We don't. If her body notices she's out of danger, she'll wake up. Hopefully it won't be long. Honestly... this is worse than getting hurt in a fight. Physical injuries heal a lot quicker than a scarred mind." Nozomi couldn't look at Moonlight or Saki, the only two that were together with her in Sunshine's room.

"It's a few more hours until the next fight. I hope there won't be any more bad surprises for any of us." Yuri was still fighting a bad headache now that the first peak of stress was overcome and everyone was settling down a bit. The exile run was officially over with Sunshine's return. Hibiki in particular took the news badly, knowing that it was her fault that Itsuki left in the first place.

The pink Cure was busy moping, Kanade at her side, trying to talk some sense into her partner. No amount of logic telling her that it wasn't really her fault that Itsuki got stuck in exile would help her feel better. The other runner, the exile, the area, her own decisions... all of these factors played into her becoming the exile and the way she was now. Hibiki got only a glimpse of the almost zombie like Sunshine before they carried Itsuki into her room, only Moonlight and Dream going inside together with Bloom.

"No matter what happened in there, the reason she left must be because I chose you over her. It's directly my fault." Back in her room, Kanade the only person she could tolerate close to her, Hibiki was wallowing in guilt.

"Moping around over it is not going to change that or make her feel better Hibiki." It was quite disheartening for Kanade to see the otherwise so energetic and happy girl like that. Eyes half closed, head lowered, not the tiniest trace of a smile on her face no matter what Kanade did.

Of course there was always the chance to get stuck and become the exile, yet... she felt responsible, no matter what Kanade or anyone told her. It was just in her nature to feel like that when someone she had been so close to turned into a mere shell of their former selves just like that, caused by a decision made because of a decision she made beforehand.

"I just need some time to cool off..." Hibiki wouldn't feel that guilt forever. It was just a natural reaction to seeing Sunshine and hearing about her condition. Eventually, she would go back to her old self. It wasn't something that would haunt her forever.

"If you get any cooler than this, you'll turn into a snow woman." Kanade wasn't happy at all, both that Itsuki got back and that Hibiki acted like the yellow Cure's current condition was entirely her fault. Kanade couldn't bring herself to really shove the blame for that on Sunshine, though. It would be unfair and inhuman to do so.

"Want me to leave you alone for a bit?" Kanade couldn't stand seeing Hibiki like that. She was already getting up when her partner grabbed her hand, holding her back.

"Don't go. I feel like I'm going to start crying if you leave me alone with this. And you know I hate crying." Hibiki held firmly on to Kanade, who returned to the bed, hugging her partner from the front, the pink Cure's head resting against her chest. "Thanks."

For all they argued and fought, they were always there for each other when it counted. No matter what she was thinking, what she wanted to say, Kanade would never start to argue with Hibiki in a situation like that. She wasn't happy that Sunshine turned into a vegetable either! The woman, even though she had stolen Hibiki from her for a short time, was still the reason they got together in the first place.

Slowly petting her head, Kanade felt some of the guilt that Hibiki felt. Like she, by herself, had caused her condition. Even though they both knew it wasn't truly her fault, there was no way she could just accept that and forget what she saw. Human minds didn't work like that.

The outside had gone from hectic to depressed. Seeing someone coming in from having been the exile for the first time was devastating. Honoka and Nagisa had seen it before, and of course, Honoka felt guilt creep up to her as well, ten times worse than Melody. After all, she left her out there, saving herself and Beat instead.

"It hurts to see what happened to her. But my only other choice was to take her place... if I even managed to bring up the strength to get her out. I couldn't possibly leave Beat in there... comparing Sunshine to her is like comparing a smashed ant hill to the meltdown of a nuclear power plant." Honoka had trouble dealing with the guilt she felt. Her conscience told her she was a horrible person for causing Sunshine to become like that, her intelligence saying the opposite, that it was the right choice. She was strong and possibly dangerous if she became the exile. Not to mention, Nagisa would be badly affected as well.

"You don't need to explain yourself to me Honoka. I left her there too, even after I saw her like that." Nagisa didn't feel as bad as Honoka visibly did, but she still didn't like seeing those that came back from exile. Passion had been really bad... Milky Rose too. Beat had been the worst danger of them all. Comparing to that, Sunshine was completely harmless.

The two of them were sitting a little outside the living grounds, Mai and Saki providing company. They didn't want to be completely alone with their guilt and right now, they were little support for each other.

"It's always going to be hard to justify something like that, for everyone. And we still have to live with it. I'm afraid of the time I will have to make a decision like this. It doesn't change that nobody can or should blame you for it. No matter who gets left behind... there is always going to be one that suffers and two people will be responsible for it." Mai's words were a little morbid, and how could they not be in a situation like that. Pretending to be cheery would only make it worse.

"It's funny how our minds work. I didn't feel the crushing guilt like this when I just thought about her being the exile. Seeing it for myself, knowing I'm responsible, was a bad blow." Honoka leaned back, against a wall, and looked upwards, towards the high ceiling of the hall they were in.

"You know you shouldn't feel like this. If you hadn't left her, who knows what would have happened if you had become the exile? I don't want to imagine..." Saki had little idea of what people could turn into after they had been the exile. But even that little was enough to make her afraid of Honoka as exile.

"There are two sides to the exile. The one suffering because they're stuck, and the ones suffering because they're responsible for whoever is stuck." Mai wasn't sure if it would help Honoka if she said that. She wasn't used to dealing with the clever scientist being sulky.

"This doesn't even count as suffering. Mai, do you know what the most horrifying thing is I ever saw?" Honoka had a gloomy look about her. She remembered that sight like no other before. It would never leave her, a statement to what waited for her out there, in the solitude of the exile.

Mai kept quiet. It was a simple rhetoric question that she didn't need to answer. She had the distinct feeling that she really didn't want to hear what Honoka would tell her, though.

"We faced the dark king... Nagisa and I faced almost certain death. And yet, what I saw then doesn't even come close to this. When I went into exile to stop Beat, I got a brief glimpse at her face as she was singing. No matter how I would word it, it'd never do justice to the sheer horror I saw in her face. That was the face of someone who had what they loved most taken from them, corrupted and then forced to use it to kill. It was the equivalent of you or me using our partners in cold blood as slaves to kill innocents, slowly dying, ourselves, in the process." What shocked Mai the most was not the depiction of what Honoka said but the look in her eyes. Fear. She had never seen Honoka, or anyone, that frightened of something.

"It's different for each person except for one thing. It confronts you with the worst horrors you can imagine... or maybe worse yet." Nagisa had tasted just a bit of it when she passed through the exile. She couldn't imagine what staying in there for two days straight would do to her. She'd go insane for sure.

The mood of the entire team had gotten gloomy. It wasn't the best time to solve her problems, but Urara didn't like waiting. Opening the door to Ako's room, she found the girl laying in her bed, half asleep, half thinking. Sitting down on the bed edge, still unnoticed, Urara, grinned. "Hey, sleepyhead."

Almost jumping up, Ako calmed down significantly when she found out it was only Lemonade who had come in. Which, seconds later, she found very odd. She felt... relieved that it was just Urara and not someone else. Was she starting to trust her? Staring at the wall on purpose instead of looking at the pushy girl, Ako didn't bother greeting her. "You forgot something?"

"Depends on whether you count as a thing." Looking over her shoulder, Urara paid great attention to everything she felt when looking at her, talking to her. At first glance, her guess seemed correct. That wasn't exactly how she felt when looking at someone she just wanted to fuck and leave.

"I don't belong to you." Ako turned around and now faced the wall naturally. Should she chase her out? Come to think of it, why hadn't she done that before? Why exactly did she tolerate Urara when she would have chased off everyone else right then?

"Why not? Who knows, maybe you'd even like it." Testing the waters was important.

"I'm not something you can just win over and keep as a trophy." Ako didn't like where the conversation was going. What was Urara getting at?

"So, let's cut the unnecessary bullshit. You're smart, you'll figure it out anyway. Sure, I went after you thinking you'd make a nice challenge but I enjoy this more than winning you over and sleeping with you." Honesty was a really powerful weapon and she deployed it with so much confidence that there was no doubt about her words.

"What are you getting at? What is the **this** you're talking about?" Ako tried to back off a little but there was little room. She was starting to feel uncomfortable with the direction the conversation was taking.

"Fine, you want me to spell it out for you. Been a while since I used those words though, so don't make a fuss if it comes out wrong." Moving around a little and looking at the girl on the bed from head to toe, Urara's words came out without any reluctance.

"Why... why... who the hell would go out with you?" Furiously blushing, she didn't know what else to say. She had never been really asked out before. Not like there was anyone to begin with!

"Just the reaction I expected. You're one of those, right? You always act cold, but you're not actually that much of an ice queen." Grabbing Ako's right hand, Urara pulled her up, into her arms. Looking into her eyes, a smug smile played around her lips before she kissed Ako.

_She couldn't let that happen to her again! Not this time!_ That was her train of thought, but she did nothing. A gentler kiss than before, no tongue, no attempts to feel her up or anything. The amber eyes of the yellow Cure were half open, thinking to prolong the kiss until she felt a sign of resistance.

That sign would never come. Ako couldn't stop herself from giving in to the almost unknown sensation. She had never really kissed anyone like that before, and that one surprise kiss by Urara a while ago didn't count. Her first kiss... contrary to her personality, to her behavior, the songstress was acting careful, gentle, maybe even a little passionate.

Breaking off when Ako's blush seemed to have reached it's apex, Urara caressed her right cheek before kissing the same spot briefly and getting up. "Think about it. You might not want to admit it, but we mix pretty well. I really liked spending the night with you by the way. I'd love to do so again tonight." Turning around and about to leave, Urara was stopped by Ako's voice.

"Why me?" That same question again to which she hadn't gotten a real answer.

"The answer is the same. If that doesn't satisfy you... I guess you could say that I'm attracted to your personality more so than to your body. There's no way to rationalize the reasons why you like someone that way." A much softer answer than before, Urara sighed, looked at the shaken but looking oddly content Muse and left.

She had barely closed the door before slapping her forehead with her right hand. That went not like she wanted or expected at all. What the heck was she doing? She wanted to see what Muse felt, wanted to make sure she really did like her, not **ask her out**! That girl had a bad influence on her... whenever she was involved, all plans went overboard.

What was done was done. It probably would have ended in a similar way anyway, even without her soft side showing. That was something she kept concealed at all times, the last tiny remainder of who she used to be. Urara the idol was long dead and only a tiny part of her personality lived on in the new Lemonade.

Deciding she needed a drink, Urara headed back to the living room, only to find Nozomi and Rin there. "Done caring for Sunshine?" Everyone would have their turn as the exile sooner or later anyway. Urara didn't see the purpose of feeling terrible over every single person that ended up there. She'd never get done feeling miserable that way.

"Have a little sympathy Urara. She might not be close to us, but she's still a Cure." Nozomi wasn't feeling well after having seen Sunshine like that. Rin was providing company to her so she wouldn't feel lonely. Also to keep a tab on what she was doing, so she didn't get any ideas.

"Yes, yes, I feel so bad. I'm sorry Nozomi, but I can't be bothered to feel down over everyone that comes out of exile. I might feel sorry for cases like Passion and Milky Rose, but this is pretty harmless. I think she got off easily." Urara started to stagger the second she tried to sit down. Something was in her head, like a swarm of hornets wrecking havoc. Her eyesight went blurry with red and black, her hands clenched to fists against her will. She was familiar with the effect, quite well actually. That was what the red light did to the combatants. But this was slightly different. Mixed in with the heightened battle desire was uncontrollable rage. One hand covering half her face, the other punching the table so hard that she broke part of it, Urara screamed.

Worse yet, Rouge was about to jump on her, fire claws ablaze on her fists, her face distorted by rage and anger. It was impossible to think straight. Wrapping a chain around Rouge's throat, Lemonade hung her from the ceiling. Dream, where was Dream?

Gone. There was no a single trace of her. What Urara noticed now was that it wasn't her vision that had gone red and black. The red light was a red mist, and the living grounds were full of it, dimming the light, drowning everything in bloody light and deep shadows.

"**Stay in your goddamn rooms!**" Barking a single order was enough to warrant every last shred of her will power. Staggering towards the hallway, Urara barely managed to resist strangling Rin to death. Hatred was flaring out of nowhere, the desire to just destroy and inflict pain, the ultimate height of aggression and blood lust.

She couldn't think. Trying to direct her aggression towards something that wasn't alive, she started smashing a hole into the wall, trying to bury the thought that the increasing heat was Rouge fighting her imprisonment.

A loud explosion signaled Urara that there was someone else outside. Turning about, unable to resist the permanent influence of the red mist even a little, she was hit by half the wall, shattered by White coming right through it, an insane looking Egret right behind, her hand tightly wrapped around the other white Cure's throat. Not stopping, Egret pulled White with her along the wall, grinding her against the wall. Lemonade was about to step in and get her own share of violence when Black jumped through the hole, suddenly head to head with Lemonade.

Taking a brutal hit to the face, Urara was flicked through the air like a rag doll. No thoughts, only primal battle desire. A dozen chains extending and hitting Black, wrapping themselves around her legs, she was smashed four, eight, a dozen, twenty times against the walls without break, hard enough to leave small impressions of the woman in the stone.

The chains vanished as Lemonade's back was set on fire, long claws piercing her shoulders. A roar of pain and anger later, Rouge was beaten into the ground with a tremendously hard punch by Black, who was heavily injured.

Another explosion further down the hall send stones flying at the three fighting Cures. Egret and White, both bleeding heavily and staring at each other with a wrath distorted face, came running down the hall, firing azure and white colored energy orbs at each other, destroying the walls and the ground.

Just as they were about to crash into the other three, several things happened at once. Egret and White jumped at each other, starting a grappling match of who could choke the other first, Lemonade jumped up and used chains as whips, hitting everything in her vicinity with the force of a pistol shot, Rouge and Black's punches clashing, causing a ground shaking impact as they collided.

Egret kicking White off and using Rouge as stepping stone, got right up to Lemonade and kicked her in the chest, sending her flying into the ceiling. White was, at the same time, trying to defend herself from a storm of hits by Black.

Rouge didn't even think about vengeance, she simply went for the nearest target in reach, which was Black. Slashing at her with her claws, the black Cure backed off from White, who jumped up, grabbed Rouge by her ankle, using her as a throwing weapon against Egret and Lemonade, who exchanged a series of kicks and punches without any kind of defense.

Jumping at her partner, White's right hand reached Black's face and a massive energy blast knocked the black Cure right off her feet, sending her flying over twenty meters through the air, right into the wall at the end of the hallway.

But that came not without a price. Rouge separated the yellow and the white Cure, the latter landing right on Honoka's back, crushing her, stomping her into the ground. A single back-flip into the air, Egret stomped on her a second, a third, a fourth time until there was nearly half a meter difference in the level of the ground around White and below White.

Rouge found herself tied up so tightly that she was unable to breathe, her bones and flesh slowly giving in. Lemonade clenched her fists so hard that her fingernails cut into her own flesh, blood dripping down from her hands, the chains unforgiving maiming the red Cure who was on the verge of losing consciousness.

Egret turned to the last standing enemy as Rouge pulled a desperation move, wild flames consuming everything around her, reaching high in the hundreds of degree's of Celsius. Unwilling to let go of the now wildly burning Rouge, Lemonade used her friend like a piece of log, smashing her against the approaching Egret, who suffered horrible burns from the brief contact. The fire had climbed up from the chains in the meantime, Lemonade somehow trying to put out the flames that were now burning her worse with every second. Panicking, the chains vanished and the yellow Cure jumped around, unable to form any coherent thought. Smashing herself into the wall and burying herself with dust that put out the flames was both the end of the fire and her consciousness.

The situation was just as bad as that on the light side. The red mist leaked into the living grounds so thickly that it felt like breathing air with a hundred percent humidity. Berry had driven Aqua into a corner, both of them blind with rage, worse than primitive animals protecting their lair. Neither had any sense for defense, punching and kicking until they were pushed away by the impact. Clenching her fist, Miki jumped into the air, concentrating energy similar to her Spade Impact into her hand, hitting Aqua in the face, the water Cure's nose breaking and her body bouncing off the ground.

Jumping on top the still conscious blue Cure, Berry started to hit her face like a whirlwind, pure physical punches, slowly transforming Karen's face into a mess. Interrupted after about twenty hits in a matter of five seconds, Berry was virtually blasted through the wall by an energy impact from behind, Bloom attacking even though there was a series of large cuts all over her body, a steady trickle of blood hitting the ground wherever she stood.

Bright was cut again just as she finished her attack, Pine moving about like a lightning bolt, almost impossible to see. The yellow Cure no longer her main target, Berry and Aqua too were cut whenever Pine happened to be in range after another flashing move.

The four of them all in one place, Luminous stood about a dozen meters behind them, creating a literal wall of light in front of her, swinging her arm once and pointing in the general direction of the others. A hailstorm of bright energy orbs hit the spot the other four Cure's were at, causing monumental damage, destroying walls and ground alike, causing burns and flesh wounds. The hail never let up, continuing on like a infinite meteor shower.

Luminous saw Bright sucking up the damage and still approaching slowly while the energy hail whittled away at her strength. Not even thinking about defense, she started to fire off six different orbs at a time, most of them soaring right past Bright but some hitting, dealing even worse damage than the hail.

But Bright was way too tough. Making it through the full hail, she jumped out of it and grabbed Luminous by her face and hammering her backside first into the ground about a dozen times before the energy hail finally vanished and the yellow Cure spit blood. Standing up and aiming at her right arm, Bright stomped on it a single time so hard that the ground around the two shook like during an earthquake. Luminous screamed out in pain as the bones in her right arm were shattered.

But that victory came not without a price. Aqua, though her face deformed and her whole body covered in heavy bruises, first pierced Bright's shoulder, then both her legs with her water floret. The next hit vent right through the entirety of Bright's lower arm, entering through the approaching fist and exiting through the elbow, before the physical attacker hit her chest so hard that the blue Cure was flipped off the ground like paper in a tornado. Hitting the ceiling and falling down, Karen didn't move as much as a finger.

Pine and Berry were just about finished. Pine's blade was stuck in Berry's cheek, a two centimeter opening showing the inside of her mouth while the blue Cure was grabbing both of the yellow Cure's arms. Lifting her up, Pine letting go of her small blade, Berry whirled her around, smashing her against walls and the ground repeatedly, before finally pressing her on the ground, putting her left boot on Pine's chest while she tried to pull both her arms out of their sockets.

The yellow Cure lost consciousness after two seconds of Berry trying to do that but the blue Cure didn't stop until the gravely wounded Bright came walked over and grabbed Miki by her throat, lifting her up. Several well aimed kicks at Michiru's face later, Miki was smashed into the ground, right next to Pine, hard enough to make her pass out. Bright toppled over herself, unable to move anymore.

Both of those skirmishes were bloody and fought without even the tiniest sympathy. They just wanted to destroy, to kill everyone around them, and after that, continue to wreck havoc. Their mind was completely made up of aggression.

Even worse were those off that got teleported away. Randomly placed in the fighting zone were Dream, Moonlight, Melody and Bloom for the dark team as well as Marine, Blossom, Mint and Milky Rose for the light team. None of them had the luxury of just breathing in red mist along with air. The entire arena was sky high filled with red mist so thick, it was impossible to see further than about two or three meters ahead.

But that was enough for Dream and Blossom to see each other and start a brawl. The area changed from a big tower into a enormous multi-level labyrinth, alike to what the rest of the castle looked like, Nozomi and Tsubomi had a small room all to themselves.

Dream was the first to act, the red mist completely overriding any and all resistance she could have brought together. Jumping at Blossom, grabbing her by her long hair and whirling her around like a morning star, the younger Cure was brutally thrown around, helplessly until she managed to bury her fingers into the hard wall, ignoring the stinging pain on her head, some of her hair ripping, to whirl Dream into the air. Jumping up, grabbing her arms, turning her over and pushing down her neck on her right shoulder, Tsubomi hit the ground from over ten meters height, the impact shaking Dream hard enough to make her vision turn double.

Not too far away from them were Mint and Melody, facing each other, or rather, running from each other. A single hit was all Mint needed to completely crush Melody inside a rapidly closing barrier, killing her, and if she got hit by Melody's explosive punches, she'd lose more than just a bit of flesh and blood. Jumping out of the way, Hibiki rushed straight past the green Cure, hitting a wall with enough force to pulverize it. Not waiting for anything, she jumped high up at the ceiling, pushed herself off and slid over the ground, avoiding three barriers, leaving behind huge holes at each spot.

Their match was disturbed as the entire ground below them vanished in a near nuclear explosion. Shooting straight through the hole and passing past the green and pink fighters were Rose and Moonlight, aiming at each other with enough volatile energy to destroy the room and everything in it. "Midnight Realm Empress!" Yuri's voice was more screaming than anything else. "Abbadon!" An enormous amount of silver energy blades emerged from Yuri, clashing with countless razor sharp metal fragments in the middle of the room. Both Mint and Melody suffered heavy damage from the collateral of those attacks, the ceiling in the room above the shattering by the clash once again, Rose and Moonlight vanishing from their sight.

Losing not a second worth of time, Mint created a series of barriers all around Melody, leaving her unable to escape. "Concerto Scoppio!" The barriers around the pink Cure shattered in one giant blast, Mint was deafened by the attack, the shock wave of all the barriers breaking at once pushing her against the wall. Melody, enduring the backlash from the barriers without second thought, spit out the blood in her mouth and rushed at Mint, who was too slow to successfully get away. Creating a five layered barrier right in front of her, Melody showed no signs of breaking off her attack.

"Sinfonia Rovina!" Hibiki concentrated so many notes around her fist that they enlarged her whole arm by double it's original size, her now enormous fist hitting the fist barrier, all of the notes flowing through the hole and exploding simultaneously. The blast knocked Melody off her feet, originally designed as a range attack, Mint pushed through the weakened wall, falling down another level. Hibiki, the backlash of the five layer barrier having broken her right arm in multiple spots, hesitated not to follow down, only to run straight into another on-going battle.

In the worst possible moment, Mint hit the back of Bloom, who was just about to finish to connect a deadly looking energy punch with Marine's face. The impact throwing her off and missing, the ground was shattered once again, Melody still in pursuit, now Bloom closer to her than Mint. Instead of attacking Marine, Melody hit Bloom in the face with another energy punch, destroying the backside of her costume and sending her falling down with the rest of the debris.

"Maelstrom!" Marine's voiced announced the next calamity to come upon those four. Blue energy spread out over the width of the room, starting to turn rapidly, like a tornado or whirlpool. Being thrown around by the enormous force, they didn't notice the shock waves reaching them from above, a battle of a different level taking place there.

Blossom was high in the air, trying futilely to escape from Dream's vicious assault. Another swarm of pink butterflies surrounded her, Dream clenched her fist and they exploded with the force of dynamite, ripping Tsubomi's costume to shreds. Dropping down, she didn't even have time to scream in pain, Nozomi grabbed her ankle and using her like a flail, laughing crazy, a completely berserk animal. Letting go of Blossom, jumped after her and tightly gripping her throat, Dream was swiftly kicked off by the younger Cure. Aiming roughly in her direction, Blossom fired a volley of pink orbs at her adversary, only two of the bunch connecting.

Nozomi landed on all fours, refusing to let Blossom out of her eyes. The red mist obscured their view badly, but they could almost feel where the next living creature was, and that was their only target. Rushing at her enemy, Blossom did the same, the two colliding in the middle of the room, both their punches connecting with each others face, Nozomi feeling part of her jaw crack, Tsubomi's nose giving in from the impact.

Not backing off, they hit each other again, Nozomi's next hit connecting with Tsubomi's right eye, Blossom managing to hit the side of her head, staggering the older Cure. Going down and using a swift kick, Blossom didn't expect Dream to be as agile as she proved to be. Turning over in mid-air, Dream used her hand to push herself off the ground, above Blossom, kicking her into the back, grabbing her hair and pulling her down. Landing her her knees, Dream moved back a little, ramming her left knee right into the crook of Tsubomi's left elbow, an enormous surge of pain cutting through Blossom's body.

About to pull her right arm up and break it, the ground below them gave in, Marine's maelstrom catching up with them. It was one gigantic free for all brawl now. The first to launch an all out attack without consideration for her own safety was Dream. An ludicrous amount of pink butterflies mixed with the maelstrom, the whirl turning into one massive explosion upon activation. Each Cure was thrown against the walls, below them a hole of at least fifty meters. Bloom, her whole face covered in blood, giving her an insane look even worse than before, managed to get a hold of Marine just before they were thrown away by Dream's attack.

Bloom didn't care that they were falling and picking up speed fast. Holding Marine in a headlock she absolutely couldn't break, the blue Cure's survival instinct kicked in. Collecting as much energy in her hands as she could, she put on her own stomach, Bloom's chest right behind her smaller body. "Marine Gungnir!" The energy burst right through Erika, shredding her costume and making her cough up a large amount of blood, but the effect on Bloom was even worse. Instead of piercing her, the energy exploded as soon as it hit her, the impact trashing Marine into a nearby wall, knocking her out flat. Bloom, her eyes blank and body limb, dropped to the ground like a bag of potatoes, hitting the ground hard enough to shatter several of her bones.

None of the others paid any attention to what happened to those two. Melody and Dream had been catapulted to the same area and were now engaged in a match of endurance, Dream taking Melody's punches without defense, Melody taking three times as many but weaker hits from Dream. Only Hibiki's left arm was still functioning, Dream mercilessly abusing that by hitting two out of three times the weak spot, sending surges of pain running through Melody's body. Barely a minute had passed when they separated, Melody staggering from pain, her vision so bad that she was seeing two and a half Dreams. Nozomi could barely breathe and stand, Melody having broken more than just a couple of bones.

Their quick break was interrupted by Mint, who had been kicked right over the wide chasms by Blossom. None of the three managed to get out of time before the flower Cure flooded the entire space with cherry blossoms. "Poena Flora Mundus!" With a sharp sting, Blossom felt every little drop of energy drained from her, the petals changing form, merging, duplicating, splitting, Dream, Melody and Mint getting caught up in a nightmare of extending roots, razor sharp leaves, vines and deadly poisonous flowers.

The three vanished into a floral oblivion just as the battle of the two giants got taken down to where Blossom was. Rose came crushing through a wall near her Poena, smashing into another wall close to her. A second later, a myriad of silver energy blades hit the area, cutting Tsubomi's long hair, her costume and her body all at once. The surge of pain combined with the lack of energy was too much. Toppling over, already unconscious, she fell down into the chasms to where Bloom was.

Moonlight stood up above, inside a hole in the wall, Milky Rose glaring at her with obvious killing intent. Both of them had their attention redirected when the chaotic attack of Blossom was decimated by an enormous pink explosion, Dream, roots still piercing her arms and legs, slowly staggered forward, both Mint and Melody knocked out in the now burning chaos.

Dream was hardly a threat with all her injuries, at least in the eyes of the animals that were fighting each other. Kurumi was the first to make a move, creating an enormous metal blade in her right hand, like a katar with the handle removed, acting like an extension of her arm, jumping at Moonlight. The silver Cure responded with a weapon on her own, lifting her right hand in the air above her head, towards where the Moon would be if this space had one.

Silver energy, emitting from her body, quickly formed into a long shaft, almost twice as long as she was tall, a split, curved blade at it's top, a deadly glaive. Both blades clashed with enough force to shatter the wall around them, the shock wave making their hair whirl around, their eyes fixed on each other with pure blood lust. They completely ignored the badly wounded Dream, who could barely move, let alone fight.

Backing off into a room with more space, Moonlight parried each hit of Rose's hand blade with her glaive, maintaining a healthy distance of about a meter between them. Swinging horizontally, Kurumi couldn't block the crescent moon shaped blade of the weapon and had to duck. No matter the rage, survival instinct would always override everything else. Another swing, aimed lower, Kurumi got high in the air and struck at Moonlight, who parried with the lower end of the shaft.

Continuing to strike wildly at Moonlight, the silver Cure was forced back slowly. Her weapon gave her reach and power but Rose was even in power and had higher agility if much worse reach. Parrying the last hit, Yuri jumped away, lifting the glaive over her head. "Crescent Moon Buster!"

The ground and the wall turned to dust right around Kurumi, who had protected herself with a cocoon of metal, her Abbadon re-purposed for defense. Dropping down, Moonlight was still on the upper level, holding onto the wall, waiting to recover. The silver light had flooded the room and simply annihilated everything it touched. Rose's defense was too much to destroy entirely but the walls and the ground were completely gone.

Kurumi was about to launch a counter offensive when she was grabbed from behind. Dream was still conscious and had just so happened to be right below where Moonlight destroyed the floor. "Rose Garden Sacrifice!" Moonlight tried to escape but didn't manage to get far enough away in time. The entire area was bathed in pink light for a few seconds, Dream dropped to the ground motionless just after it was over.

Kurumi was still standing but there was no light in her eyes. Slowly falling over to the ground, her body gave in without a consciousness to command it to stand up. Falling flat on her face, the purple Cure showed no sign of fighting.

Moonlight's glaive was gone, the horizontally tilted crescent moon barrier in front of her riddled with holes, slowly falling apart. She was the last one standing but could barely move, about to fall, no longer capable of holding onto the wall.

The red mist dissipated just as Moonlight fell, completely exhausted and beaten. The last kamikaze attack by Dream had caught her off guard. The battle was finally over, leaving behind enormous destruction and pain.

=== Dissonance ===

The first to open her eyes was Blossom, unable to comprehend where she was and how she had gotten there. Her head was full of memories she would have loved to forget. She was in her room, thinking about Erika, when she was all of a sudden dropped into a room filled with thick, red mist.

It only took a few seconds for the mist to completely override everything she was thinking. There were no thoughts, only memories of the actions of a wild, undomesticated beast following it's blood lust. For a human, a Cure even, to sink to such lows was hard to accept.

She had experienced the heightened aggression in battle herself. It wasn't all that horrible a thing as long as it let you still think about your actions, let you keep your humanity. But the red mist... too much reduced them to something worse than rabid animals.

Her body was ablaze with pain as she tried to move. No matter how much injury and pain was reduced after a battle, after taking as much damage as she did, it was a miracle she hadn't died right there on the spot.

Just laying there and slowly getting a feel for her body again, the pain slowly subsiding, Tsubomi felt like crying. Not because she was hurt, but because she had fought to kill, acted like a mindless tool of murder. If one's mind was all but rage, then that couldn't be called human.

It made her afraid. If something like that could happen to them just because things went a little wrong, what else laid in store for them? More than ten minutes having passed until she could manage to sit up, her vision almost gave in on her again. Looking at her hand, she wished, prayed, she would forget what she did. Because living with knowing about it was even worse than having done it in the first place.

Getting up and using the wall to balance herself out, her right leg still gave in on every step, forcing her to rely on the hard stone to not topple over. Just opening her door was already a challenge, passing through and standing in the silent hallway another.

It was then that Peach peeked out of a room, spotting Blossom. She had noticed the fighting earlier, just going near the door starting to affect her. Luckily, Passion had both the smarts and the guts to violently jerk Peach away from the door and keep her restrained until the influence wore off. Sitting out the short but monstrous fighting, hearing the screams and the explosions, was just as bad as being in the middle of it.

"Blossom, are you okay?" Leaving her room and walking up to the familiar face, Love saw the destruction the battle had brought with it. It looked like a demolition commando had raided the place.

"I wish I was. What happened here?" Tsubomi could barely talk, with something stinging in her head after every word she said.

"This is just my guess, but I think the red light or whatever it was leaked into the hallway and the open rooms. Not our rooms, but most of the others were out there I think. From what it sounded like, they were really going at it." The walls and floor were both damaged badly and it would take time to repair it. Setsuna walked past Tsubomi and looked into the living room, which was a mess as well.

"Do you think all of this happened because something happened to the other team?" Staying with Love, Beat offered Blossom a shoulder to lean on while she tried to follow Passion.

"Probably... I wasn't among those that fought here. I got teleported far out in the labyrinth, together with a few others." Her memories weren't obscured but there was no way to really tell who else could have been there.

"Damn... I had forgotten how absurdly strong Nozomi is..." Cursing under her breath, a door behind the small group opened and Milky Rose came staggering out of it, stains of blood all over her costume and skin, her right hand swollen on the spot she had connected the katar blade.

From what she had seen, Erika and Mint wouldn't wake up that soon. Especially Erika had taken pretty bad damage and she was worried about her. "I'll need to check on Marine... can you look after the others?" Tsubomi didn't even wait for an answer and instead walked off on her own, towards Erika's room.

"I never want to go through that again..." Kurumi felt like her limbs were on fire, each step, every little move with her arms causing pain like her muscles turned to needles. Sitting down on a pile of rubble, Kurumi touched her right wrist and twitched in pain. It wasn't broken but she wouldn't be able to use it for a day or two. "Looks like there was a party here while we were gone..."

"A party we could have done well without." Love didn't know what to do. They all seemed hurt, but she couldn't really do anything for them right now. While she could do a lot of things with her abilities, healing wasn't among them. "I'll get you some ice."

"Thanks. Appreciate it." Rose took a deep breath and tried to ignore the humming pain in her wrist. Using an ability that she hadn't completed yet... she'd never do that unless she really had lost her mind. And even that was a monumental understatement compared to what everyone had acted like just a little while ago.

Further down the hall, Pine was found by Passion. While she was sleeping, she wasn't really peacefully asleep or passed out. Both her shoulders showed signs of injury, her right shoulder visibly dislocated. It would hurt enormously to fix that. Hoping she was still too far gone to wake up, Setsuna knelt down, determined to fix Inori's shoulder before it got worse.

A high pitched scream of pain, dwarfing the loud cracking noise Setsuna could hear, signaled both that her arm would heal properly and that she was awake.

Both Love and Ellen arrived within seconds to find a whimpering Inori and a tired looking Setsuna. "I had to put her dislocated shoulder back in it's proper place. She was still passed out so I thought it wouldn't be as bad as when she was awake. Miki is over there, can you check on her Love?" Setsuna felt sick to the stomach after having to do that to one of her best friends.

Miki was, like Inori had been, unconscious, her face a mess of dents and bruises. It would take days for that to heal properly. Bright was laying right next to her, her whole body covered in small cuts resembling paper cuts. No matter how hard they all had fought, after a battle, wounds were reduced to bruises and less. For them to retain this level of injury was frightening.

Slowly trying to wake up one after another, Love, Setsuna and Ellen did their best to help those that were found outside their rooms back there, to get some rest and sleep. Dinner was canceled, most of them too weak to even talk, a few not even waking up at all, like Luminous. Over half an hour passed before the three, together with Milky Rose, sat down at the table, exhausted.

"I hope this isn't going to continue. Just in case, we should have everyone remain in their rooms tomorrow unless we eat together or someone takes care of negotiation." Setsuna didn't enjoy making choices like that, but another brawl like the one that had caused this aftermath would likely end in someone being killed. It was a miracle that nobody had really died yet. Luminous arm was still broken, and Love had done her best to help her, but there was only so much she could do.

"I'm going to sleep too." She was not going to be able to maintain her human or Cure form for much longer. That reckless fight against Moonlight had drained way too much energy. "You should get some rest. Nothing is going to change tonight."

Getting up and almost falling over, Kurumi had to use the table as support to avoid falling. Slowly getting a hold of herself and walking away, the trio was left behind, shocked by the extent of the damage everyone had suffered.

Not all of the damage was physical in nature. Tsubomi sat on the edge of Erika's bed, who was so beaten that she couldn't even get up. "Tsubomi... you know... I'm sorry. Even like that, I feel bad for attacking you."

"Don't be silly Erika... when I think about what I tried to do to Dream and the others... getting caught up in your maelstrom was nothing. And I know you'd never attack me on purpose." A small smile came back to the pink Cure's lips.

"But I was really scared... that you might die. I wouldn't know what to do if that happened. And... there's something I have to tell you. Living through this, seeing you injured like this... made one thing pretty clear to me. It's not impossible that one of us might not make it out of here. So..."

"So you want me to go out with you." Erika forced a smile, even though her whole body was on fire. She was almost certainly running a fever from the injuries she had sustained. Her vision was a little blurry, but she didn't even need to see to know what kind of face Tsubomi was making. "I figured it out not too long ago. I kept thinking and thinking and thinking about us... we were friends for so long and obviously, I know what happened between you and Itsuki. So I was really reluctant if I should even try..."

Making a short break to find the right words, Tsubomi too baffled to say anything anyway, Erika understood that there might be worse things than just ruining their friendship. To forever live in the doubt that things could have been better.

"Like you said... living through this... seeing you like that... it made me understand something. I wasn't really sad to lose a friend... I was sad to lose someone I really loved. This is going to sound really cheesy, but forgive me, I'm not in top condition." Cracking a smile, Erika tried to make as nice as a face as she could, given the circumstances. "I must have liked you for so long that I thought my feelings towards you were just friendship, but they aren't. I love you, I want to be with you. There is nobody else in the world that understands me more than you do, and the same holds true the other way around."

"You're not going to chase after Lemonade?" Tsubomi had tears in her eyes, but not because she felt sad or disappointed. Those were the tears of someone who saw a wish come true they had thought to end in failure.

"No, stupid. I wish I could hit you for asking that right after I ask you out and confess my undying love for you." Trying for a bit of humor, Erika made her friend... her partner, smile again. "Sorry I can't at least hug you right now, but I think I might turn to little pieces if I force it."

"That's fine." Leaning down, holding her hair back with one hand, Tsubomi and Erika shared the first kiss as real partners.

=== Dissonance ===

The situation on the dark team was a lot worse than on the other side. Ako and Kanade were the only ones to escape the brutal brawl, and only because they had taken Lemonade's warning seriously.

Now that the fighting and the tremendously menacing feeling from beyond their doors had vanished, they dared to look outside. They almost couldn't believe the destruction they saw. Ako was the first to find the beaten Cure's, kneeling next to the injured Urara. Her skin was burned in almost a dozen places and it would leave scars if not treated properly. Thinking that the same thing could have happened to her if Lemonade had not barked her order really scared the black Cure.

Lifting Urara up and carrying the yellow Cure to her own room, Ako returned to the bathroom to get a wet, cold towel. That woman was a mystery to her. Always pushing her around, pulling her along and making her get involved only to act completely different as soon as they were somewhere private.

Even though she intended to turn her down, knowing that a relationship of any kind would undoubtedly end in misery for both of them, she still couldn't leave her alone. The kisses, the time they had spent together... in one way or another, she started to understand why Hibiki and Kanade fit each other so well, despite their constant arguing. It wasn't so different from what Urara did to her.

Still, Lemonade would leave her the second she found out that Muse was in reality five years younger than she appeared to be. No amount of acting and looking mature would ever change who she truly was. Even if she did manage to keep it a secret... Hibiki and Kanade were unlikely to keep quiet about it.

Thinking about these things... Ako felt troubled. If she thought about it that much, did she want to be with her? Urara was a very unique person and she had just started to feel just a tiny little bit attracted to her... maybe. Still, it didn't matter if she wanted to be with her or not. It wouldn't work.

Having finished wiping the visible wounds, Ako figured that there could be numerous, maybe even bad, burns under her costume. While she was slowly stripping the woman, she didn't even know anymore what she was doing. Wasn't that the exact same as Urara had done to her last night?

She didn't know anymore. Needing to get away from her own room, Ako left, thinking that it would be better to at least get the others to their rooms so they could rest. White and Egret looked like they were in particularly bad shape, although Rouge and Black didn't appear to be in much better condition.

The only other person to escape the brawl was Kanade, who was carefully looking over Hibiki, whose right arm showed signs of having been broken very recently. It was badly swollen, the skin turning to shades of green, blue and purple, the pink Cure wouldn't come to, no matter how much Kanade talked to her. She refused to move for anything from her partners side.

A full hour passed while Muse cared for those she found outside. Hearing Kanade talk to Hibiki, finding Sunshine still unconscious, the numbers added up, letting her know she had found everyone. She was tired and yet, restless. Admitting that she was done would leave her with but one choice, going back to her own room, where Urara was still laying, waiting for her.

Maybe... maybe just one more night together would be okay. No matter how much she told herself she hated it, Ako knew that it was under the pretense of knowing it wouldn't work out and not wanting to get hurt. But she wanted it again, the feeling of waking up in someone's arms, or even just next to... her.

"What are you doing Ako..." Talking to herself was not a good sign, but everyone else was unavailable. Even Yuri had only shown her face briefly before crashing for the night. "I can't possibly fall in love..."

There were so many things she couldn't do as the future queen of Majorland. Falling in love with another woman was one of those things. What would her mother and her father say? Although... if she ended it before they returned to the real world... if she just had fun while in this terrible place...

She was conflicted. Part of her refused to accept she could have feelings for such a arrogant and vulgar woman, knowing that she would one day be queen and couldn't indulge in such unbecoming business. The other part of her wanted to be just the young girl that was discovering what it was like to be courted by someone, even if it was in their own way. Half of her wanted to be with Urara, the other half in denial that the first half existed at all.

Putting her conflict on hold, for the time being, the half that wanted to be with the blond woman had won. Going back to her room, stripping Urara naked and treating the last of her burns, she went to bed with the girl, reversing the situation from the night before, Urara in her arms. It was a good feeling. No matter how bad she felt about giving in, how bad it was considering her position. None of that could take away the slight happiness she felt from being there.

=== End of Event XV ===


	16. Redone

**Dissonance**

_Event XVI_

**Redone**

The night was almost eerily quiet on the dark team, none awake for longer than a few seconds at a time, just enough to groan and be aware of their injuries. Few shared the bed with someone else. Ako was in Urara's room, she herself not sure why exactly, sleeping right next to her. Nagisa and Honoka had been brought to different beds, both of them too beaten to wake up before morning, if even then. The same held true for Mai and Saki.

Kanade had not once left Hibiki's side after she woke up, unwilling to leave her alone while injured. Moonlight, Rouge, Dream, all three of them were closer to a state of being merely passed out than real sleep. Those three shared that condition with Sunshine, who had yet to recover from being hit by Windy's Stormflair ability.

The healing had not been complete, and the entire day had been one great disaster. The negotiation had been left unattended, the exile run had been one-sided, and the fight had turned into a massive free-for-all brawl controlled only by blind, murderous rage. It had been a bad day for everyone.

That included the light team. The only ones still aware were Love, Setsuna and Ellen, all three of them a little creeped out by how quiet everything was. Of course it was quieter at night than it was during day, but with everyone unconscious and injured, it was almost like they were the only people there.

While Love was running checks on everyone in their rooms, hoping she would find everyone just fast asleep, Setsuna and Ellen were prepping a small and somewhat frugal dinner for the three of them. Fried rice with mushrooms.

"Was... it like this too when I was in exile?" Ellen couldn't help but be curious about it. Even her fear of knowing could not drown out her desire to ask.

"We noticed the hymn only in the morning and it didn't do more than sap a little strength from everyone. This is a thousand times worse. I wonder what happened to make the fight go that much out of control." Waiting for the rice to be done, Setsuna watched Ellen cut vegetables into pieces, afterwards frying them. "Does this remind you of back then?" While she said back then, only about three days had passed since Ellen arrived on their side.

"A little. To see all the others so beaten... It makes me afraid to think that my hymn could have caused all these things to go wrong." The sound of chopping stopped for a few seconds before it resumed, a little slower than before.

Walking up behind her, slowly hugging her from behind, both her arms around Beat's waist, Setsuna smiled a little. "The hymn was just for Love and me, nobody else. There is no way it could have caused this. By the time you sang, the problem already existed. And it was the other side who didn't send someone to the negotiations. They couldn't have heard you."

"You've been with Love for a long time, I can tell." Ellen cheered up a little, genuinely believing in what Setsuna said.

"A few years. Not as long as Inori or Miki of course, but I still know her better than those two." There had been nobody, for years, that she held more dear, or cared about as much, as Love. Ellen was already important to her but still not quite like Love. But it wasn't a contest to begin with.

"She rubbed off on you. Saying those things is exactly what she would have done, don't you think so?" Ellen had trouble keeping working while Setsuna was holding her like that but she indulged in the pleasure of being like that a little.

"Maybe. What do you think Love?" Looking over her shoulder, at the door, Setsuna had noticed her partner coming back, having finished her round of checking on everyone.

"I wonder about that. Setsuna has to work on her timing." Walking over to the two, leaning against the small closet next to the work space, Love had a small grin on her face. "But she is right. There is no way you caused this. To begin with, I don't think you even **could** cause something like this if you wanted. Today was a disaster."

"Love, Setsuna, I appreciate you two cheering me up, but I kind of can't work like this." A little smile returned to her face just as the two shrugged and backed off a little, hungry enough to postpone everything else to later.

"What worries me is that this might not be over just yet. The healing didn't work as usual and the entire place was filled with mist. We don't have any idea how this place works, so who knows if it will return to normal tomorrow." Setsuna had learned quickly that hiding these worries would only make Love pry them out of her as soon as she noticed. And she always noticed quickly.

"We'll see that tomorrow. For now, we can't really do anything except eat and go to sleep. I didn't even fight and yet I feel really tired." Stretching, Love's neck creaked twice, as if she had stared at the same thing for hours.

"You looked after everyone and kept checking on them, of course you'd be tired, silly." Both of them said no more after that. Regardless of how hard they tried to get a more cheerful mood going, it wouldn't work. Worries about tomorrow and the others stopped them dead in their tracks.

The rest of the time cooking was spent in silence, with Ellen starting to hum the melody from her hymn after a while, Setsuna and Love trying to join but constantly getting off-key. Sitting down at the table with just the three of them seemed even more lonely than it already was, so they ate in the kitchen as well.

"Do you cook for yourself Ellen?" Love was impressed by the taste. She wasn't a particularly good cook though she had a few dishes she did well. Setsuna did better in the kitchen by far.

"I learned cooking to thank the people who took me in. Otokichi, that's Muse's grandfather, and of course Melody and Rhythm. I'm not that good yet." Visibility embarrassed by telling those two, Ellen started to stuff her face with fried rice as fast as she could.

"No, no, this is really good. I'm pretty horrible in the kitchen except for a few dishes." As if to confirm it, Setsuna vehemently nodded, earning a scolding look from Peach. "You don't have to agree **that** much Setsuna. I'm just not good at any traditional Japanese food."

"That one time she made something that wasn't Hamburgers, it tasted like wet cardboard. I even tried to help her improve, but no matter what I do, if Love cooks Japanese food, it always tastes like nothing." Shaking her head in disbelief, the girl couldn't believe just how bad her partner was at western cuisine.

"I was starting to think Love can do anything, but it seems like she's got her flaws too." Holding her plate in one hand, the spoon in another, Ellen was leaned against the front of a tall shelf, which was mostly empty right now. Setsuna to her right, leaned against a wall, Love to her left, sharing the shelf with Ellen.

"Of course I can't do everything." Getting two spoonfuls of fried rice, Love looked first at Setsuna, then at Ellen. "Not **alone**." Both girls smiled and blushed a little.

"Is there anything you're bad at, Setsuna?" Curious about Setsuna as well, Ellen found herself really relieved that there were things those two couldn't do.

"Transportation. You should see her when we ride a train, or a boat. She looks like a beaten puppy." Love wouldn't get her get away with telling Ellen about her cooking. "She also can't stand green peppers."

"You can't stand Carrots! And I can teleport, I shouldn't need to ride a train, or a boat!" Setsuna's face was flushed red. Love had promised never to tell anyone about her weakness. She was truly horrible at handling transportation. Being on a car was her limit. Riding an airplane was something that haunted her.

"You two really know each other well." Giggling quietly, Ellen put down her plate, done eating. She had barely done that when Love put down her own dish and hugged the girl from behind, poking her cheek playfully.

"Soon, it'll be we three know each other really well." Picking a rice corn from Ellen's cheek with her finger, Love quickly let it vanish between her lips.

"I didn't expect you two to go along **that** well." Setsuna was watching Love hang on to Ellen, teasing her a little, petting her head. There was an obvious seductive undertone in her voice, making clear what kind of getting along she meant.

"If I didn't know you so well, I would have thought you were **jealous** of Ellen." Letting go of the blue Cure, who had to catch her breath and calm down a little after being in so close contact with Love, Peach walked over to Passion, who was pretending to pout. It was so painfully obvious, Ellen secretly added acting to the list of things Setsuna was bad at.

Caressing her neck for a few seconds to get her to smile again, Love kissed Setsuna, Ellen watching from the side, thinking how nice they looked together. Others made nice pairings too, but those two were a little special. Like they were definitely meant for each other.

Deep in thought, Ellen found herself surrounded in a heartbeat, Love in front of her, laying her arms around Ellen's neck, Setsuna behind her, laying her arms around Ellen's waist. "I can guess what you were thinking just now Ellen."

"You should be a magician Love, reading people's minds like that." Setsuna playfully added before leaning against Ellen just a bit, not enough to reenact what happened earlier in their room.

"You belong to us now, just like we belong to each other and you. You shouldn't think things like_ they look really lovely together_." Even Setsuna had been able to tell that much by the way Ellen was staring at them when they kissed. It wasn't a particularly new thing either. She had done that a few times already.

Both of them moving at the same time, Love kissed Ellen's left cheek, Setsuna her right. "You and Setsuna look just as nice as Setsuna as me. The same goes for you and me." Getting a little too close, Love could feel Ellen's chest on her own, raising a bit of excitement. She hadn't slept or even made out with Setsuna ever since Ellen joined their side.

"Don't ravish her Love. Keep yourself in check." Setsuna rebuked her partner with a single line and look. Love's eyes had a passionate glow about them, like she just wanted to jump in bed with both of her partners.

"Did I ever ravish you when you didn't want me to?" Giving her partner a challenging look, Setsuna smiled wide. "Don't forget you're a really bad liar." The smile got a lot smaller and Setsuna clicked her tongue, making both Love and Ellen laugh in the process.

"I completely forgot... what are you bad at, Ellen?" The three of them separating, Ellen's face was no less red that Setsuna's had been when Love revealed her weakness. The idea of sleeping with Love or Setsuna was a little too much to handle for her at the time.

"I'm..." Looking down on the ground and trying to hide her face, Ellen was suddenly embarrassed to admit it. Hibiki, Kanade, Ako, most of her other friends as well, knew about it, so why was she so reluctant to admit to those two. They wouldn't think less of her, regardless of what she was afraid of. "I'm... afraid of ghosts. I get scared really easily."

"Aw, that's so adorable. Ellen's a scaredy-cat." Love didn't care that Ellen groaned at the pun and Setsuna simply shook her head. It had taken her years to understand Love's sense of humor even the tiniest bit. She still didn't make sense of the jokes and puns, but at least she could tell when Love was making one.

"So... don't leave me to go back alone. It's really creepy with everyone passed out. Who knows what else could happen after today." Fidgeting a bit, Ellen grabbed Love's hand, suddenly a bit creeped out by the empty living room and the hallway. She was really bad with very dark places too.

"Don't worry. If need be, we'll carry you like a princess. I carried Setsuna like that a few times, I don't mind." As if to show Ellen what she meant, Love picked up the red Cure and carried her in her arms, Setsuna looking quite comfortable if a little embarrassed.

If that was how a princess was carried... Trying to imagine what it would look like if someone tried to carry Ako like that both scared and amused Ellen, knowing that Ako would definitely object to it at first, even if she liked it.

"You can let me down now Love." Setsuna wasn't really in the mood for silly antics, no matter how much she would have liked to be. "Should we go to **sleep**?" There was just a second pause during which Passion looked at Peach before she said the last word, avoiding saying _bed_, just to make absolutely sure there would be no making out or anything.

"Shouldn't we at least clean up?" It wasn't a huge mess they had left behind and Ellen didn't like to leave the kitchen untidily, no matter how little the mess was.

"Can you two take care of that then please? I'll use the time to go and check on the others one last time." Deep down, she also wanted to get a little time off to cool down. Ellen and Setsuna were both beautiful girls, and the last time she had gone this long without sex or even making out had been before they started traveling. She didn't doubt she could keep her hands off Ellen and Setsuna, but it didn't hurt to go to bed without feeling like she wanted to jump Setsuna.

"There's no reason to be scared of Love doing something. She really meant it when she said she'd never do something you don't want." Setsuna was washing the dishes and the cooking utensils while Ellen dried them with a towel, putting them back on the shelf.

"I know. Were you nervous when you two first..." Ellen was a little troubled by topics like these, always trying to find the right words.

"We first slept with each other? It happened rather spontaneously so I had no time to be any nervous. Love was really gentle and caring and I eventually had to push her because she was being too considerate for once." Handing Ellen the fry pan, Setsuna let out a slight sigh. "Love has really great insight in what people feel, but she has her limits too. That's why she's almost too considerate in bed at first. I'm sure she'll be like that too when you feel ready. You don't have to feel forced into it, just open up to her naturally. That's how it went between us, too."

"I read in a book that-" Ellen didn't even get to finish her line before Setsuna giggled and shook her head.

"With Love involved, you can throw everything you know from books out the window. There's nothing to be afraid of, I can guarantee you that." The last piece dried, the two waited for Love to come back.

"I wish I could tell Hibiki and Kanade about this. It's the first time I haven't seen them this long. I miss them a little." Just leaning against Setsuna made Ellen feel comfortable. Love was really nice to have around as well, but she still preferred Setsuna just a bit.

"They're bound to come over here eventually. Or we will have to go over there. Since everyone else is asleep, we couldn't really pick a runner for exile and there was nobody today, so I'm not sure what is going to happen. If any of us three has to leave, the other two will go right after that. If they pick Love as the runner, we'll go after her as soon as we can."

"I don't want to get stuck in exile again..." Ellen shuddered at the thought but felt better when Setsuna laid her right arm around her waist, pulling her a little closer.

"You're a bit of a special case. I don't think anyone will want you to be the exile, so you're probably the only one that has this extremely small chance to get stuck. Maybe if you trip, fall over and knock yourself out cold." Setsuna leaned her head slightly against Ellen's.

"Please don't joke about that." Ellen's face turned to a furious red, having done exactly that once before just before she had to go on stage.

=== Dissonance ===

The morning after was as bad as they came for most of them. With few exceptions, they all had their injuries, some that couldn't be labeled scratches and bruises by any stretch of the imagination. The team surrounding Dream was in particularly bad shape, with Dream herself unable to even walk or get out of bed on her own. The spots on arms and legs where she had been pierced were mixes of blue, green and purple, a simple touch enough to send Nozomi to a world of pain.

Rin took it upon herself to bring her some food, despite being in bad shape herself. It was pretty much everyone for themselves that morning. Nobody was in good enough shape to prepare breakfast for all of them.

Nozomi had been horribly depressed, barely eating anything, just staring blankly at the ceiling. Rin couldn't imagine what went through her head at the time. Her consciousness overridden with rage and blood lust, her actions that of a berserker, just like everyone else.

The power she had been given to protect others, the things she held dear... to use that power to arbitrary destroy... That was something she couldn't forgive. Whatever was responsible for forcing everyone into a massacre like that was evil. There was no way to argue that. Finally about to cope just a bit with the direness of the situation, something like that happened.

She had to do something about it. But this time, she had to think three steps ahead. She couldn't screw up like before. Not only would she be in real danger, for even Rin would not defend her if she created another huge mess, but she also didn't have the time to just try and fail countless times. Who knew when the next battle was starting, and if it was going to be even worse than what they lived through yesterday evening.

Others had their doubts too. Muse, lucky enough to hear Lemonade's warning and stay away from the outside, was caring for said Cure. The matter of being comfortable around her or liking her completely left alone, she wasn't as cold-hearted as to leave Urara to her own devices after going through an ordeal like that.

"Good you didn't get caught up in this. That was the most horrible thing I ever experienced. It was like someone controlled my body by remote, wildly mashing buttons and directions. Even wild beasts in rage had more control than we did." Chewing a bit of bread, leaning against the wall, most of her body bandaged, Urara brought Ako up to speed on the events.

The young girl secretly thought that the bandages over Urara's left eyes were rather cool looking, but she would never mention that to the yellow Cure. She'd only let it go to her head and start talking nonsense again.

"What scares me is that this happened so suddenly. Something went wrong and we were suddenly in a situation where all of us could have died. It could happen again tonight and we won't even know." Urara looked at the sandwich she was holding as if it could answer the questions that went through her head. "Is it going to happen again? Do the rules even apply right now? Can we do anything to stop it?" And that was just the tip of the iceberg.

"It's not like you to be all worried." Ako sighed, turned around, her back towards Urara, her eyes glued to the ceiling. "I'd expect you to be all aloof about this, telling me you'll figure out something."

"That's quite an impression you got of me there. I would've done that if this wasn't such a fucked up situation. I'm not keen on the whole laying dying in a pool of blood thing, you know? I'd actually like to live to see what you're going to tell me when you found an answer." Under other circumstances, she would have teased the black Cure a bit, but that was not quite an option with every last bit of her body aching and whining just from sitting up and walking to the bathroom.

"I'll handle negotiations today, if there are going to be any. I'll press for a one versus one, just in case. Don't make a mess of the room while I'm gone."

"Not like I could even if I wanted to. I can sniff your pillow, that's okay, right?"

"Pervert." Ako managed to control her embarrassment and avoided blushing. The idea of Urara laying there and really sniffing her pillow was kinda ridiculous and yet completely in the realm of possible. If her interest had been shallow or just a spur of the moment thing, she would've gotten sick of it by now. So at least one thing was clear. Urara must be seriously interested in her. That still didn't change that she was unable to make up her mind whether she should even think about what she should answer.

Three short knocks on the door got Urara to push herself up, whine a bit from the pain and walk to the door, opening it like it was natural. Rin was standing there, not in the least surprised to see her long time friend in Muse's room. She had fully expected to find her there.

"How are you holding up?" Checking on her friends was something she didn't want to neglect, not in a situation like this.

"Better than Nozomi, I can tell that much by the gloomy look on your face." Urara quickly leaned against the door frame, not interested in putting any stress on her body beyond what was necessary.

"Everyone looks gloomy right now. You do, too." Rin hated how Urara could read her expressions like they were long paragraphs, filled with details.

"You have this particular 'Nozomi problem' look to your gloom. Not like it takes a Sherlock Holmes to guess that. Given what happened, I'm surprised this whole place hasn't gone to hell because of her doing something rash."

"She's an idealist, stop making fun of her. You know I hate it when you do that. And she's not stupid either. Well... maybe sometimes. She can't even walk or eat right now, so she won't be doing anything, not today, probably not even tomorrow."

"Is anyone at the table right now?" Muse intruded into the somewhat somber conversation, and despite the cold look Rouge gave her, she remained calm.

"White and Black were there a little while ago. They look pretty roughed up, just like everyone else. I'm gonna go back to bed. I feel like a beaten puppy." Rubbing the back of her neck, Rouge groaned. She really was feeling like someone far beyond and above her own strength had used her as chewing toy. Turning around, waving for a second, Rin returned to her own room.

"I'll go and see if negotiations are happening today." Ako didn't bother turning around and just left, leaving Urara behind, alone.

Things were quiet and calm around Muse and the others, compared to one specific other area in the castle at least.

=== Dissonance ===

It was difficult to find the right words to even comprehend what was happening right around her. She knew only three things for certain. One, she was the exile. Two, the exile effect was not working. Three, she was still alive, for pain was raging through her head. The dead wouldn't feel pain.

The ground vanished in one moment completely, making Windy drop in free fall, only to be reshaped into something completely differently seconds later. The walls, the ceilings, walls, rooms, objects... whatever controlled the reshaping of the place was completely out of control. Not even the laws of physics applied normally. Reversed gravity, water that flowed backwards, stones that exploded only to reassemble themselves in defiance of time itself.

It was an impossible feat to complete to even count the numerous changes. Trying to stay alive, trying to avoid getting caught in a solid wall or crash on the ground after seconds of free fall, Kaoru was worried what in the world had happened on the outside. The exile effect had worn off a few hours ago, and she knew vividly what exactly she had been believing, seeing.

Being thankful for the chaos seemed misplaced, yet, if that saved the others from facing a murderous, blind dog of a dark lord that didn't exist anymore, then she couldn't very well despise whatever was happening.

The shifting finally came to an end, with Windy suspended on the ceiling, gravity reversed, when the place took the shape of a abhorrently complicated maze, reaching as far as she could see. Dark and only lit in some of the larger convergences, it was difficult to make out the size of it all. That it was three-dimensional, stairs reaching above and below, walls acting as ground, ceilings acting as walls, didn't make things easier.

Fully expecting to be tormented by the exile effect again, Kaoru was ready to knock herself out cold again. But nothing happened. The place was laying dormant, idle, quiet. Almost too quiet. Finding her way to one of the larger crossings, Kaoru sat down below one of the torches. Only the sound of her steps, her breathing and the burning of the torches disturbed the otherwise perfect silence.

There was no exit or entrance to this place. No logic or design. A chaotic, randomized maze with no purpose other than to entrap those getting caught in it. Her own situation was, all things considered, quite good. The exile seemed to fail to function properly and while the area before had been horrible, she now even had a torch above her, so it wasn't all that cold.

She was much more worried about Mai, Saki and Michiru, who were on the outside. And there was no doubt about it. Something must have happened to cause a mess of such proportions. The absolute lack of communication was a thorn in her side.

It wasn't until her worrying started to cause her a headache that she realized that this, by itself, could be the exile effect. Serving under her creator was a terrible fate, yes, but imagining to be caught in a maze, possibly forever, without knowing what was happening to the three people she cared about was every bit as bad. That she was apparently in full control of her own mind only made it worse.

The more one tries not to think about something, the more likely it is that they will end up thinking about exactly that. Countless scenarios of horrible possible events that could have had happened to those three went through her head. She was too smart for her own good.

=== Dissonance ===

Breakfast had been a lonely activity for the light team as well. They've had their fill of excitement for a while. But things were far from over. Initially, it had been Love who wanted to go and negotiate, though Setsuna seemed like a better candidate because she was more level-headed than her partner.

As Peach and Beat stayed behind Passion, literally, and those three were waiting at the gate, they kept waiting in vain. First five minutes passed, then five more. Despite being the one appointed to hold negotiations, Setsuna couldn't feel a thing. No point in the future had any special feeling about it like it did when she had participated in a fight.

After twenty more minutes, they gave up. The gate kept laying dormant and lifeless, without as much as a hint that it would ever budge again. Setsuna, losing her patience, even kicked the gate out of frustration when she thought Love and Ellen weren't paying attention.

Returning to the living room, they found Marine lazing around, half on the table, her blue hair a massive mess, in dire need of a comb. From the looks of it, she hadn't come out of Cure mode since that last battle.

"Ah... I shouldn't have done that..." Erika was not so much just being lazy as deep in thought. "If she finds out, she'll bury me and use me as fertilizer for the flowers." The designer was knee-deep in trouble.

"Shouldn't we ask her whats wrong?" Ellen didn't feel comfortable just walking past her on the other side of the table. Even someone blind could see that something was troubling her.

"Now is not the right time to pry. I don't think it's really as bad as she makes it look, too." Love looked at the blue Cure from the corner of her eyes, seeing the expression on Marine's face. That was not the look of someone in real despair or suffering. An act for herself.

The time to pry never came as the source of Marine's anxiety entered the room. Just the steps of her boots on the ground startled Marine enough to make her jump up and slowly back away from the table and the approaching apocalypse. "Erika...? What's wrong...?"

A purely rhetorical question. Setsuna only needed one look at her face to be able to tell what was wrong. That icy smile, those almost closed eyes. Blossom was furious. People that exerted their anger like that were the most dangerous of all. Getting loud and letting it all out was the easiest way to set things right.

"H-Hey Tsubomi... I can explain." Erika swallowed hard and looked for a way out but the only exit was blocked by the pink Cure. "I was really tired... and I was just kinda saying what popped into my mind! I wasn't thinking!"

"Well _excuse me_ for not looking like Itsuki." The tone of her voice was a very clear and simple signal. The trio had already taken cover in the kitchen, not eager to get into a quarrel between teammates. They must have had worse to sort out, so they would be okay.

"I was thinking of work at the time! You can't hold this against me!" Marine was backed in a corner while Blossom came slowly closer, seemingly unimaginable punishment in store for her now-partner.

"You think about work when you cuddle with me?" Blossom's eyes were mere slits now, her pupils almost invisible. Love was shaking her head. Marine seemed to be good at a lot of things and now she added stepping on verbal landmines to that list.

"Are those two dating?" Ellen wasn't very good at recognizing such things.

"It feels that way, but if they are, it hasn't been long. They certainly didn't give off any vibe like they are yesterday." Love was staring at two girls that looked at her with wide eyes.

"I've always thought this Love, but are you some kind of person Esper? Talking about them giving off some kind of vibe... what do they look like to you?" Setsuna was curious what Love would answer.

"Just trusting my gut feeling." The answer was so very simple that Setsuna let her head hang, sighed and didn't bother to further pursue the matter.

"Do we just keep hiding here until they leave? It'd be really awkward to come out now and walk past them..." Ellen wasn't keen on getting involved into the quarrel. Being in the middle of Hibiki's and Kanade's fighting all the time was more than enough.

"I agree with Ellen, there is no way we'll get past unnoticed." Setsuna wasn't eager to test out just how long or short a fuse Blossom had. She was still injured, but that didn't seem to bother her much at the time.

"Let's just wait here then. They're gonna be done any moment."

The three of them watched in silence as the catastrophe turned out to be a dud. Marine was almost covering when Blossom simply grabbed her ear and pulled her away, Marine whining and complaining about her being innocent. "If that had been Melody and Rhythm, the room would be a mess now..." Ellen wasn't sure if the other two understood that she wasn't joking.

=== Dissonance ===

It was the late afternoon, long past time for lunch when the living grounds returned to life, and the wounded were coming out of their rooms, going about what was now their daily lives.

"That was a horrible experience..." Komachi twitched every time something touched her wrists, even if it was just Karen's hand. "I never want to go through that again."

Mint and Aqua found the air in their room to be pretty stale and they had gotten sick of just laying around. Despite more than half their body each still hurting with every step, it felt good to leave the room, even if they were just taking a short stroll together. Bearing it and keeping her mouth shut, Mint still held hands with her partner, their fingers intervened, not too tight yet as close as they could possibly be. Neither of the two really dared to lean against the other, both of them knowing well that it would result in both of them falling over.

"You can say that again. It was bad enough to make me wish I had been in exile at the time. There is no one there to fight, so at least I wouldn't feel like I went through spartan combat training." Karen preferred to keep her fighting smart and short. She wasn't really all that useful in a mindless brawl like that.

Walking down the hallway, towards the living room, they went silent for a bit. Talking didn't hurt, but there just wasn't too much to talk about. When they passed Blossoms room, they heard a little bit of Marine laughing and making a horrible pun. They couldn't hear the pink Cure, but there was no doubt she was there as well.

"Seems like Marine is already up and brimming with energy again." Komachi smiled a little as she looked back at the door.

"That girl has so much energy, we could probably power a whole city with it." Karen rolled eyes and earned a giggle from her partner. She wasn't too good at making her laugh with funny things, but that didn't stop her from trying.

Arriving in the living room, they found Passion and Beat there, as well as Luminous and Berry, the last three playing dress up with Passion. The long, flowing pink hair was put up in a ponytail, fixed with Beat's hair pin.

"You wouldn't think that we all went through a life threatening situation not even twenty-four hours ago when you look at them." It wasn't that she disliked it when others were a little carefree. She was just jealous of it.

"I think it's good that they can adapt like this. If everyone kept being moody because of where we are and what is happening, it would be twice as bad a place." Pulling Karen with her, Komachi sat down at the upper end of the table, a few chairs away from Passion, who looked like someone who wanted to be saved. It was odd that Peach was not with those two.

"Say Karen... I've been thinking about writing another book while I'm here. And I thought I'd model the main character after you. It'd be a story in medieval times, with a woman pretending to be an effeminate man who is a traveling knight. Do you like the idea?" Komachi blushed a little as she explained her rough idea to Karen. She usually talked such things over with her editor without much trouble, but for some reason, she got quite nervous with her lover.

"I think it would work a lot better if this was taking place in japan. Instead of knight, make it a samurai." Being honest with Komachi was something she wouldn't stray from, not even for her work. "I do like the idea of a woman taking a role like that, even if she has to pretend to be a man."

"Samurai had a really strict code to follow, so it'd be pretty hard for a woman to pretend to be one. Knights wear heavy armor that conceals a lot."

"Not all knights did." Karen wasn't that well informed with medieval ages, but she did know a bit. "Cavalry was usually not that heavy armored. The knights in full body armor were mostly heavy infantry, right?"

"This isn't going to be a historically accurate work Karen." The gentle smile on Komachi's face made Karen blush, knowing that she was being a little too critical without knowing the exact circumstances.

"You're really going to write a book here? Are you gonna wish for a computer?" Karen was a little worried that her love with waste a lot of favor on something that came with too much running costs.

"Just some paper and a pen. A lot of paper, maybe. We'll be here a while and I always wanted to try and actually hand write a full script." Komachi blushed again, never having told that anyone. Her voice also got quieter with every word, "script" a quiet whisper.

"Imagining you sitting on a wooden table, with a candle or an oil lamp, hand writing a manuscript... it's a beautiful image. You won't mind me watching, will you?" Karen was well aware of how mind numbingly boring it would be to watch someone write without reading what they were writing but she didn't care. And she would tell Komachi exactly that if she put that up as argument.

"I've never had someone watch me... I wonder if I won't be too nervous to work if you're right there." Komachi played with a strand of her hair, the area around her nose a fierce red, surprised that Karen took such a deep interest in her work.

"Maybe I could play some music for you when I get a violin. Or massage your shoulders." Covering her mouth with her right hand, averting her eyes a bit, she added, just barely loud enough for Komachi to hear, "Or help you _relax_ after you're done for the day."

The two of them didn't realize that they were being watched from the distance. Pine, a little bored with herself, had looked forward to talking to Aqua, but seeing the mood those two were in, she didn't want to intrude. But it was becoming a problem. She didn't notice at first, but she felt a little jealous of Mint now. Aqua was someone with whom she could be completely herself. She didn't have to pretend to be not as smart as she was with her.

And yet, being that smart, she couldn't stop herself from thinking that if she had a chance to go on a date with Karen, she'd surely hit it off. But there was absolutely no way she could do that. If she really wanted to, she could probably throw a wrench in their relationship, but... she wasn't that kind of person. There would be other people she could date. It didn't have to be Karen.

"Dammit... I feel like a truck ran me over. Twice. While loading ten tons of lead." Kurumi was swaying from one side to another, unable to even walk straight. A thick layer of bandages was wrapped around her forehead and her right hand. Her eyes looking like those of a dead fish, with thick black lines below them, it was quite obvious that the last night hadn't been a good night's sleep for her.

"You look terrible Kurumi." Hikari was quick to leave Passion to Beat and Berry and check on her friend. "Maybe you shouldn't walk around yet."

"If I have to stay in bed any longer, I'll go mad. And I feel twice as terrible as I look." Letting her head hang, Kurumi almost threw herself at the blond girl, both her arms wrapped around Hikari's neck, she was somewhat hanging down from her as opposed to hugging.

More dragging than carrying her to the table, Kurumi felt too tired to even greet anyone. "My hand feels like it's broken... and swollen." Resting her head sideways on the table, her words coming out somewhat muffled because of that, Kurumi kept on complaining about her condition, all the while Hikari kept listening, occasionally patting her head.

"That's a cute pet you got there." Setsuna, whose hair was now tied in double twin-tails, much to Berry's and Beat's amusement, was trying to make a joke. Thankfully, Rose jumped right on it.

"Great idea. If you're going to feed and pet me, I'll wear a collar for you any day." Kurumi was just prolonging the joke a little, assuming that Hikari was well aware of that. Instead...

"That... could be problematic." Looking to the side and blushing a little, Hikari wasn't really sure what she should say to get out of that situation.

"Hikari... it's a joke. Don't take it so seriously. It's embarrassing." Pulling on Luminous' sleeve, Rose shook her head. "I wouldn't wear a collar. Not for anyone. I'm not a dog."

"Are you two still not satisfied?" Setsuna was paying some attention to the giggling that came from behind her. Her hair was all pulled up and bound together, looking sort of like a palm tree.

"Sorry, sorry. It's just... you have such long hair, it's so easy to do all kinds of styles with it. Right, Ellen?" Miki got along just fine with Setsuna's new partner. She was a much nicer girl than she had expected.

"I want to stop but it's so hard. I promise I'll comb your hair later." Ellen had a hard time keeping her laughter in check.

Turning around, as if a sixth sense had told her, Setsuna looked at Love, who just came back from the showers, her hair still damp. "Love... save me. Those two are horrible." Pointing at Miki and Ellen, Setsuna was abandoned by her other partner as well. Breaking out in laughter as soon as she saw palm hair Passion, Love could barely stand.

"Fine." Starting to pout, Setsuna crossed arms and legs and refused to look at both of her partners.

Ellen was showing mercy and undid the palm top, letting her hair down, thinking that they have had enough fun with Setsuna for now. "Poor Setsu." Hugging her from behind, Ellen was testing the water of whether Setsuna was okay with being called a nickname.

"I wish I had a photo of that just now." Love had finally made her way over to the three, sitting down on top of the table right next to Passion. "Are you already feeling okay Miki? No scars left from the injuries?" For someone in the model business, scars would be a huge problem. Love knew that much.

"As you can see, it's fine. I hope you didn't mind me substituting for you. It looked too interesting to pass up." Miki sat down on the chair to the right of Setsuna, looking at Love. "But you two are really amazing. Even knowing you, I didn't think you would really go through with... this, you know." Nodding in Ellen's general direction, the girl busy combing her partners hair, Love smiled.

"It's a first time thing for me too. I couldn't really imagine sharing Setsuna with someone before, but Ellen fits right in with us two. It's not just Setsuna that likes her, I do too."

"You two are hogging all the romance. There's none left for the rest of our team." Miki was joined by Inori now, who sat down on the table behind her teammate. "Isn't that so Miki?"

"You could say that." _Her_ romance wasn't going all that well. Yuri still hadn't given her a decisive answer and she was still on the other team as well. Her luck in love really sucked.

=== Dissonance ===

"Everyone's looking really down." Nagisa was resting her head on the table, her arms crossed below her chin. Watching the others go about their business wasn't all that interesting, but she couldn't really get herself to do anything else. She was still hurting all over the place.

"That's to be expected. Considering what went down yesterday." Right next to Black was Bloom, who was in a similar position. "Mai took so much damage that she's still asleep in our room. How are things with you and Honoka?"

"She's taking it easy for today, reading a book and staying in bed." Nagisa didn't catch that Saki didn't quite mean her condition.

"Was Honoka angry? About yesterday night." The two couples were close friends, so it was natural to worry about that. Saki felt still guilty, but there was nothing they could really do about it now.

"Not the way you think. She's not blaming anyone in specific for it. I think she's relieved that it wasn't someone else. That would've been even more awkward than this." Looking over at Saki, Nagisa showed a brief smile. "To be honest, I don't think it's all that terrible. On the occasions we went out together, you must have seen Honoka naked at least once or twice. At least when we went swimming at night."

Saki appeared to be lost in thought for a few seconds, then she remembered. "Ah." Nodding twice, she recalled what Nagisa meant. "The same goes for you and Mai. And of course, we each other... speaking of that, now that would've been difficult to explain."

"What, you sleeping with me? I can't even imagine how that would turn out." Letting out a small and quick laugh, she shook her head. "I don't think we're in any danger of that happening. Unless we're stranded on some snowy mountain and it's the only way to stay warm."

"That sounds like you really dislike that idea." Saki was a bit surprised by how far Nagisa went to rule that possibility out.

"I know you pretty well Saki. We look a bit alike and even our personalities are somewhat similar." That was what Honoka said anyway. She herself would've never thought about it like that. "I can't really describe it well but thinking about sleeping with you gives me a really wrong feeling."

"We've gotten drunk together before, but I don't think we ever accidentally switched partners." Saki got up, her neck starting to hurt a little, and stretched while yawning. She was feeling a bit restless but at the same time, incredibly tired. "Maybe it's the fault of this place."

"Do you remember that night at all?" Nagisa got a little curious. On one hand, she didn't really want to know, since it was essentially asking if someone else remembered sleeping with her girlfriend, but then again, it was Saki, one of her best and closest friends.

"Fragments at best. It's all a big blur. The only thing I really remember that makes sense is me kissing her neck." Unintentionally blushing, Saki felt like she should remember quite a bit more. Honoka and Mai were both beautiful, and it felt like an insult to just forget about it.

"Same as me. I know it was wrong and everything but I kinda wish I'd at least remember... Honoka seems to remember quite a bit. I can tell by the way she averts her eyes every time this topic comes up." Getting up as well and leaning against the back of the chair, Nagisa let out a huge yawn, attracting the attention of Sunshine at the end of the table, who just wanted to be amongst people, no matter who. Walking over to those two and sitting down across Bloom, she already felt a little better, just being able to talk to someone.

"Lack of sleep?" Itsuki really craved some company right now. After getting out of the exile, the immediate horror was gone, but the thoughts were still in her head. Trying to get rid of them proved to be much more difficult than she had thought.

"Exhausted, rather." Saki was the first to answer. "How about you? You look like you've been awake for days by the size of those bags under your eyes."

"Not sleeping well? You came back from the exile, right?" Showing a little concern, Nagisa managed to make Sunshine smile just a little.

"If I had known it was that bad, I wouldn't have volunteered to go." Shaking her head twice, Itsuki lowered her voice a little, looking at the table surface. "I've been scared of things before but this..."

Nagisa felt guilty since it was Honoka who left Itsuki behind. But there really was no good choice in such situations. Either outcome was pretty horrible. "Honoka was the one that left you behind, so I'm really-"

"Don't bother apologizing. If she hadn't left me, it would've been either Beat or herself. I can imagine that's not an easy choice. And saving yourself when you barely know the other is the obvious choice. We might be allies but there's no sense to sacrificing yourself in this case. Though I'm still happy you wanted to apologize in her stead." Itsuki didn't want undeserved pity but she felt happy that Black cared enough to apologize even though it was her own partner who was saved because of it.

"I don't like the idea of leaving someone behind in exile. I can't even imagine what I would do if I had to chose between two people I know really well." Saki wasn't eager to ever have to deal with such a situation.

"What I don't understand is the why the exile still exists at all. Everyone but Dream pretty much agreed to fight, and I don't think that is going to change." Nagisa figured that nobody was in favor of the exile persisting.

"There could be any number of reasons. Maybe it produces dark energy. Maybe it's just so we use our favor to get past the effect. We don't really know anything about it or this place, do we?" Itsuki was becoming depressed again.

"We know a bit. It's not all bad, is it? Unless something goes wrong, the life here is by far not as bad as it could be." Saki tried to cheer up Itsuki a bit. "We can talk to each other, we have free time, we're usually healed after a battle, we even get rewards for doing well. Sure, it's still somewhat like a prison and arena, but there's nothing we can do about that."

"I wonder what my friends back home are doing... I hope they keep the dojo clean." Not keen on talking even more about the place they were in, it all bringing back memories of the time she was in exile, Itsuki changed the topic to something more casual.

"You work at a dojo?" Nagisa was a little interested in martial arts. Not enough to be member of any club or dojo, but she had taken a few courses in various types of martial arts.

"I remember the last time you dragged me with you to one Nagisa. It wasn't very entertaining for a complete amateur to fight someone who had been taking classes." Saki didn't hold a grudge but she had sworn never to go to a dojo with Nagisa again.

"I run the family dojo. We have our own style. Originally, my brother was supposed to become the head of the dojo, but he's..." Spending a few seconds in her thoughts, looking for the right words, Itsuki started to smile a little. "The gentle, academical type. Not really cut out to run a dojo. He was sickly for a long time so I had taken over out of necessity and by the time he recovered, I loved the work."

"You fight right in with tomboy Black here. She was playing lacrosse for a while but then she got more and more into sports. She's a total muscle head." Laughing and pointing at Nagisa, Saki had the favor returned twice over.

"Says the woman who's been training for a triathlon." Getting up and grabbing Saki from behind, Nagisa tried pulling up her top to show Itsuki that Bloom was definitely the more muscular one from the two.

"Stop it... you..." Saki was unintentionally blushing, knowing that Nagisa was absolutely right. Comparing the two, she was clearly more athletic and muscular, though Mai didn't seem to mind a few muscles here and there.

Nagisa finally succeeded in pulling Bloom's top up when Lemonade and Muse joined the room. "Free peep show?" Urara's remark made both Muse roll eyes and Black let go of her friend. "Some people really have no shame at all."

"You're the last person to ever say that Urara." Ako's comment didn't quite reach the other three but Lemonade's reaction made it quite obvious that Muse had said something.

Itsuki kept quiet until both Lemonade and Muse had vanished into the kitchen, apparently on a quest to fill their empty bellies. "She's really difficult to deal with." There was no mistaking who she meant.

"Everyone has their quirks. Her's are just more annoying than others." Saki still retained a bit of blush in her face, paying close attention to Nagisa's hands. She didn't want to be half stripped in public again.

"Hey. You three want something too? I was gonna make pasta." Lemonade's head poked through the small window that connected kitchen and living room.

"Sure." Food that came without any effort involved was a no-brainer for Nagisa and Saki.

"I'd like some too." Itsuki was a bit more humble about it, but thinking about pasta did make her stomach growl.

As if the topic of food being made attracted the others, Melody and Rhythm showed up seconds later, holding hands and smiling at each other, making Lemonade groan in annoyance. She'd end up cooking for everyone at this rate. And Ako would make a big fuss if she backed out of it now.

Shaking her head and shrugging, Urara resigned herself to her fate, for now. But she wouldn't go down alone. "Get the pots and boil some water for now. I'll take care of the sauce." Issuing orders to Ako, the black Cure didn't even try to get away. A little kitchen work wasn't something she was afraid of.

"You don't talk to your teammates much. Had an argument with them?" Cooking was, as far as she was concerned, incredibly boring. So she'd quiz Ako about her private life a bit.

"What makes you think that? Not everyone likes the noise those two make." Dishonest as usual, Ako didn't want to say that she simply preferred to be with Urara. There was no way she could say that. It would go straight to that woman's head.

"Nothing in particular, just curious. I'm allowed to be curious about the private life of the woman I want." That was a matter of fact statement, not a question, not even a rhetorical one. Ako twitched when she heard her say it and Urara noticed that too, grinning.

"I noticed this before but you're really weak against bold stuff. It's kind of cute." Focusing on the sauce for a bit, Urara quietly waited for the inevitable reaction to that. It would come, she already knew the girl well enough for that.

"It's still a mystery to me why you're so interested. What about me is it that-" Ako dropped the still sealed pack of pasta she held in her hand when Urara suddenly held her from behind. Urara's mouth was touching her neck, her right hand right below her breasts, so close, she had to be able to feel her heartbeat. Using her other hand to grab Ako's wrist, Urara blew some hot air on the taller girls neck.

Absolutely refusing to let out even a single moan, Ako resisted as well as she could, but it was a losing battle. When a few seconds passed and she didn't make a noise, Urara moved her right hand further up, feeling the black Cure up. Just as Ako's mouth opened in surprise, the yellow Cure pulled her around, sealing her lips with a briefly lasting surprise kiss.

"I'm not gonna answer that question again and again. Or maybe I just did? Who knows." Grinning and laughing a little, Lemonade poked Muse's cheek with her index finger. "Stop the surprised look. This isn't the first time I kissed or groped you. Just get used to it already."

That was much easier said that done. Below the mature facade, Ako was still just barely in middle school. It was incredibly hard to keep up with Lemonade, even for her teammates, even more so for someone that was five years younger.

"The water is gonna boil over." Casually pointing at the whistling pot with her thumb over her shoulder, the vocalist got back to making the sauce, leaving Ako to her own devices.

"You're horrible." It was the only thing she could get out. Her face looked every bit the color of the tomato sauce, and she'd rather wear a pot on her head than throw her pride away and look at the woman, blushing as she was.

"I know, I know. It's part of my charm." Doing away with the complaint so easily, the teenager sighed in complaint and gave up. There were many people she could deal with, some easier, some harder. But Lemonade was too much for her. Whatever they did together, it always turned out like this.

"Ako, do you want some help?" Kanade poked her nose in the kitchen, watching the two women work in relative silence. "If you're cutting onions it helps to wear goggles, Ako. That way, your eyes won't tear as much. Your whole face is red from that."

Urara could hardly contain herself, trying very hard not to laugh, but it was an ultimately futile effort. Bursting out in laughter, a somewhat embarrassed Ako walked over to her friend, slowly shoving her out of the kitchen. "Thanks but we're fine." She was ever so thankful that Kanade had the wrong idea about what happened to her face.

Taking a break from being in the range of Urara's assaults, Ako stopped outside, together with Kanade. "How are things with Hibiki?" The answer was so obvious that she felt like running back into the kitchen, into the arms of that molester. Kanade started to pout, while Ako looked over to the table, to find Hibiki sitting right next to Sunshine, the two of them imprisoned between Black and Bloom. No wonder Kanade looked for something else to do.

"As you can plainly see, she's enjoying some **flirting**." Kanade raised her voice just enough so that Hibiki could hear the last word. The look on Melody's face changed from somewhat uncomfortable to plain annoyed.

"**You're** the one who stomped off as soon as I said a single word to Itsuki!" Shouting, loud enough for everyone to hear it, Hibiki didn't see any reason she'd be prohibited to even speak to Itsuki. Nagisa and Saki had just taken the seats after Kanade had left, too.

There was but a single thought going through Ako's mind. Not again. Thinking about witnessing another lovers quarrel, she'd much prefer to go back in the kitchen and deal with whatever Urara did. What annoyed her was that the idea of Urara possibly groping and kissing her again wasn't disturbing her as much as it used to do. She was slowly falling into her trap. She was being manipulated. That had to be it. She was sure of it.

"Why would I want to stick around when you're going to flirt with another girl?" Kanade didn't even notice that Ako had quietly left.

"What part of me saying hello and asking how Itsuki is doing is flirting? Are you stupid?" Hibiki was quick to say things she didn't really mean when they were arguing.

"If I'm so stupid, you must be stupid too for going out with me!" Their audience was not especially happy to witness yet another Melody and Rhythm fight.

"Maybe I am. But you're much more stupid for getting jealous like that!"

"Me, jealous? I simply didn't want to see you flirting! How is that being jealous? It's not like I told you to stop or anything!"

"Oh you're jealous alright! Just look at yourself, making a fuss just because I talked to her a bit."

"If I'm so stupid and jealous and you like her so much, why don't you go back to her!" Kanade realized only after she had spit out the words in a fury what she had actually said. The grim and hurt look in Hibiki's face quickly brought her back to her sense. "Hibiki, I-"

"Fine. I'll do just that. Come, Itsuki." Grabbing Sunshine by her wrist and pulling her up, Hibiki didn't even care that they knocked over their chairs. She argued with Kanade a lot and made up just as many times. But there were some things she couldn't just swallow and ignore.

"I'm so stupid... why did I have to say that?" Kanade hid her face behind her hands, knowing that she couldn't take this one back that easily.

"...Are those two retarded?" Urara had heard everything and watched half of it.

"They're fine as long as they're not dealing with their relationship. They're my friends so I don't want to say this... but this really tops every stupid argument they've had so far."

Urara knew when she could joke around and when not, so she kept her mouth shut now. Insulting Ako's friends any more than this would probably not net her any plus points. The living room was even more quiet than the kitchen until Rouge showed up, looking like she had just survived a night of power quaffing.

"What's the deal with Melody? She just ran past me, crying rivers. She was dragging Sunshine with her, too... I think it's among the top five weirdest things I've ever seen." Rin didn't have the most delicate timing. Hearing her say that made Kanade run right past her, angry with herself and her loose mouth.

"Someone mind explaining to me what happened?" Rin sat down across Bloom and waited for one of the two to speak up.

"One of their arguments went out of control." Saki didn't want to recite every detail. Summing it up like that should be enough. It hadn't been a pretty sight, however short-lived it was.

=== Dissonance ===

"I've always wanted to try this." Erika was laying on her side, her head resting on Tsubomi's lap, said girl cleaning her ears with a traditional Japanese earpick. Both of them were still injured and taking it a bit easy. Even the always energetic Marine was slowing down.

"You could have just asked me." Tsubomi was really happy that things worked out like that. Even though they had shared their first real kiss the last night, they didn't have the energy to do anything else. Sleeping next to each other was less exciting than they had thought, mostly because it was nothing new to them. Tsubomi sometimes just slept at Erika's place when it got really late and she was about to fall asleep sitting.

"I didn't want just anyone to do it. I wanted to be spoiled by my **lover**." Erika thoroughly enjoyed being able to call Tsubomi that, especially since a strong display of affection like that still made the florist blush. Thinking about it for a bit, nothing really changed. She had showered with her, slept next to her and touched almost every part of her body plenty of times. It was a lot more exciting to do it **now**, though, so she enjoyed that.

"I wonder what Yuri and Itsuki are going to say. I can't wait to tell them." Tsubomi was so excited that she couldn't stop smiling.

"Your face is gonna freeze like that forever if you keep smiling." Erika didn't even have to look to know what kind of expression Tsubomi had. Partners or not, she still liked to be funny and tease Tsubomi just a bit.

"That doesn't worry me. I'll keep on smiling as long as we're together anyway." Tsubomi wasn't as innocent as she had been years ago. Spending all that time with Erika was bound to let her develop some sass of her own.

"The showers should be free by now. Want to go? We should probably get that dirt from yesterday off us." Waiting for Tsubomi to put away the ear-pick, Erika turned around and looked up at her partner. "Nobody else should be there too, so nobody is gonna hear us."

"You really have the mind of a dirty old man sometimes." But Tsubomi couldn't deny that she was more than just a little interested in how having sex with Erika would turn out. She hadn't slept with anyone else before that, so it was her first time too. While she did like romantic things, she didn't really pay all that much heed to the apparent importance of how and when she first slept with Erika. What mattered was her partner, not the where and when.

"You say that but you don't mind at all." Getting up, turning about, crawling over the bed and behind her love, hugging her from behind, all in a matter of seconds, Erika rubbed her cheek against Tsubomi's. "You like it when I touch you, right?"

Instead of finding a roundabout way to answer that, Tsubomi simply moved her head to the side a little, faced Erika and kissed her, leaning against her so much that the two of them fell back on the bed. Instead of just letting Blossom lead her, Erika put some strength in her arms and legs and forced Tsubomi to roll over, the roles now reversed, Erika on top of the taller woman.

"Are you still mad about the thing with Itsuki? I really-"

"Don't be silly. For how many years do you think I've known you now? I can tell when your mouth is just faster than your head. Or your hands for that instance." Grabbing Erika's right wrist, Tsubomi stopped her, just short of being groped. "Shower first." If she didn't put up some resistance, Erika would push her around too much. She usually didn't mind that, but now that they were a real couple, she wanted a more equal role.

Getting down from her girlfriend, acting all shocked and covering her mouth, Marine feigned being moved to tears. "My little Tsubomi is all grown up, talking back to me and making her own decisions! Mom is so happy!"

Tsubomi cringed in response and grabbed Erika's ear and pinched it a little, making the designer drop her act. "You're a horrible actor."

"I'd have to ask Momoka to act for me. I kinda wish I looked more like her. I can't even look Yuri in the face without looking up. I'd like to just carry you in my arms, too." Getting hugged from behind, Tsubomi rested her head on Erika's back.

"Silly, if you were that tall, I'd have to look up to kiss you. You're barely smaller than me, so don't be greedy."

"Well, I suppose my chest is a bit smaller than your-" Erika was again interrupted by Tsubomi's hands moving to her face, her fingers moving the corners of her mouth into a wide smile.

"Whose chest did you say was small?" Tsubomi wasn't all that sensitive about the issue but she did like to repay Erika for her teasing. The two of them started laughing a few seconds after Erika tried to get out of the hold and resigned herself.

"Shower?" Letting go of Erika and moving to the edge of the bed, Tsubomi kinda wished she still kept her hair in a ponytail for it was tangled up with Erika's at parts. They both had really long hair so they didn't notice, but it was quite a pain to undo it. "After we fix this..."

"Just keep it. We'll be in the same cabin anyway." Marine wore a devious and horny grin on her face, making Tsubomi blush again. "It'll go away as soon as one of us cancels Cure mode, too." Tsubomi kept forgetting that they were in Cure mode all the time now. At least until Erika finished a few clothes.

"I'm still impressed you managed to save up this much. I'll help you any way I can."

Marine first didn't know what Tsubomi was suddenly talking about, then she realized what she meant. "Oh, you mean my idea for a fashion store. Well, it's gonna be just clothes, though. Aren't I awesome? I tried so hard and I'm almost at three-hundred!"

"If I give you mine, you'll be close to five-hundred. I really could do with some clothes beside my Cure outfit. It's not exactly the most practical thing to wear." While she didn't have Erika's knack for fashion, Tsubomi still worried about her looks quite a bit. Switching her hairstyle and changing up her costume had all been Erika's suggestions. The long ponytail as Blossom or the pig-tails as Tsubomi had become rather childish and out of place as she grew up.

"Really? Alright, I'll make you some awesome clothes." Erika, much closer to her goal now, was happy enough to jump Tsubomi and passionately kiss her. And Tsubomi didn't stop her for a long time.

=== Dissonance ===

The day had been oddly quiet, for there had been no negotiations, no exile run, no fight, and yet also no catastrophes like the day before. Just as Hibiki reached the end of the long hallway, still Sunshine in tow, she found her anger and disappointment washed away by what happened right before her eyes.

The entire complex started to tremble so hard that it became difficult to just stand. It was worse than trying to keep balance on a surfboard. There was no way she could keep holding on to Itsuki. Letting go, she managed to keep standing for a few more seconds before she toppled over. The ground was not just shaking, It was going up and down so hard, it looked like waves.

To someone from Japan, earthquakes were both something common and terrifying. "Earthquake!" Hibiki yelled on top of her lungs, hoping that the ceiling wouldn't come down, that the walls would hold. Because there was no way to escape.

The shaking intensified still, throwing them up and down like they were marbles in a spinning bottle. Able to see the entrance to the maze, Hibiki saw the structure of the complex changed violently every few seconds. The hallway persisted, but the outside was being radically turned over and over.

"Look!" Itsuki tried to speak as little as possible, it being dangerous to talk when being thrown around like that. Biting your tongue was something really dangerous, Cure or not.

Part of the wall at the end of the hallway was changing. Stone for stone, the bricks moved away in the darkness beyond the wall. It was like a deep hole that rejected all light. They could only watch in confusion as one large, enormous black block appeared where the rough wall had been before. But that was trivial in comparison to what appeared on said block. Twelve symbols, some looking familiar, some rather bizarre. Beneath those symbols, twelve numbers engraved themselves with a sizzling sound into the stone. The symbols were gray, the number simple cuts into the stone.

Yet the tremors did not stop. To the right of the large stone moved another one of the same design, Just as the one before, it had twelve symbols but lacked the numbers. To the left, another block, the same as the right one.

Dust falling from the ceiling sent Hibiki into a state of panic, fearful of the hallway collapsing, trying to get away, which proved to be a futile effort, with the entire complex shaking as it was. Sunshine managed to reach Melody, hugging her and focusing all her strength into creating a spherical shield right around them. Inside her barriers, she could move freely. The two of them suspended in the air inside the shield, they watched the trembling slowly stop.

It took merely five seconds for Rhythm to arrive and see Melody and Sunshine together. She didn't get a chance to say anything. Those who had not been in the living room or the kitchen came out of their rooms, even Dream.

They all rushed to the end of the hallway, the enormous blocks with the symbols a visible change even from far away. Kanade kept her distance, not eager to start another fight with Hibiki. She would have time to clear up things later.

"So? What's this?" Lemonade, still traces of sauce on her face and on her clothes, was the first to ask the obvious question. Looking at White, who was supposedly one of the smartest Cure's, she expected an answer.

"Twelve symbols must refer to the twelve of us. That much is simple. To say more I'm going to need some time." Honoka didn't even bother to look back at Lemonade. "Or not. It's doing something."

One of the symbols lit up. Changing from gray to a golden color, the symbol was now obvious. It was a butterfly over a chain. It didn't take much thinking to know who that belonged to. "Me, huh?" Urara wasn't sure what to expect.

"This is just a theory, but each symbol should belong to one of us. If the symbol lights up, the one who the symbol belongs to is supposed to do something." White had her theory confirmed a second after she put it out there.

"Fighting. The middle block is selecting the fighters. I know because I had this same feeling just before I headed off to a battle last time. It's a little different now though. I feel... restless. I guess that's that with choosing who is going to fight." Urara felt nervous and uneasy. It wasn't her own decision to participate in a battle, but she felt like she did.

"So they're choosing a few of us randomly now? Why? It worked fine before!" Ako wasn't happy at all with that scenario.

"No, it didn't. Think about yesterday. That must have caused enough problems for **them** to no longer leave it to us." White grit her teeth. One mistake and they were suddenly running under a likely automatic system? That was extremely harsh.

"If the middle block is for fighting... then those two..." Mai didn't need to say it out loud. One for negotiations, one for the exile. So it was all automated now. One small failure had caused the entire system to be changed.

"The food went to hell in this chaos anyway, so I'm off." Urara didn't feel like doing anything but heading to the arena regardless. Not because she truly felt like it but something was forcing her to feel that way. "If there's anything different about the fighting, I'll tell you later. See ya." Walking past the others, the gate opened as if it recognized Lemonade as the one that was chosen.

Stepping through the gate, she could notice the red mist. It wasn't as thick and there wasn't as much as the day before. The same as usual. Her senses heightened, Urara got ready to lay waste to whoever would show up. If she had to fight anyway, she sure as hell wouldn't lose.

The battlefield was completely changed from before. Gone was the large field with the tower. Standing on what was a thick joist of stone, to her right and left were countless others, deep gaping holes below. Looking down, she could see numerous other joists, some suddenly ending, others connecting with even more, creating paths. There was barely enough space to keep both feet next to each other on every single one. A little bit of missing balance, and one would fall.

"This is great!" Lemonade broke out in laughter. A stage created just for her. No matter where she went, with her chains she could jump without having to worry about where she landed.

Her instinct taking over, Urara jumped out of the way just in time. Six energy orbs impacted on the path she had been standing on, completely destroying it. Looking where the attack had come from, Urara noticed that there were not only paths about a dozen meters beneath here but also above her. Turning around, she realized that the wall at the other end wasn't just any ordinary wall but the side of a gigantic chasm. They were inside a canyon, with countless small bridges connecting each side. And more than twenty meters above her stood another yellow Cure.

"Light Burst!" Sixteen small rays emerged from Hikari's hands, flying straight at Lemonade. Three of the rays hit other paths before they came even close. Not bothering to try and escape that time, Urara created a shield made of her chain right in front of her. Fighting with the other Cure's and watching them gave her some interesting ideas.

Using one chain as a whip and wrapping the end around one of the paths, Urara pulled with every bit of strength she had, ripping the large stone block loose and hurling it at Luminous, who didn't have time to counter with an attack, forcing her to avoid the objects by jumping out of the way. Missing the next path by a few meters, she fell a good dozen meters down, right on top of another path. The bad landing and the impact were enough to make her gasp in pain.

Lemonade was already on the move, closing in on Luminous. In a ranged fight she had the definitive disadvantage but Luminous didn't seem like someone who was used to fighting other Cure's just yet.

"Ray Sphere Burst!" Creating a large sphere right in front of her, Hikari spun around once and kicked the orb with her full power. Bursting into about fifty smaller, fist-sized, orbs, each single one started to fly towards Lemonade.

Hurling several chains in the general direction of the multiple spheres, the second the first orb was hit by the chain, it exploded in a large sphere of light with the force of dynamite. The explosion triggered to more orbs, which in turn continued the chain reaction. The entire pathway between the two yellow Cure's was destroyed, cutting Lemonade off from reaching her opponent. She had to go up or down to reach Luminous and even then she didn't have any guarantee she wouldn't repeat that crazy move.

There was no way she could use either Iron Maiden or El Dorado to substitute the paths. The chains had to connect to something and the wall was easily more than a hundred meters away, the pathways too easy to destroy for Luminous. Someone like her was the worst possible opponent she could have.

"Ray Blast!" Launching her next attack, Hikari was starting to breathe more heavily. She wasn't the type to be able to sustain long range artillery strikes for an extended period of time. Her forte was support and the occasional long range strike. She had to take down Lemonade before she got wind of that.

The same large sphere as before hovered slowly away from Luminous, still in one piece, even after traveling over ten meters. Urara, cautious of the explosive power of something that size, retreated further down. The light got significantly worse the further down they went. Looking up, it was impossible to say just how far up the last pathways were. It would take a while to travel that distance.

The orb slowly following her general direction, it was just about to hit a path. Not eager to get blasted to dust, Urara wrapped a chain around one of the lower pathways and jumped, letting the chain extend freely. Going down far enough so that the light had gotten so bad that her eyes needed to adjust, she watched the sphere exploded with enormous force. If someone took that point blank, there wouldn't be much left.

Following Lemonade seemed like a dangerous choice but she didn't have the energy reserves to blast the entire lower area to bits. Having to take the chance of running into a trap, Hikari jumped down, from path to path, moving away from the direction she had seen Lemonade move to.

"Golden Flail!" The attack came from directly below her, a large bundle of golden chains acting like a rod, the end split into dozens of chains. There were about twenty meters between the end of the flail and her when she noticed it.

"Light Shock!" Extending her right hand towards the flail, Hikari unleashed a large energy beam that rushed straight at the chains, collided with them and split them apart completely, falling down like a shot snake. Her breathing was becoming irregular. Fighting alone, without backup ever coming, was not something she had trained for.

"Got you." Hikari heard the words as she fell by another path. Looking up, Lemonade was sitting there, over a dozen meters above the point the flail had originated from. Running a few of her chains over distance and detours to that point, she amplified them there and used them as decoy.

A single chain wrapped itself around Hikari's left leg, pulling her right out of free fall and smashing her through one of the pathways. Gasping for air, Luminous didn't get to catch a break. Thrown around like the end of a morning star, Hikari found herself hard pressed not to faint, each impact feeling like a truck hit her at full speed.

"Photon Rain!" Unable to pinpoint where Lemonade or she herself was, Hikari simply fired in every direction at once. Virtually countless tiny light needles spawned right around her, soaring through the air like bullets. The chain lost it's pull and she was free, though at a price. She couldn't move her right arm at all and her right eye, too, was giving her trouble. The attack was purely anti-personnel, not even denting the stone-like ground.

Trusting her left eye, Hikari jumped to the side when another large path fragment was hurled at her. Lemonade wasn't in good condition either. Unable to avoid an attack with such an insane spread, she took several needles in her right arm and left leg, greatly disturbing her balance. She could still move, but it was like several super thin razor sharp knife blades were stuck in her flesh.

For Luminous to give her so much trouble was quite a thorn in her side. Almost literally, too. Albeit this was no time for silly jokes. Ignoring the pain and running towards the point Luminous had dropped off the pathway and descended even further, Urara found herself ambushed.

Several large light spheres, identical to the one from before, were floating up towards her. If even one of those things hit her, she was dust. Spawning several chains from her functioning hand, she targeted multiple paths above her, confirmed the chains were stuck to them and jumped down, right through the area the spheres were in, barely passing between them. Luminous was still further down or hiding, but she had to take care of the spheres first. Passing by another path, she used a second chain, screaming out in rage when the needles hit her nerves, to swing once around the pathway and collapsed it. The falling path collapsed the ones much further above, which now fell straight into the spheres.

The explosion was so enormous that the entire chasms was lit by it. And that was Urara's chance. Spotting Luminous only about thirty meters away, she put all her power into getting in effective range. Luminous seemed to prepare some kind of major attack so she had to hurry.

"Judgmental Ra-" Hikari was almost done with her attack when a small rock hit her in the face, her nose immediately starting to bleed. Surprised and thrown off balance, she couldn't finish the attack. Lemonade had used a short chain like a slingshot and thrown a rock at her. Several smaller and bigger rocks hit the area around her, one after another. Urara didn't take any chances.

"Light Sho-" Hikari's attack was interrupted again. Lemonade used a chain like a grappling hook and catapulted herself against Luminous with at least thirty kilometers per hour. Her fist buried in Luminous stomach, she would make absolutely sure the girl won't stand up again or blast her away. Four thick chains spawned directly from Urara's hands, tying Hikari's arms to her torso, the four chains converging into one in Urara's hands.

Spinning around and whirling Hikari like a throwing hammer, Urara smashed her full force against every path that was in range. Every impact filled Hikari's face with dust and send sharp stone shards flying around, cutting through her costume. Four impacts was enough rob her off her consciousness.

Urara was completely out of breath when the area around her started to change. A blinding light made her close her eyes and the next thing she felt her bed. Most of the pain was gone but, as usual, blue spots remained. "How was it?" Urara didn't need to check who said that.

Ako didn't know why but she always ended up coming back to her room, even if she only wanted to read a book in peace. "Wait a second, almost done with this chapter."

Teasing Muse a little, Urara knelt on the bed, picked the book out of her hands and closed it. "Quite an attitude you have there. Making me wait in my own room."

"Patience is a virtue. At least I memorized the page number." Sighing, Ako leaned to the side and watched Urara skim over the content of the book. "Give it back to me later, okay? So how was the fight? Anything different from usual?"

"No. Just a new battlefield. Horrible place. Essentially deep canyon with lots of frail bridges." The book was a plain crime thriller, really generic. "How about things on this end?"

"Melody and Rhythm got into a short fight the moment you were gone. It ended with both of them screaming at each other and Melody plus Sunshine running off. I think someone picked up what we left behind, not sure though. White has been glued to the hallway end ever since. Can I have my novel back now?" She really wanted to know how it ended and she was almost done, too.

"You're being really cold. Something pissed you off?" Turning around and leaning back, Urara forced her head on Ako's lap. The black Cure didn't even make any useless attempts to get out of that. "Here." Throwing the book in a slight angle, it landed safely next to Ako.

"Just incredibly tired of Melody and Rhythm always fighting. It was annoying two years ago and it got only worse since then. Now that they're together, it's worse than ever. If that's how all couples are, I never want to be in a relationship."

"Don't be ridiculous. Black and White, Bloom and Egret. You don't see them arguing at all. Melody and Rhythm are the youngest out of everyone, so it's obvious that they're not as mature as we are." Urara had no idea that just this one comment made Ako really worried. "Should we go check on the kitchen? Or want to finish your novel while I enjoy the novelty of this glorious lap pillow?" Urara grinned wide and enjoyed the smile flitting over Ako's lips.

"Enjoy your lap pillow." Ako was already nose deep back in her novel.

=== Dissonance ===

"We're cursed to never sleep with each other." Erika, for some reason, disliked the word sex, so she substituted other words for it every chance she got.

"First we're too injured... then an earthquake hits us just before we strip in the shower... then we're too worried about what's happening... then they call us for dinner... A tragedy, yes." Tsubomi was, during every short break, stuffing her mouth with the fresh salad that made up most of dinner.

"Now look... you don't look bothered or serious when you say that while you look like a hamster." The table was rather noisy, and Erika looked depressed that her grandiose acting was completely wasted on Tsubomi, since the salad seemed more important.

Playing halfheartedly with a pickle, Marine sighed. She had looked forward to that shower. And touching Tsubomi. Not that she hadn't done either and both in combination before. But now, even the previously restricted areas were free.

"Stop thinking about it, you're making a lewd face." Tsubomi scolded Erika with a look and finished her plate.

"Blossom." A voice right next to Tsubomi. One of the Cure's from Peach's team, Berry. "You worked as a florist, right?"

"Still do. Just not here. No garden to take care of." Tsubomi, while facing Miki, was slowly moving her hand under the table to Erika's direction. Holding hands at the table was kind of an odd thing to do, but she really craved the sensation of touching Erika.

"I was thinking that there really is nowhere to go in this place. A garden would be a place where people could go to relax. I talked to White about this and she said if we find someone to take care of it, we would ask everyone else too if they're okay with using the team favor and part of our own to let you wish for a garden and see what happens." Waiting for her answer, Miki got seconds of the salad. She didn't know Inori was this good in the kitchen. Lately, she just had to eat what everyone else was eating. By the time they got back home, she'd probably have to exercise twice as much.

"What... really? A real garden? I've thought about it but... just imagining how much favor that would eat up... of course I'd care for it. I miss my garden at home and being able to work in it." Tsubomi was so happy at the thought of being able to work in a garden again that she let go of Erika and clapped her hands together.

"Don't get too happy. I think most will agree and that should be enough but there is always the chance that we won't have enough or it just won't work." Miki tried to calm down the now overly excited Blossom.

"Cursed... I tell you." Marine sighed, closed her eyes and bit in the one pickle she had been playing with. She wouldn't give up. Never.

Dinner didn't pass as fast as Tsubomi wanted it to, and the four of them, Marine, Blossom, Berry and White, talked to the others while still at the table. There was nobody opposed to the idea and so they went ahead and let Tsubomi pick a spot. Just beyond the hallway, around a corner, was a series of inter-connected large rooms, both very high and wide, perfect for their needs.

Everyone but Marine chipped in quite a bit, making Tsubomi positive that they would get a nice garden. That Erika kept pursuing her own goal was completely fine with her. Everyone else was in dire need of some clothes as well. Including the favor in the team pool, they had collected over a thousand favor. One thousand one hundred and twenty-three to be exact.

Letting her imagination run wild, Tsubomi stood at the lower end of the hallway, right in front of the team pool, and closed her eyes, wishing as intently for a lush, big garden as she could. As she opened her eyes, most of the favor was gone. A small rest of about two-hundred favor remained.

Everyone else had waited patiently behind her, all of them interested in what kind of garden it would be. But none had quite managed to imagine what they saw when they returned there. Tsubomi walked through the now single, monumental in size, room in total awe. It was less a garden and more of a small part of a forest. The room about thirty meters high, thirty wide and a hundred long. Three small dirt paths led a visitor through it.

The left path winding itself like a snake between tall and thick trees, their leaves green and lush, a wind coming from somewhere, passing through, creating the well loved sound of a real forest. Countless small grasses and flowers were blooming wildly between the trees. Miki even found one of the bigger ones to be an apple tree about to bear fruit. The end of the path returned right, converging with the middle one before the back end.

The right path led past high grown ivy on the wall, several beautiful benches placed along the path randomly, each made of wood with metal framing, inviting one to sit down and enjoy nature. The grass overgrew part of the path in places. Several large bushes, which Tsubomi enjoyed identifying as blueberry and blackberry bushes, obscured the view from anywhere but further down of the same path they were on. Just before it returned to the middle path, it took a small curve, passing between two wooden walls which were covered in ivy, a single bench positioned there, like a hideout.

The middle path was the most amazing of all, for there were no trees, no ivy or bushes, but a small pond, a water garden. Twenty or so meters long, it they watched in completely amazement how a tiny river connected the pond to a hole in the wall. Nobody dared to break the wall and see where the water was coming from. The tiny river ran along side the path, a just as tiny bridge letting one pass with dry feet at the end. According to Tsubomi, a few very rare flowers and grasses grew around the pond. The path branched and while one led back to the entrance, by the other side of the pond, the main path converged with the other two at a round space, where both two simple tree-stump benches and a massive wooden table were placed. A company of up to six or eight could comfortably sit there.

Just beyond that was the jewel of the garden. A small hill, slowly climbing up to three meters height over the course of ten meters length, was covered entirely in flowers. Not a single spot was to be seen that had not a flower blooming. There were so many different ones that Tsubomi didn't know where to start and almost fainted from excitement.

"Such a beautiful garden... I didn't expect much, but even had I expected a lot... this is so serene... so calming. And all of this in this otherwise desolate place. I'd never guess I'm in some kind of prison with an arena while in here." Komachi was so impressed she couldn't stop looking. She was the first to notice something odd about the ceiling. "Isn't the ceiling... moving?"

As everyone looked up, the stone was slowly changing color, slowly moving. Their faces were rich with surprise, some of them too stunned to close their mouths. The stone ceiling was slowly turning into the illusion of a sky. The smell of the trees, of the water and the grass, and now even a small breeze was hitting them.

Komachi was the first to grab Tsubomi's hands and thank her. "This is wonderful. Thank you so much." Everyone else followed suit and then went to look at the garden in more detail. Karen and Komachi walked the left path, stopping at every tree, taking deep breaths of the fresh air. Setsuna, Love and Ellen were playing at the edge of the small pond, which seemed to be just a little over a meter deep.

Kurumi stayed at the flower hill. Miki, Inori and Michiru walked aimlessly through the garden, enjoying the display of nature in an otherwise artificial world. Marine and Tsubomi were left alone, with the exception of Kurumi, at the flower hill.

"You're the heroine of the day." Erika was quite happy, both with the garden and for Tsubomi. "I knew you loved plants but to create something like this... well, it did eat up nine-hundred favor, but still, this is amazing. How many square meters is this?" Kneeling down and touching the grass on the ground, Marine smiled, sat down in the grass and took off her boots. "This feels so... so... good. Try it, Tsubomi." Wiggling her toes in the long grass, Erika started laughing and rolling around. Getting dirty didn't bother her one bit. She had been knee deep in fertilizer before.

Taking off her boots and sitting down, Blossom enjoyed the grass too. Erika was with her, everyone was thankful for the garden and she had such a large place to care for now. So many flowers and other plants. Tsubomi was truly happy right now.

=== Dissonance ===

Itsuki felt like she should say something, but instead she just sat there and listened to Hibiki playing her piano. After Lemonade had left, Kanade tried to clear things up, but Hibiki had still been in a state of anger and being hurt, so things escalated even further. The last thing they said to each other had been "I hate you!"

Sitting on the stairs and hearing the sad song Hibiki was playing, Itsuki assumed that dinner had been over long ago and most of the others had went to bed. The pink haired girl was showing no sign of calming down or wanting to apologize to Kanade.

And the worst part of all was that she couldn't do anything. The words from her exile still resonated in her head. She wasn't needed. Her existence was useless. That she only got in the way of things. And now... Hibiki needed her. And Itsuki needed her. As long as she was with her, she could do away with the thought of really being useless, of being in the way.

She was running away from the real problem, but that was simply how people are. If an easy way out presented itself and it came with the bonus of being close to the person one was in love with, they would always choose that over confronting their fears.

Standing up and walking past the piano, Melody only noticed her when Itsuki stopped her hands from playing by holding them. "Let's go to sleep. You're tired, aren't you?" The dojo master was well aware of what she was doing. After backing off when Hibiki chose Kanade, she was taking advantage of the situation. She was being selfish and trying to keep Hibiki to herself. But she couldn't help it! She still loved Hibiki and if Kanade was as stupid as to constantly fight with her, then it was her own fault if Itsuki made a move.

"Okay..." Nodding once and standing up,Hibiki was still looking at the ground when she laid her arms around Itsuki, resting her head against the blond woman's chest, her voice so quiet and meek that it was hard to believe it was the same girl who had shouted "I hate you!" just a few hours ago.

Melody couldn't help but seek comfort within Itsuki's arms. In her relationship with Kanade, she was the strong one, the leading one, the blunt one. With Itsuki, she could be the weak, frail, delicate one. And right now, she wanted to be that. She loved Kanade, but that love was buried below a fight at the time. And she still loved Itsuki, who had come back and didn't say anything at all. Not a single mean word for choosing Kanade or making things awkward.

Petting Hibiki's head, Itsuki waited for her to let go before she picked her up, carrying her like a princess. Melody's head rested still against her chest when she felt her heart jump. Things like that now were the reason she still loved Itsuki.

The cold air of the night was surrounding them when Hibiki gave in to temptation, to the desire to be loved, to be comforted. With both her arms around Itsuki's neck, she boldly kissed the yellow Cure. And Itsuki responded in turn, the two of them sharing their first passionate kiss since Kanade had confessed to her.

=== End of Event XVI ===


	17. Mirrors – Unum

**Dissonance**

_Event XVII_

**Mirrors-Unum**

She had forgotten how good it all felt, even though it hadn't been that long. Why did she forget? Was it because she couldn't endure the pain of leaving it all behind for something... someone else? Was it because she didn't want to betray Kanade's feelings? But now, she was back together... with Itsuki.

Her own breath was like fire, every second she spent kissing Itsuki she felt like her body was burning up even more. No matter how passionately they kissed, no matter how much their tongues danced, playing with each other, teasing each other, they couldn't stop. Each others saliva tasting for the other like sweet honey, Hibiki's right arm tightly held on to her lovers neck, pulling her down, holding her down, unwilling to let her get away for even a second.

Their bodies pushing against each other, their skin glimmering with droplets of sweat, each movement causing the two of them to moan into their long, unyielding kiss. Their breasts touching, pressing together, they were on a high trip of excitement. Sensitive and hot, their nipples rubbed against each other, preventing them from ever stopping moving, addicting like fire that filled them up from the inside.

One of her hands between Hibiki's legs, pleasing the girl below her with her dexterous fingers, every single one coated in Melody's excitement. The other hand, it's fingers intervened with her those of her love's left, trembling and shaking, holding on so strongly to her partners hand that it seemed like they could never separate again.

Their love and loving was without restraint, a desire both fiery and pure. They needed each other, they wanted each other. Hibiki could not get enough and Itsuki was more than happy to oblige.

Wanting her partner to share the same feelings she experienced, Hibiki let go of her love's neck and reached through the small space between their bodies. Their kiss suspended in surprise for a second when Hibiki's hand found Itsuki's most intimate place, now both of them approaching the height of their act together.

The air between and around them hot like a forge, the two of them melting in their lust, Itsuki's tongue left her partners behind alone, not to breathe or take a break, no. Words she couldn't hold in any longer, she had wanted to say even back then, when Hibiki chose Kanade.

"I love you, Hibiki." Even though she said it before, even though there was nothing she meant more sincere than this, to say these words now had a special meaning to her. That she wouldn't let her go away again.

"I love you too, Itsuki." Things were different for her, yet she only said what she truly felt. She needed Itsuki, no matter what.

Itsuki's expression changed, tensing up, her breathing out of control, heavy gasps of air escaping her mouth until sealed again by Hibiki's lips. And she could tell that Hibiki had come too, from the way her body was shaking and trembling. Their fingers wet and sticky, the bed the same, Itsuki rolled over, laying next to her love, pulling her close, hugging her. Hibiki's arms went around the blond girls back, holding tightly on to her.

"Itsuki..." Hibiki had a smile on her face, happy in the arms of her love. "You won't leave me or get angry at me, right?" She was so sick of fighting with Kanade. So incredibly sick of it.

"Hm, only if you stay with me." Kissing Hibiki's forehead, she smiled softly. If Kanade was stupid enough to keep fighting and making a fuss out of everything, to the point where she would tell Hibiki to just go back to her, Itsuki, then she really didn't deserve Hibiki. Their endless bickering seemed to be a pain for everyone else, too.

"It's a deal." Giggling, Hibiki really felt happy, just like the times when she was with Kanade. But the fighting had gone on too long. If happiness came attached with something like that, she'd rather have the same happiness without it. And that was Itsuki. "...Say..." Hibiki, now that the excitement and the lust was fading, her desire satisfied, was starting to feel a little uncomfortable with things as they were. "Should we... take a shower?"

"It's the middle of the night but..." Her right hand feeling the wet spot on the mattress and the sweat soaked blanket, she kind of understood where Hibiki was coming from. "I guess you're right."

Letting go of her partner and slowly getting up, Itsuki wondered if she should go into Cure form or gamble that there was nobody else awake at this time of the night. Hibiki had the same thought and hesitated. Their plan of action was decided quickly when Itsuki grabbed the bed blanket, held Hibiki close and covered the two of them just barely with the cloth. Their naked bodies pressed against each other while they peeked into the dark hallway gave them a sense of thrill, excitement completely different from having sex.

The cold air of the hallway immediately gave them goosebumps. Tip-toeing their way to the bathroom, they almost shrieked when they heard a toilet flush, the two of them running into the living room, hiding behind a corner. Itsuki was taller than Hibiki and able to peek around the corner in the darkness. Thankfully, her hair wasn't as bright in civilian form, so whoever it was wouldn't be able to see her.

A completely sleep drunk White walked out of the bathroom, her hair in a horrible mess. She looked like she had just woken up. Itsuki could hear her mumbling something to herself but was only able to make out fragments. "Stupid...kicking me...I'm...her..No...for...three...serves...right..."

"Sounds like she had a rough night with Black." Hibiki was whispering as quietly as she possibly could.

"Seems that way." Itsuki shivered due to the lack of clothes. They waited almost a minute until White had gone back into her room. Hurrying into the bathroom, hiding the blanket in the shower furthest to the back and occupying the cubicle next to that, they grinned at each other, remembering how they had first done this. Itsuki had already put her hand on the valve to turn on the water when she suddenly hesitated, hearing voices from the entrance.

"Are you sure this is a good idea? I don't want someone to see us." It was a loud whisper and Itsuki recognized the voice as belonging to Egret. Why did they all have to plan their nightly trips to the bathroom that day!

"Don't worry, everyone else is asleep. I checked in on Honoka and Nagisa, they're fast asleep. I didn't hear anything from the others, except Melody." Itsuki tensed up, hearing Bloom mention her name. What exactly did she hear? "I don't know who she was with but it was pretty clear she was sleeping with someone." Blushing from the thought of Bloom eavesdropping, Itsuki covered down, Hibiki following her example.

"What do we do now?" Hibiki's voice was barely audible, even to the girl right next to her.

"Wait. I don't want them to know we're here. We'd have to turn into Cure's to walk out of here and I kind of don't want them to-" Itsuki, whispering just like Hibiki, stopped and listened for their voices. There was nothing. Instead, she could hear something else.

The sound of two people kissing, cloth rustling and heavier getting breathing. "They can't possibly..."

Hibiki started to blush heavily. A few seconds later, they heard the water in the first shower turn on, the noise completely covering whatever sounds Saki and Mai were producing. "You think they'll notice if we get out now?"

"I don't know. But we can't shower like this... and I don't want them to think we peeped on them either." Itsuki didn't know what to do. If they left, the other two could hear them. If they showered, they would definitely hear them. Turning into Cure's would catch their attention for sure as well.

"For some reason I kinda feel tempted to take a peek..." Hibiki couldn't help but be curious how well-built Bloom was. Her outfit covered almost everything, so she only had a rough idea. Egret's costume was skimpy enough though.

"Don't be silly. Egret would toast us both if she caught us." Itsuki wasn't keen on dying this soon after getting Hibiki back. "Let's try and leave as quietly as we can." Opening the door as slowly as humanly possible, Itsuki tip-toed to the second shower and found another problem. Those two hadn't bothered to close the door to the first one. Hibiki caught up with her, having rolled up the blanket. Itsuki nodded, knowing that the rustling would have been a dead giveaway of their presence.

Holding up her hand, a signal to stop, Itsuki tried to take a peek, hopefully without Bloom seeing her. It wasn't that dark in the shower room, so the chances weren't that good. Bloom had Egret pinned to the wall and was on her knees, her tongue pleasing her girlfriend. Itsuki's face turned to a fierce red upon seeing both the scene and Egret naked. Thankfully, Mai seemed to be fully concentrated on enjoying her partners tongue play.

Taking the chance, Itsuki took a few small steps, as quietly as she could and successfully made it past the two. A loud moan from Mai serving as signal, Hibiki followed the blond girl and tried to make it past as well. Not quite successfully. Stopping just short of leaving, Hibiki couldn't help but take a good look at Bloom. Even her back was showing off how much she trained. Her arms and legs were clearly those of an athlete. Admiring her body, Hibiki overstayed her welcome too much. Just as Mai lifted her head, her eyes getting a glance of a person, Hibiki started running.

"Who's there?" Mai, knocking over Saki, jumped to the entrance of the shower and looked around, but she couldn't see anyone. Unwilling to go out of the bathroom like that, Mai resigned herself that she was a little paranoid. Pulling the door close and locking it, she didn't enjoy the thrill as much as Saki.

Both Itsuki and Hibiki looked like a wolf had chased them over five kilometers. Red faces, out of breath and quite scared, they looked at each other started to giggle. They were, again, in the living room, stark naked and in the dark. Itsuki was first to switch to Cure form, Hibiki following suit quickly after. "Let's just go sleep in my room then." Itsuki was still feeling a little icky from the sweat, but she didn't want to stay up until whenever Egret and Bloom would leave.

Leaving Hibiki's room empty and only throwing the blanket ball on top of the bed, the two of them went to Itsuki's room, luckily without any other interruptions.

=== Dissonance ===

Michiru was the only one awake, strolling through the garden. It was a complete mystery to her how something like it could exist. The ground was genuine dirt and earth, and even though she tried hard to find a room that connected to whatever was below the garden, she couldn't find anything. It was like the earth simply reached so far downwards that the rooms below had been obliterated or replaced.

The water was untraceable as well. There was indeed a room about twenty meters behind the garden, but nothing in-between, only solid stone. If it could even be called that. The material this place was made of wasn't identical to anything she had ever seen. It was more like an... alloy of stone than real one. It was much too hard to be average stone. In it's composition, it was closer to granite, yet, not heavy enough to be just that. Hitting concrete on Earth with her full power completely obliterated the material and everything around it.

The wind was yet another mystery. There were multiple small holes that kept shifting. By this point, she knew of seventy-two holes and three-hundred-fifty-two positions. She couldn't quite explain where the wind was coming from, but at the end of the day, she enjoyed being there a lot more than aimlessly wandering around.

Taking her boots and leg armor off, Bright sat down at the edge of the pond and let her feet down in the water. She really wished Kaoru would be there with her, both to analyze this place and because she felt lonely. Mai and Saki were on the other side as well, and with the new system, who knew when they would come over.

Talking of the new system, Michiru had learned, together with Aqua, that touching the middle field made a specific number light up first, then several others, depending on the person touching. It was like an archaic information display. First it displayed how many battles remained before one could switch sides again. Secondly, it displayed how much favor one had. It always displayed one last number that seemed different form everyone, and they still hadn't figured out what it was.

The water was unexpectedly cold at night. The quiet gurgling of the river, the rustling of the tree's at night, it was a very serene picture. The grass was a little wet and was smelling of rain. Looking up, Michiru observed the biggest of all the mysteries in this room. The indoor sky. It kept changing, even showing clouds and it was completely indistinguishable from a real sky. If she jumped high enough, she did crash into a wall, yet the sky seemed to be far away as always. A perfect illusion.

Blossom had really outdone herself with it. Moving her legs back and forth, Michiru created tiny waves in the pond. There was nothing inside, which was kind of boring. Seeing as Blossom had wished for a garden and not a forest, it was kind of obvious that living organisms weren't included. Either that, or it was simply not possible to wish for those. It would make sense that there were limitations on what one could wish for in some way, but it seemed odd to prevent them from creating a few small animals or fish.

Getting a little cold, Bright got up, grabbed her boots and armor and walked away, her bare feet tickled by the grass. It was, even without all the mysteries, a beautiful place.

Reaching her room, Michiru turned around once more, looking at the end of the hallway. The automated system... It would dictate who was in charge of negotiation, who would run for exile and who would fight. It was a lot of freedom that had been taken from them. She couldn't help but wonder if there was some way to get it back.

Wishing for the system to roll back to it's previous state was a possibility, but she couldn't even imagine how much favor that would consume and how dangerous such a wish could be. If it caused the entire system to crash permanently, everyone would starve to death. A grim possibility she couldn't ignore.

Michiru herself wasn't quite sure why, but she walked all the way to the end of the hallway to touch the middle field again. Three, Ninety-nine, displayed by the number nine lighting up twice consecutively, and either forty-two or twenty-four, for both two and four were lighting up. The number only varied slightly among the others. For Luminous, Mint, Milky Rose, Berry, Passion and Marine, the numbers six and nine lit up. For all the others, two and four.

But there had to be some meaning to the number. Keeping her hand on the field, the numbers that were displayed simply circled around, repeating itself over and over. Trying to put her hand on either of the other fields, nothing happened. Putting both her hands on either field didn't change the results. There was no difference between Cure form and civilian form either.

Maybe she was going about it the wrong way. Stepping back and looking at the three plates, she started over at zero. What did she know? Each plate was like a magical display corresponding to either Negotiation, on the left, Fights, in the middle, or the Exile, on the right. The main plate was roughly hundred-fifty centimeter diameter. The other plates were considerably smaller, only eighty by eighty centimeters.

All three plates had twelve smaller plates on them, like the rest of the plate had been carved down. They were not fixated with anything but seemed to be part of the stone to begin with. Each of the smaller plates was ten by ten centimeters, a symbol, each belonging to one specific team member, carved in them. A symbol would light up to signalize that the corresponding Cure has been chosen. About thirty centimeters further to the center of the plate were roman numerals from one to twelve. Upon placing the hand on the plate, numerals would light up, first to display how many battles had to pass before one was eligible for the exile run. Second it would accurately display the exact amount of favor. The third number had an unknown purpose.

Giving each symbol a detailed look, Michiru started at the mark right above the roman numeral one. A star-like, a star seen from a great distance such as the surface of the earth, shape in the center. Four spikes, one each in the cardinal directions. Each spike was about four centimeters long, not quite reaching the edge.

Below numeral two was a sphere right above a spiral. The sphere was perfectly round and covered the center point of the spiral below it. The spiral filled the full plate except at each corner. Four differently carved streams formed the spiral.

At numeral three was a butterfly above what she recognized as a kite shield, a peculiar type of knight shield worn in the medieval ages primarily in Europe and predominantly in England. The shield itself covered most of the plate, leaving roughly one or two centimeters to the left and right side. The butterfly was a simple, stylized type that had no patterns of any description and seemed to be primarily formed of it's four wings, each stretching out into the space between the cardinal directions.

Numeral four was another butterfly, this time over six water drops, three above the horizontal center, three below. One each in the vertical center, one to the left and one to the right of it, forming two triangular patterns. The butterfly was in the exact spot between the drops. There was about one centimeter between the start of the upper vertical center drop and the upper end of the plate. Similarly, one centimeter below the lower vertical center drop and the lower end of the plate. The left and right drops had about two centimeters space between their respective edges and the edge of the plate.

Numeral five was a simple and stylized sword blade without handle crossed with a thorny rose in full bloom. They crossed about three centimeters above the absolute center of the plate, the sword carved over the rose. The sword blade started at the very south-west edge of the plate, the rose at the very south-east edge, both of them reaching just about a centimeter below the upper end.

Numeral six's plate was covered almost entirely by a four-leaf clover, the center point obscured by a heart. The clover itself was simple and stylized and only left tiny spots free at the edges, in which barely the tip of a small finger could fit. The converging point was hidden below the heart, which was about four centimeters high and four wide, at it's widest point. The top leaf was particularly well carved compared to the other three.

At numeral seven, was the same clover, this time the converging point was covered by a spade. It was the spade from a regular suit of cards. This time the left leaf was carved especially well. The spade was five centimeters high and four centimeters wide at their respective peak points.

Numeral eight was yet another clover, a diamond covering the central point, again, the symbol taken from a suit of cards. The diamond would, if turned, turn into a perfect square of four on four centimeters. The right leaf was the one that looked specifically well done this time.

The fourth clover was found at numeral nine, the card suit of club covering the center point. Each of the club's small spheres was a perfect sphere of one and a half centimeter diameter. The entire club was four centimeters high and three wide.

Closing in on the end, at numeral ten, Michiru found herself perplexed. A complex bloom of a flower with fourteen petals, closely fitting the plate, leaving only marginal empty space at the corners. The full space of the plate was additionally covered in very small, only half a centimeter thick, long and wide, petals that seemed to be airborne. There were fourteen petals in total, seven above the horizontal center, seven below, the upper side a mirror of the lower.

Numeral eleven was showing much more peculiar than the previous four. The bloom of a flower Michiru didn't recognize. The flower had eleven petals, covering the plate almost perfectly, leaving only tiny spots, like the clover previously, at the very edges. In the dead center of the flower were three waved horizontal lines, each exactly two centimeters long, one centimeter to each side if seen from the vertical center. Each line was exactly one centimeter away from the previous one and only about a quarter of a centimeter thick.

The last one, numeral twelve, was the most complex but also the easiest to recognize. She wasn't that knowledgeable about music but she recognized those notes. A G clef, reaching from top to bottom, was carved into the plate, without the staff, the five lines said clef was usually drawn on. The curious thing about it was that the G clef was, in it's entirety, on the left side. The invisible vertical center line separated it from the other part of the symbol. On the right side was a single Crotchet. The size of it was almost equal to the G clef, which was surprising, as those two were not anywhere near the same size in a musical score.

It wasn't hard to guess which symbol belonged to whom. Number five was definitely Milky Rose. Three was Mint and four Aqua. Twelve was Beat. The four clovers all belonged to the same team, which made it even easier. Peach, Berry, Pine and Passion. The full moon was her own symbol. That left Luminous, Blossom and Marine. From there on it was child's play to determine the owner of each symbol. Number one was Luminous, the one that had the flower covered with petals was Blossom and the last, remaining one, was Marine.

There were two sets of numbers. If each number corresponded to the symbol near the roman numeral... Two was herself, Bright. Four was Aqua. Six was Peach. Nine was Passion. If only one set were three numbers, it would rule out either of the sets referring to the negotiation and the exile. This way, both sets could dictate the Cures that would fight and participate in the other activity. It could also mean that one of each set was fighting. Another possibility was that it dictated the opponents of the next battle and the fighters, each set referring to one team. But then, what was the point of the negotiation?

If that was the case, it would either be her and Aqua or Peach and Passion participating in the next fight. If either happened, there was a high likelihood she was right. She would have to continually monitor the numbers and compare them to what was happened later to get any solid theory.

Rubbing her temple, Michiru was starting to feel tired. Trying to deduce the real purpose of the numbers from a few shaky theories wasn't that easy. She almost jumped when someone touched her back. "What are you doing here this early? Breakfast isn't done yet." The words were followed by a loud yawn. Marine had walked up to her, looking still quite sleepy.

Looking around, the lights had come on. She hadn't noticed how much time she spent in front of that plate. It was already morning and she hadn't slept.

=== Dissonance ===

"Wind Shredder!" Launching her attack from mid-air, Kaoru unleashed dozens of wind blades, destroying the ground below her, removing Bloom's footing. She had been under attack by several very real illusions for the past six hours. Their appearances and abilities changed on a whim, but they always kept going back to Bloom, Egret and Bright after a while. A meaningless attempt, trying to make her hesitate. No matter how often they would call out to her with their voices, how much they would plead, it was just another trap. Kaoru knew that.

"Storm Wall!" Swinging her right arm in a wide arc, she created numerous small tornado that acted like a wall. Illusion or not, those things were very real to her. They had physical bodies and if she killed one of them, they wouldn't show up for several minutes. But no matter how smart and strong she was, fighting an enemy that just kept on going was madness.

Earlier, she had been hiding in the chasm that most likely served as battlefield. Nothing else nearby seemed to be suited to it. Empty, barren space without even debris wasn't a battlefield. Running towards said chasm again, she would use it a second time to hide for a while. The exile was clearly not working the same way as before. It was a much more physical threat now. Already using part of her costume to stop the bleeding on her right shoulder and her right hand, she wasn't eager to add any more wounds to the list.

Jumping down and falling straight past at least ten paths, the light faded rapidly. "Wind Blast!" Using her ability to cushion her fall, Windy changed routes and went towards the east end, still further down. She could barely see her hands in front of her eyes when she finally stopped, touching against the massive wall of the chasm. "Wind Shredder." Focusing the full attack on one point, she created a small hole, just big enough to hide herself in. "Wind Shredder." Using it over and over again, the hole was at least five meters into the wall before she stopped. Going back and kicking the rubble down the path, no sign of there being a hole remained. From the outside, it was completely indistinguishable from the wall.

Sitting in the back of the hole, Kaoru waited. The next exile run would happen. Psychological attacks or physical attacks, it didn't make much of a difference. At least she could outsmart the physical treats for a while.

But to sit there in absolute darkness, her blue eyes half hidden behind her eyelids, two sharp slits focusing on the sole entry to her hideout. Dust continued to fall from the ceiling and the occasional unintentional movement sounded like the collapse of a skyscraper to her. Stress was a huge factor while hiding, and even she wasn't immune to it.

But she wasn't controlled by it. Ignoring all disruptive elements, her gaze remained unwavering on the entry, ready to blast whoever found the hole. A single, powerful Wind Shredder attack would completely destroy anyone who entered the hole. There was no way to escape from the attack in time.

She could repeat this strategy over and over as long as her concentration held. The only problem was her body. No matter how strong her mind was, she needed nutrition, liquids and sleep once in a while. Nutrition could be ignored for now, for she wasn't going to be the exile for many more days. Liquids should have become a problem, but her bodily functions didn't seem to progress properly while she was in the exile.

Something about that was disturbing. She didn't feel hunger or thirst while she was out here, despite how much she had sweat, ran and fought. Under normal circumstances, she would be craving for anything to eat, for something to drink. And yet, she was feeling the exhaustion. Her body was starting to demand sleep if nothing else. In a nutshell, it meant that some of her body's functions were halted or otherwise magically saturated. It made sense if she thought about it from the point of whoever designed the system. There was no rule that stated the exile would be released automatically at any point, so it would be statistically possible for someone to remain the exile for weeks at a time.

Regardless of the likely loss of sanity, in the case of a psychological attack, or the loss of their well being, in the case of a physical attack, the exile would die of thirst and hunger eventually. If there was yet no sign of her body developing either of those, then something must either satisfy those needs or halt the processes that causes those needs to come about in the first place.

Yet it was odd that sleep remained as something the body started to demand. Was it to further torment the exile during the state of sleep as the mind was likely more prone to a psychological attack? To make the exile fall prey to a physical threat? For now, she couldn't say whether the physical threat was an anomaly or simply something that was added to the system. As there had been no psychological attack since the chaotic restructuring, it was also possible that the very mechanism that caused the psychological attack had been replaced or damaged.

Time seemed to stretch and stretch. How long had she been sitting there, only hearing the distant sounds of others moving about, searching for her? The cut in her shoulder was starting to itch below the cloth, but scratching would only open up the wound, else if it wasn't closed, intensify the bleeding. The bits of dust in the air were drying out her eyes, getting in her nose, trying to make her sneeze. Static darkness as far as she could see.

Was this in itself a psychological attack? Torture? Alone, in the dark, trying to wait for an enemy to tire that needed not sleep or rest, that was immortal and possibly not even real. How many of them were there in total? She had counted three of them close to each other, too close for them to just vanish and re-appear without her noticing. There had to be more than that. The sound of boots hitting the stone, the faint echo of them searching for her, the stone and the dark carried it all the way from afar to her. But how far away? How close were they?

There was no doubt about the nature of the exile. The existence of the illusions, the physical pain she suffered, regardless of whether it was real or her imagination, her way of thinking and acting, her plan to just wait for them to give up or the next exile run to start. It was all part of the psychological torture by the exile. She could be unconscious in the real world and see all of this just in her mind. Maybe.

The wounds itching intensified. Her hands shaking, she needed every single piece of her self-control to not start scratching. What would happen if she did? A wound was real as long as one perceived it as real. No matter if she realized it wasn't real or not, she wasn't capable to ignore a flesh wound like that. It hurt, so she already perceived it as real. Would it go away if she managed to convince herself, her body, that she was just imagining it? What if her theory was wrong and the wound did actually exist? Would succumbing to scratching worsen the wound that might or might not exist?

It tormented her, the uncertainty. To prove it, she would need to take a leap of faith that could possibly result in an infected wound that might lead to severe illness. From what she could tell, injuries sustained in exile were not healed when leaving. She couldn't risk a potentially deadly infection when she didn't know when the next exile run was happening.

If one was happening. What if the others were trapped on their sides? She had no recollection of there being a battle, and even though parts of the area looked destroyed, it could well be part of the design. It wouldn't surprise her and it was definitely in the realm of valid possibilities.

Another uncertainty. The more she thought about them and possible solutions, the more things she couldn't explain, she didn't know, she wasn't able to prove or check were added to the list. Touching her forehead, Kaoru felt a strong headache come to her. In the eerie silence she could hear every single beat her heart was making. Just sitting there, staring at the dark, waiting for them to come or not, waiting for an eventual exile run that might not happen.

What was happening to those on the outside? Were Mai and Saki okay? What about Michiru? She was on the other team, so things could be different for them. Which side caused the problem? Was anyone of them even responsible in the first place?

"Calm down... calm down... this is what it wants... no need to struggle so hard." Muttering to herself, Kaoru felt her sanity slip just a little. If she had to verbally stop herself from thinking about possibilities, then that was a clear sign that she lacked the mental capacity to do so without audible stimulus.

One side had to be responsible. The likely scenario was that her previous team was at fault. Drunk people would suffer a hang over which severely reduced their capability of acting at peak condition. In a state like that, it was highly likely that something was done that could cause a system failure. It had to be an at least semi-automated system, as the functions seemed to be exactly the same every time.

If the exile was in effect again, and it most definitely was... or was it? For now she had to assume it was, then chances were good that the rest of the system was working as well. That would mean that negotiation, exile run and fights were still happening and it simply eluded her attention to notice the fight. It was entirely possible that there was a magic effect in place that stopped the exile from both observing and interfering with a battle. It was a logical thing.

But what if the place did not follow logic? What if the powers that created this place were so alien to rational thought that the process was incomprehensible for humans? For now, she had to assume otherwise. Assume. She was making too many assumptions. But what other choice did she have? The wound kept itching. Why were her thoughts being distracted this much? The wound's itching was worse than before. Was her ability to form rational thought being meddled with? She needed to scratch, she needed to scratch soon.

The next exile run had to happen. It was clinging to hope but finding herself doing so actually pleased her. It was a human instinct of self preservation to believe that the situation one was in was not completely hopeless. Resigning yourself to death would result in both physical and mental decay. Not like a corpse but similar to someone in an extreme shock or under a heavy depression. Both exhibited syndromes of lacking the will to live on, which meant their mental state was that of someone who had given up on the possibility that they would survive whatever they were going through, either physically or emotionally.

The dark was screeching in her ears. A high pitched beeping noise, first very quiet and barely audible but steady. Minutes passed of her trying to ascertain the source of the noise to no avail. She couldn't move from her prison, her hideout. The hunters would see her and she would have to flee again, possibly even deeper into the chasm.

How would she know, down here, that an exile run had started? Would it be similar to when she... when she... Shaking her head, Kaoru felt her eyes close again and again. Sitting still in the dark, immersed in thoughts, completely unmoving, her heart beat had calmed down too much. The environment was empowering her desire to sleep. She had to stay awake, in case an exile run would start. She couldn't... couldn't...

Her head resting on her knee's, her back leaned against the back of the cave, Windy tried to resist one last time before she fell asleep.

=== Dissonance ===

What in the world had she been doing for the last few days? Ako had completely lost control of her life. Sitting at the long table, for breakfast, right next to Urara seemed so natural to her that she was questioning her own definition of friend. Eating together with Hibiki, Kanade and Ellen wasn't much different than this. It was a lot louder, yes, but otherwise not too different. But it wasn't just her who had changed from complete rejection to careless tolerance.

Urara's opinion on the whole situation wasn't too different. She could probably make Muse give in with one more push or if she pulled a few strings, but she kinda wanted the girl to actually take that step herself. On one hand, she really wanted to sleep with her, on the other hand, it was too much fun to just leave after a single night, which would inevitably happen if she forced it.

While Ako was deep in thought herself, Bloom seemed to not have a care in the world and was sound asleep with a slice of toast sticking out of her mouth. It looked like a failed scene from a manga. A bit bored with herself and not willing to invest any more time into thinking about her awkward situation, Urara started observing the other people at the table. The morning itself was relatively quiet, despite Egret's continuous effort to keep her partner awake.

Moonlight was missing from the table, and so were Dream, Rhythm, Melody and Sunshine. White and Black discussed something amongst themselves, Rin was stuffing herself, likely in preparation for a morning workout, and Egret was trying to keep Bloom awake, with, needless to say, trivial success, yawning herself every other minute. The morning bored her to tears.

The morning was all but boring for three of the aforementioned missing five. Finding only an empty room, that reeked badly of a wild night, where Hibiki should have been, Kanade knew exactly where she was. And she couldn't believe it! They were fighting so often so Hibiki should know that she didn't mean it like that!

How could she just go and really sleep with Sunshine? With **her**, of all people! Didn't Hibiki realize how doing that would make her feel? Being cheated on was horrible, especially if it was with the woman that had already stolen her once!

Slamming open the door, not even bothering to knock, Kanade's furious eyes spotted the orange haired girl sound asleep, or rather waking up roughly, in the arms of _that woman_. "You really did it! I didn't want to believe it but you really did it!" Furious was an understatement of Kanade's mood. She just wanted to slap Sunshine right that instant.

"Kanade...?" Hibiki, woken up by Kanade's yelling, wasn't completely coherent when her partner continued yelling.

"So you really couldn't even wait a single day before you jumped back in bed with her? Is it really that great? Why did you chose me over her if you're so eager to go back?"

"Shut up!" Hibiki had enough already. She was so incredibly fed up with all of this. "Shut up already! Shut up!" Jumping up and changing into Melody, Hibiki pointed her finger at Kanade's face, only centimeters away from her nose. "I've had enough of this! Everything I do puts you off and then it turns into a fight! Are you so blind that you couldn't see how I just wanted to get along with you without all the ridiculous fighting?"

"You're one to talk! You're so stubborn, you'd never give in and you would always do stupid stuff in public!"

"So showing my affection for you was stupid? I guess I really was stupid! To actually believe we could date without constantly being at each other's throats! I've had it, I've really had it! It was one thing to fight and make up when we were just fourteen, but you're gonna be eighteen next year! I want to start acting my age but that's just not possible if I'm always stuck with you and you keep instigating fights!"

"I'm instigating fights? I'm at fault now? Sure is easy to blame others for your shortcomings! Whatever I say, you have some kind of obnoxious complaint and that's why we always fight! It's the same right now!"

"You... just..." Hibiki knew it would go nowhere. They would just argue for all eternity. Unless they both grew out of this, they wouldn't get along permanently. And while she was fed up with the fighting, she didn't want Kanade to hate her. "Just go. I don't think we should even be in the same room for a while."

"That's it? You're just gonna dump me like this? What is this, a roundabout ploy to embarrass me? Something you two have been plotting together? I feel like a giant joke now! Thanks for playing with my heart like-" Kanade was hit in the face so hard that she tumbled over and fell backwards. Her cheek was burning with pain. Above her stood Sunshine, who's expression was frozen in disappointment.

"If you dare to say that to Hibiki again, I'm not just going to slap you. You of all people should know better than... **this**!" Swinging her arm around and pointing at Melody, who had her face averted, looking at the ground.

Slowly closing the door, Itsuki looked out one last time. "Don't bother her again today or I might lose my patience. And yes... that's a threat." It had been an extremely long time since she had felt this pissed off. Turning to Hibiki, she didn't even dare to touch her.

The body of the pink Cure was twitching, the girl trembling under the pain she felt. A pain that didn't come from any cut, from any punch or illness. Pain that came from the disappointment that broke her heart. She never thought that Kanade would accuse her of something like that. She, of all people, should know that her love for her had been none but genuine.

Time seemed to pass in slow motion, tears trying to break their way from her eyes, but she was determined not to cry. No matter how cruel the things were that Kanade said, she didn't want to cry. Her throat was hurting as much as her chest as she desperately tried to hold it in.

But it was all for naught. As soon as Itsuki embraced her, held her tightly in her arms, her resolution crumbled like a castle made of sand in the wild waves of a hurricane. It had been years since she cried like that. Loud, unrestrained sobbing that made clear just how much words could hurt.

She had torn her heart apart when she chose to be with Kanade, when she chose to leave Itsuki behind. And still, she had not regretted it until now. If that was really what Kanade thought of her, she didn't know who she had known all this time. Because the person who would accuse her of something like that was not **her** Kanade.

Itsuki said nothing. No words to cheer her up, no words that would ease the pain she felt from having Kanade tear apart her trust and feelings. And it was good that way. If she had said something now, she would have ended up defending Kanade despite all of it. She couldn't hate her friend or herself for this. But the sadness of Kanade being consumed by petty jealousy like that didn't let her go.

Itsuki wished she could fix things for the poor girl, but it was beyond her power to do so. She hated seeing Hibiki sad, but she hated being alone even more. Hibiki needed her now more than ever, and whether she wanted to admit it or not, a small part of her felt satisfied.

On the other side of the door, Kanade, too, was shaking with emotion. But hers was anger. Anger directed at the two of them. Being hurt made some people turn away from reality without them even knowing. Or maybe they knew and they just didn't want to admit it.

"Girl, do you have jelly for brains or something?" Lemonade, who just happened to be on her way back to her room, had caught wind of the argument and heard most of it. "You got what you deserved there." Leaned against the wall next to the door to Sunshine's room, Urara looked down, both literally and figuratively, on the girl and shook her head.

"This doesn't even concern you! Stupid Hibiki... why doesn't she realize what **I** felt like when she just ran off with her? She must have known that I didn't really mean it!" Kanade just sat there, angry with Hibiki, with Itsuki, with Lemonade for butting in, and herself.

"I'll show her what it feels like to be cheated on... maybe she'll understand me then!" It was the only thing she could think of. That Hibiki had plainly cheated on her. It hurt her so much that she tried to cover her wound in anger. After all they had been through, to her, it looked like a whimsical decision, an easy one, to go and sleep with Sunshine, using any silly excuse to do so. She felt hurt and betrayed. It didn't even matter how it happened. Only **that** it happened.

"Do whatever you want. If you're looking for some sex without strings attached..." Urara found that she was surprised at herself. She wasn't the type to purposely worsen relationships, but some people never learned until they fell flat on their face with their crazy ideas, until they got hurt in the process. A second surprise waited for her when she finished her sentence. Usually, she wouldn't have minded a hot night with someone as cute as Rhythm, but the idea of offering herself didn't even cross her mind. "Ask Rouge." Seeing as the interesting part was over with, Urara left, not even extending her hand and offering to help the girl up.

She would only make everything a lot worse if she really slept with Rin. But that wasn't her problem. Ako would probably not like it but she couldn't be bothered to fix other people's relationships. She had enough trouble deciding what to do with herself.

"Another fight?" Moonlight had just left her room but Melody and Rhythm's voices were practically heard even a hundred meters away.

"It's so stupid, I can't even explain it." Urara just shook her head. It really was stupid.

=== Dissonance ===

Nibbling on toast, Erika felt quite at home in the garden. It was a little crowded though, with everyone relocating the breakfast in there. The sound of the leaves rustling and the gentle breeze made even the plain toast taste a lot better. Always seeing the stone walls and ground was getting really old, quickly.

Sitting at the edge of the pond, her feet reaching into the cool but not chilly water, Erika watched Tsubomi play and care for a few flowers that were blooming in the lush grass. There was no morning thaw here, even though the magic sky lit up in the morning and went dark in the evening. It wasn't a perfect copy of nature but it was good enough.

Spending a few coins on a portable table, Bright and Rose responsible for carrying it, they simply put the food on there and passed on using chairs and dishes. A few knives and cups were all they brought with the food. Looking over her shoulder, she saw Luminous fix some toast for herself while she talked to Pine.

It was, as odd as that might have seemed, a very peaceful and relaxing morning. If not for everyone walking around as Cures, she might have even forgotten that they were in some godforsaken dimension or place. "Tsu...bo...mi." Talking through the toast that stuck half out of her mouth, Erika started to tickle her lover a bit. "They're gonna finish up everything if you don't hurry. The flowers won't run away."

"Thank you." Tsubomi was well aware that she was basically in her own world when she cared for flowers and plants. And that she sometimes forgot to eat. The same was true for Erika and her work though, so they kept reminding each other about things like this. Instead of getting up and walking over to the table with the food, Tsubomi simply stole whatever part of Erika's toast still stuck out of her mouth.

Karen was watching the scene from the other side of the pond, sitting on a bench, together with Komachi, who was leaned against her partner, resting her head against the blue haired girl's shoulder, eyes closed. "I told you not to stay up so long... Here, at least eat something."

"I just couldn't stop... I always do this... thanks." Half asleep, Komachi didn't even bother to open her eyes and simply opened her mouth. And just as she expected, Karen fed her with a sandwich. "You could have stopped me..."

"You wouldn't sleep even a minute without getting up and continuing as soon as I was asleep. Jeez, how often do you do this at home?" A little worried about the novelist, Karen sighed and proceeded to take a bite out of her own sandwich.

"Too often.. so... tired... I'll just... close my eyes for a bit." Komachi blatantly ignored the fact that she was already half-asleep and her eyes were already closed. Karen did, too.

"It's so peaceful here... well, beside Marine and Blossom splashing each other with water." Karen noticed Miki walking over to them, her head slightly turned to watch the spectacle that was Erika and Tsubomi, both of them having fallen into the pond by now, yet not stopping.

"Can I sit here?" Miki preferred to be polite when she was dealing with other teams. There were exceptions, but Aqua seemed more like a lady than an average person. She was holding a big cup, with a vegetarian sandwich on top of it.

"Sure. Komachi's a sound sleeper, so she won't wake up just from talking." Wishing that she had a cup of coffee herself, and maybe two for her partner, Karen thought about asking but resisted. She'd just get some herself later.

"I didn't think Blossom would create something like this. It was more of a spontaneous idea we had, and now we're even sort of picnicking here in the morning." Leaning back, placing the cup cautiously on the bench and taking a large bite out of her sandwich, Miki wondered if she had spent a single morning as relaxed as this in the past two years. "What happened to Mint?"

"She was up for most of the night reading a novel. I sleep easily, even with light or a lot of noise, so I didn't notice it." Pushing against Komachi a little, Karen prevented her love from falling over.

"I know what you mean. I've gotten used to sleeping whenever I can, no matter where I am. My schedule is always full, so I have to do it like that. Before we all got here, I used to sleep only about five hours a night, with a nap in-between jobs."

"That's sounds really stressful. I practice at home, so I usually have days off every now and then, but when I'm supposed to go on stage, it's incredibly stressful." Karen was happy that there was someone else beside Komachi who understood her job related problems.

"I think I'll focus on modeling after we get out of here. I love dancing and I want to succeed at having my own studio, but... honestly, looking at Peach or you two, or even Marine and Blossom, I'm a little jealous."

"It's wonderful to have a partner when everything works out, but more often than not it doesn't. I'm grateful that Kurumi and I still get along, even though it was quite bad when we broke up. Sometimes it doesn't end that well. Everything has a downside to it." Karen didn't want to give the wrong impression.

"I know, I know. I'm younger than you but not **that** young. You know, I set my eyes on Moonlight, from the other team. She belongs to the same group as Blossom and Marine. It would be great if that one worked out for me. To be honest, it's a bit irritating to be single when there's so many couples here. Speaking of which, I'm still impressed by the downright astronomical odds of so many Cures hooking up with each other."

"I've only thought about it once or twice. Since there's no real way to prove anything, it'd just end in wild guessing, no matter what. And really, in some cases it's not really because both people are Cures. I've known Komachi almost my entire life. If we hadn't become Cures and Kurumi had never shown up, I'm sure we would've still ended up together anyway."

"Pretty confident, aren't you? But you have a point. I guess it just adds to it. Facing enemies together and helping each other out sure does improve any bond. In some cases, very much so." Grabbing her cup and taking a sip, Miki leaned back and listened to the leaves rustling. A few of the green pieces sometimes fell down but it wasn't any different from a regular forest. The air smelled of nature, too, which relaxed her even more. "I wonder how much longer we're going to be in this place. Oh, just talking to myself." Stopping Karen from answering by putting up her hand, Miki finished her sandwich, crossed legs and leaned back, watching both Blossom and Marine getting scolded by Luminous, who seemed a lot more threatening than usual.

"Honestly, when we first got here, I imagined it to be a lot worse. I expected imprisonment, strict schedules and generally bad treatment. Not in my wildest dreams would I have imagined we'd be sitting in a garden two weeks later." Karen played a bit with Komachi's hair, the novelist still sound asleep.

"It's been two weeks? Or rather, only two? It feels like that number is slightly off..." Laying her index finger against her cheek, she tried to count how often she had slept. "It's... hard to tell. The first few days are a blur... oh well. We don't even know if time here flows equally to time on earth. And it's pretty obvious we're not on earth here."

"Maybe I should ask Komachi to write a science fiction novel next, and just use what we have here."

"I'd beat someone to actually have a decent book to read. I tried twice to wish for an entertaining novel, but it wasn't interesting at all. Both times." Shaking her head, Miki had to try hard not to burst in laughter when she saw Erika dancing around, trying to tease Luminous a little, slip and promptly fall back in the pond. "Those two are really lively." Making a short break, Miki changed the topic. "Peach and Passion both belong to your group, right? I was really confused when Beat was suddenly with them."

"Love is an enigma as far as relationships go. There's a long story to how Love and Setsuna got together, but it's not really my place to tell. Let's just say, those two met, went through a lot of trouble and then really found each other. Passion actually left for a while after we accomplished our mission, but she came back because she missed Love that much. It was so adorable to watch when Love welcomed her back."

"Things didn't go quite that well for my group, sadly. I never learned the details but Lemonade went through some really bad stuff apparently and that changed her... a lot. She was... well, a very naive but extremely happy and nice girl. Dream wanted her to try again and go back to her old self. Rouge knew all the details but I don't remember what she did. Komachi and I were really busy ourselves, so it all settled down before we had time to be worried. From there on, we sorta separated."

"My group was separated too, but more out of individual desires than actual problems. Peach and Passion suddenly decided to travel the world, starting with east Asia, and before we knew what was going on, they were gone. They sent us letters and occasionally called home, but we didn't see them even once. Though, it wasn't that much of a difference. Inori was busy with her exams to become a vet, I was jumping from one photo shoot to another. We were both horribly busy."

"It's probably like that for everyone. Back then we believed we would all be friends forever and stay together. It's just like with our own lives. Dreams that didn't come through or were trampled over, relationships that deteriorated over time..."

"Well, that's to be expected. As teen you don't really get what it's like to be an adult." Inori had joined the conversation, despite initial hesitation. Walking the left path up and down, she had gotten a really good feel from the fresh air and the greenery. Seeing Miki and Karen talk looked like a good chance to make some conversation. Although she chose not to meddle with Karen's relationship for her own gain, she still liked to be close to her.

"Had enough of walking around? You're missing all that exercise from walking dogs and cats and god knows what else, am I right?" Miki had not a clue that Inori had a crush on Karen and even if she did, she likely wouldn't tease her about it.

"It was a lot harder to get my certification as a vet than I thought. A lot of studying technicalities went into it. It wasn't really just knowing how to treat animals." Inori casually ignored Miki's little jab at her day to day life.

"You're only eighteen and already have your certification. I think that's amazing. I didn't need to pass any test or get official approval from an institute to open my studio or act as model." Miki was quite proud of her friend. She knew that Inori had to fight the officials quite a bit to get her license that early.

"I think Love is much more amazing than either of us. I couldn't handle traveling around not knowing where I'm gonna sleep or eat next." Inori leaned against the back of the bench, watching Marine turn Blossom's hair into funny shapes. "I wish I had half as much luck with romance as her."

"The thought of having two people like Love around makes me very worried. Would be a gloomy outlook on finding anyone to date." Miki was only half joking.

"That's why I said half. A complicated relationship like that is nothing for me." It was like watching a train wreck. Marine stumbled over a rock and was about to fall when Blossom tried to save her. And subsequently came crashing down with her, the two of them knocking over the table. An enraged Luminous, which was more cute and hilarious than scary, was scolding them while Rose picked up everything that had gone flying.

"Those two are going to provide a lot of entertainment." Miki and Inori giggled while Karen hid her grin behind her hand, looking down at Komachi, knowing it would make a nice anecdote to tell later.

=== Dissonance ===

The news of Melody and Rhythm having their biggest fight yet spread so fast that everyone that tried to tell someone else was surprised by them already knowing. The mood was rather tense, everyone waiting for the next shouting match or explosion. Those two were rather hotheaded after all. After blowing a hole in the kitchen wall, nobody wanted to be in the way when they tried to sort out their issues.

Mai and Honoka were sitting on a balcony at the top point of a large hall about ten minutes walking distance from the living area. "Has Nagisa said anything more about it?" Mai didn't need to specify what exactly she meant. Leaned against the rail of the balcony, she watched her partner down below.

"No. Has Saki?" Honoka was leaned against the wall, wearing glasses, her nose deep in a book. She didn't want to participate in Saki and Nagisa's workout and Mai had been sketching earlier. It was a thick novel that dealt with philosophy and recent science.

"She hasn't. They seem to deal with it better than we do. I guess they're right in doing that. It's not like anything good is going to come out of pretending we can change anything about what happened." Mai wasn't that hung up on it but she still felt a little guilt.

"To be honest, I'm starting to think it's not that big a deal. Just think about how long we've known each other and how much crazy and silly stuff we four have done. If this had happened with the intent of cheating on each other, sure, that would be a real problem."

"That's quite a carefree stance on it. Doesn't sound so bad though. And next you'll tell me it's the logical thing to think. You'll sound like Kaoru and Michiru." Mai wondered what those two were up to and if they were okay.

Closing her book, crawling a few meters to the front and slapping Mai's butt, Honoka laughed. "See how well you know me?"

"You perverted woman. Saki wasn't enough, now you want me too?" Laughing, the purple haired Cure turned around and pulled Honoka's cheek, playing along for a bit.

"Oh yeah, that's right. I want all three of you as my harem." Honoka enjoyed joking around with Mai for a bit.

"How lustful! You and Nagisa should switch colors! You're not white at all, you're pitch black!" Mai feigned to be indignant, much to Honoka's amusement. Pulling her down and starting to tickle her, Honoka had the other white Cure laughing like mad in no time.

"We were worried you two wouldn't go along well after we all screwed up, but it seems we were worried for nothing." Saki and Nagisa had come up to take a break, both of them drenched in sweat from lifting weights, sparing a bit and running.

"I didn't know you wanted a harem Honoka. If you had told me, I'd have said something to Saki." Nagisa was just joking but earned an elbow jab from her friend. "What? If she puts up her hair, the resemblance is there!"

"Don't encourage her!" Saki and Nagisa were both laughing. Mai was on the ground, her face flushed red from laughing too much, and Honoka sat next to her, trying her utmost to look like she was deep in thought. "See! Now she's planning it all out!"

"It would be an interesting experiment." Honoka said in her most serious tone, easily able to keep a straight face. The two muscleheads couldn't see her do it but Honoka was drawing an okay-tick with her index finger on Mai's hand. "Since we already started it unintentionally we should follow through. There's no problem if we all just know about it." Honoka was thrilled to see both Nagisa's and Saki's horrified expressions when Mai would agree.

"You do.. have a point. I wouldn't mind." A quick look to Honoka made clear that she was in on the joke. She didn't tease Saki as much as Honoka teased Nagisa, but a little bit wasn't going to hurt.

"Great, we'll leave you two to whatever you were secretly doing up here then." Nagisa wasn't going to fall for such an obvious act. Honoka never bothered to look at anyone else that way, so it was way easy to spot this lie.

"We'll go for another run. If we're late, don't worry about it." Saki turned around and smacked Nagisa's butt. "Oh, I'm jealous." The two of them walked away, ready to burst into laughter the second they got out of hearing range and line of sight.

"They... know we were joking, right?" Mai could usually tell but she wasn't so sure this time.

"I bet they're laughing their asses off around the corner. They must have known, Nagisa would never just agree with something like that." Honoka cracked a nervous smile. She was ninety-nine percent sure that Nagisa was pulling one over her this time.

And just as she thought, Saki and Nagisa were having a blast, covering their mouths to dampen the sound of them laughing. "We should totally take this one step further. Their faces are gonna be priceless." Saki and Nagisa were both subject to a lot of teasing by their respective partners. And now, Saki saw a chance to turn the game around for a bit.

"Like what?" Nagisa was just going to follow Saki on this. She felt the exact same as her friend about the teasing. Turning around and whispering in Nagisa's ear, Saki had quite the plan.

=== Dissonance ===

The call for negotiation had come suddenly and without warning. One on each side felt compelled to go to the gate. Both Cure's standing on the small paths spanning the enormous chasm, they were separated by an energy barrier, just like before.

Rose and Muse had been the chosen ones. Facing each other in on the small pathways above the chasm, they quickly agreed on the number three and left, having nothing much to talk about, being from completely different teams and never having really met each other before.

The exile call came next, summoning another two Cures to the gateway. Kurumi had barely stepped out of the gate and felt like a haze was clearing from her mind when she noticed Pine slowly walking towards her. "I guess it's my turn now. How does it look out there?"

"It's a massive chasm with a lot of tiny stone paths. I didn't really take that good a look, sorry." Kurumi remembered her time as the exile quite vividly. "I wish I could tell you a trick or something to keep you out of there."

"Don't worry about it. Speed is my thing, so I'll be on the other side in no time." Inori wasn't as confident as she pretended to be, but she wasn't going to leave the impression of being scared.

Stepping through the gate, Pine was spontaneously covered in absolute darkness. It was impossible to see anything. Looking around, the only light source was so far above her that it looked like a distant star, nothing more. Using her speed without knowing where she was going was too dangerous.

Her problem was remedied just a second later. "Crescent Harken!" A pale yellow energy blade shot upwards from a location only about a hundred meters away. Of all the people, Moonlight was the exile from the dark team. And she had no idea who the exile was.

Yuri wasn't going to risk ending up as exile. When someone had as many demons in their closet as her, it was a very bad thing to get stuck in a place that utilized them for torment. Instead of being peaceful and ignoring Pine, she saw her as potential threat to getting out of there. "Crescent Harken!" Jumping up and unleashing another energy blade, formed like a crescent moon, with a kick, Yuri completely destroyed the paths Pine **had** been on.

Inori was way faster than Yuri. Leaving her behind, knowing that as long as she knew where she was going she could simply outrun the silver Cure, Pine rapidly ascended the paths, leaving behind a blur of yellow. Trying to follow her as quickly as she could, Moonlight was getting left behind more and more, driving up her stress level.

Both of them came to a sudden halt when a massive chill ran down their spines. There was something coming up behind them. A gust of wind rushed past them, whirling around their hair and turning their faces pale. Whoever that was had clearly gone mad already.

Staring at the dark below, Pine needed a few seconds to force herself to go on. She felt like turning her back to the bottomless pit was going to be her end but she had no other choice if she wanted to get out of there. Another gust of wind came up, cold as ice, chilling her to the bone. And it carried something eery. Like a whisper, but nothing intelligible in it. Mad rambling.

Moonlight steadily caught up with Pine, whose nerves were not quite as hardened as her own. Yuri could feel the threat from below too, but having gone through more than one or two life threatening situations, she managed to ignore it enough to focus on running. Whatever it was, she didn't plan on fighting it.

The gusts came more frequently now, making it difficult to see. Jumping from one path to another, Yuri suddenly lost her footing when the stone was virtually turned to dust right as she stepped on it. Looking back down on instinct, she stared in two small slits that resembled blue eyes.

"Enough with the illusions already! I'm sick, sick, sick of it!" Kaoru crabbed Yuri's face, her nails cutting into flesh and thin trickles of blood running down Moonlight's face, and tried to throw her back downwards. But she underestimated her opponent quite badly. Treating the pain like it was nothing, Yuri rammed her knee in Windy's stomach and punched her right lower arm hard enough to force her grip open. About to blast her with a crescent attack, Windy screamed out and let go. Small splotches of blood hit Yuri's face.

Inori had come back down and sunk her hand blades into Windy's back. "Now get out of here. I'm not going to help you a second time." Not even waiting for an answer, Pine rushed up so fast that Yuri couldn't follow with her eyes.

She didn't feel remorse for leaving Windy behind. There was no way to tell what would happen if she ended up in her place. It would've been different if Pine had switched places with her, but she had an enormous advantage in a simple race. And that was all the exile run was. A race.

Inori had already reached the top when Yuri was hit by a massive gust of wind, like the bottom of the chasm had suffered a massive explosion. It was enough to throw her off balance and fall down a few meters before she managed to hold on to the edge of a nearby path.

"Storm Reign!" Literally flying past Yuri, Windy was bleeding strongly from the two holes Pine had left. But she didn't care for that. She just wanted to get out, get out and never come back. Turning around in mid-air, Kaoru broadly aimed at general direction Moonlight was in and unleashed the same attack over and over. "Wind Shredder, Windy Shredder!" The collapsing pathways turned quickly into a rocky avalanche, threatening to bury Yuri alive. If she even survived long enough to hit the bottom. If there was one to begin with.

She wasn't quick enough to get out of the way so all she could do was try to break through. Jumping up and smashing whatever came in her way with a full power kick or punch, Yuri was still hit by rocks from every direction. The avalanche finally passed after a disastrous twenty or so seconds. Reaching the top, her worst fear came true. They were gone.

=== Dissonance ===

"Was it really necessary to put her down like that?" Ellen was holding Setsuna's hand while Love stood in front of them. The second the exile run had finished, Bright and Luminous had been at the gate. According to Hikari, it was a matter of seconds before Michiru knocked out Windy with a brutal punch. There couldn't have been enough time to tell if she had been the exile or not. The news of that had quickly spread.

"Why do I have to bother explaining to you why I knocked out my sister? This doesn't even concern you. But fine. I suppose you're not going to leave me alone unless I explain the obvious." Michiru stood guard in front of Kaoru's room. Why couldn't these people understand basic logic? "It's quite simple. She was exposed to the exile for an extended period of time. Even for Kaoru, there was no way she would get out of that unharmed. Unless you wanted her to run wild and possibly kill someone, this was the only choice. Just restraining her doesn't work. Some of you should have been hit by her Stormflair before. If she used that out here, chances are you won't wake up anytime soon."

"How was any of that obvious?" Setsuna couldn't quite understand her reasoning. "How do you even know she was exposed to the exile?"

"She was supposed to be in exile until Bloom and Egret came through, then follow. Seeing as it was neither of them but her, it also meant that she was in exile since the run after I came here. That was the arrangement. It doesn't matter if it's obvious to you. I know what is going on, so I acted. That's all there is to it. She'll thank me later."

"I don't like it but she has a point." Rose and Luminous were both there as well. Kurumi didn't want to leave Hikari alone with someone who unconditionally knocked someone out based on their own logic.

"Never mind me, one of you should take a look at the tablet. I was making a lot of grating noise when I carried Kaoru to her room." Michiru wasn't going to let anyone mess with her sisters condition. She had used one well placed hit on one of Kaoru's weak spots. It wouldn't leave any permanent damage, so she was fine.

"Let's go." Love didn't want to continue that argument. Bright had made her point very clear and while she couldn't really agree with her logic, there was nothing she could really do about it. This was different from convincing Setsuna or one of her friends of something.

"The symbols changed. They're all switched up one number." The previous number eight, the diamond over a clover, had vanished entirely and all the symbols except the star and the spiral had moved up one. Miki's symbol was now number eight, Windy's symbol, which looked like a mirrored version of Bright's, had become number three.

Setsuna touched the plate only briefly, but the second she did, several of the smaller plates lit up. Two of the three remaining clover symbols, one of the two with butterflies and the one with the G clef. "Aqua, Peach, Passion and Beat." Michiru looked at the tablet from afar and could easily tell which one's were lit up. They were normally all gray, but lit up, they had color. The clover was made up of four colors, the heart red, the club black. The butterfly was blue, just like the water drops. The G clef golden, the crotchet blue. That made it pretty easy to recognize who they belonged to, even for someone simple minded.

"I wonder if Karen is going to be okay..." Kurumi was a little worried about her former partner. It was quite obvious that the trio would have excellent team work. They were an extended couple after all. Karen really didn't belong with them in any way, so that would make cooperation quite difficult.

"She'll be fine. Karen is quite smart, so she'll be able to adapt." Hikari cheered up Rose with a gentle smile and pulling her away, leaving the other three to their own devices. They would surely prepare for the battle.

"This makes me wonder who we're going to be up against. We never really talked about this because I thought it wasn't necessary, but... how do you fight Ellen?" Love really did want to prepare, even if it was only to the extent of knowing Ellen's abilities and telling her about theirs.

Things were in a similar state on the other team. Inori had not been greeted by anyone, as nobody had really noticed when the exile started and who had gone. It was only now that the news of Moonlight being gone and Pine arriving spread.

Until now, none of them had spent a great deal of time looking at the plate in detail. Honoka was observing the massive stone with great intensity now, that it was showing signs of activation. Four of the plates lit up, but her interest was not limited to those.

Going clockwise, there were twelve plates in total. An inverted black heart was the first one, the heart itself covering most of the plate. It was one of the four that was lit up.

The second was also a heart, but not lit up and thus gray entirely. While the first was inverted and standing on it's head, this one was normal. Both hearts were very simple and had nothing fancy to them.

The third plate was covered almost entirely in a spiral, at it's center a sprout. The spiral was made up of four different streams, all of them connecting to each other. The sprout at the center was roughly ten percent of the plate as a whole. It was more above the spiral than in it.

Fourth was another spiral, also made up of four streams. However, at the center of this one was a single cloud, which reached nearly to the edges of the spiral itself.

Fifth was a four-leaf clover that covered the entire plate sans the corners. The card suit symbol of diamond was centered on it.

Next was a symbol that was slightly odd. Four smaller, surprisingly detailed, butterflies were randomly put around one larger, stylized one. Four wings and not much of a body, it was also one of the plates lit up. The large butterfly in the center was pink, while the others were, one each, red, yellow, green and blue.

Another stylized butterfly, much like the big one on the plate before, was at plate seven. The insect was carved over a large, red flame. As this plate was lit up as well, both the flame and the butterfly shared the same red color as the smaller one on the previous symbol.

The next symbol had already glowed once. It belonged to Lemonade, a golden butterfly over chains.

At numeral nine, the plate showed a large sunflower bloom. The flower had fourteen equal petals, which seemed unnaturally many for a sunflower.

The last three all shared one specific characteristic. The left side always showed a large note of some sort. The first and the second both had the large one to the left and a smaller one to the right. Neither of them was lit up. The last one was different from the previous two as it had the exact same, large, note on both sides, both of those notes glowing golden.

"Those are G clefs. The one with the semiquaver belong to Melody, the quaver one to Rhythm. The last one is mine." Seeing as her symbol was lit up, Ako sighed. So it was her turn to fight. At least it wasn't too difficult to figure out who the other symbols belonged to.

"It selected Dream to fight. Now that's shitty luck if I ever saw it." Urara, right next to Ako as usual, wasn't happy that Nozomi was going to be fighting with Muse. Or anyone. That could only end in disaster. "Who's gonna give her the bad news? Seems like Rin is gonna be in it too. Maybe she'll keep a lid on her. Where is Rin anyway? Hey, anyone seen Rouge? Or Rhythm for that matter?"

"Seems like Sunshine and Melody are gone too." Ako's remark made Urara remember her comment that if Rhythm was looking for sex, she should ask Rin. Only White, Black, Bloom, Egret, Urara and herself were present.

Urara shrugged, not caring about it anymore and walked away, Ako following her shortly after. "It's best you stay away from Rin and Dream in the battle. Rin's ability doesn't discern between friend or foe and Dream is just a walking risk at this point. There's no way to tell what she'll do if forced into battle. Don't think of either as ally. Rin has kind of a lone wolf fighting style and Dream won't be any help at all. The other one was... the black inverted heart. That's gotta be Black, White's partner. She's a powerhouse, so try to keep her in the game somehow."

"When did you become my coach? Or my instructor for that matter?" Ako did appreciate the hints but she couldn't really say that. She had wanted to be much more cynical about it, but it just wasn't coming out right lately. She was... warming up to Urara. For better or worse.

"The moment you kept sleeping in the same bed as me. Don't whine later if you get your ass kicked because you ignored me." Letting go of her, turning about and hugging her from behind, Urara blew some hot air against Ako's ear. "Although I wouldn't mind nursing you for a bit."

"I have the feeling I'd end up in worse condition after than I was before that. You're a really perverted woman, you know that?" She had gotten used to the way Urara dealt with people, mostly, anyway.

"Beautiful girls with nicely developed bodies are to blame for that." Not caring a little bit that they were in the middle of the hallway, Lemonade slid her hand over Ako's stomach, up towards her breasts. But she had hit, unintentionally and unknowingly, hit a sore nerve. Ako wasn't really nicely developed, not while she looked her real age.

Pushing Urara away and walking off, she bit the nail of her thumb. She would have to come out with it at some point, but in a way, she didn't really want to turn the blond woman off. Even though she was obnoxious and much too pushy at times, she had her charms, and right now, she wanted to keep being exposed to them.

There was little doubt, for her, that Urara would simply walk away from her if she found out she was just a flat-chested thirteen year old girl. Sure, she would look like this in five years, but that was the point. In five years, not now. It was pretty much a given that nobody would show any interest in someone that young. At least none of the adults. Thinking about it like that hurt even more than when others treated her like just another child. She was clearly more mature than that. Although only psychologically.

There was someone else who was hurting at the time. And her dilemma traced back a few hours. Right after Lemonade had mentioned Rouge's name, Kanade started looking for her. She didn't know how Rin redhead knew about all of it, but her meager attempt to strike a friendly conversation failed.

"The whole team knows you and Melody had a fallout. So, what do you want from me? Cry on my shoulder? I'm sorry, ask someone else for that." She didn't want to pretend she really cared for Kanade's feelings. She had her own problems. Ever since Urara started hanging around Muse, her one source of sex was gone. And doing it by herself didn't satisfy her at all.

"Sleep with me." There was nobody else around to hear her so she said it out loud. Rin was doing some stretching exercises outside the living area, and Kanade had found her there.

"That's funny. I'm going to do some running now. If you actually feel like saying something worthwhile and not waste my time, I'll be back in-" She was interrupted rudely by Kanade grabbed Rin's left hand and pushing it against her breasts. Her face was flushed red in an instant but her eyes were completely serious. "Really? Why would you want me to sleep with you? Did Melody hit you in the head?"

"She slept with Sunshine so I'll show her what it's like to be cheated on." Kanade was still filled with anger over being hurt. It didn't take someone like Love to see that.

There were several things Rin realized at that point. One, it was most likely Urara who put her up to this. Second, if she turned her down, she would ask someone else and if everyone turned her down, she'll do something stupid. Third, Rhythm was pretty damn cute, and she was feeling pretty horny with her hand on her breasts. Groping her instinctively, Kanade let out a squeak. That sealed the deal for Rouge.

It wasn't her problem if Rhythm ruined her relationship with Melody by her own choice. There were stupid girls like that, thinking that two wrongs make one right. "Fine. But don't come complaining to me later. Also, I'm not Melody. I have no idea what kind of sex you had with her, but I'm likely not as gentle." She blamed that on Urara.

Pulling her hand free, only to grab Kanade by her shoulders, Rin pushed her against a nearby wall. The blonde pushed her hands against Rin's shoulders and kept her at bay. "Can we at least go to your room?"

"I don't mind. Don't change your mind on the way." Picking her up like a princess, Rin carried the white Cure away. It was high time she got rid of some of that sexual frustration she had built up.

Now, hours later, she felt much more miserable than before. The sex with Rin was rough and fiery, and she couldn't enjoy it even one bit. Spending the whole time thinking about Hibiki, Kanade felt extremely horrible now. Never mind making her feel better and Hibiki worse, her former partner had reacted with disbelief when she walked up to her and rubbed it in her face.

"I thought you were more mature than that. To go off and sleep with someone just because **I** happened to sleep with someone I was in love with? That's something a little girl would do. I expected better." Slamming the door shut, Hibiki left Kanade standing there like it was pouring on her.

Sitting alone in her room, she really regretted everything now. Her anger had cooled down considerably while she slept with Rin but by then, it had been much too late. Pride and stubbornness kept her going but even that was crumbling now. Crying by herself, she really cursed her thick head and sharp tongue.

It had taken so long to muster the courage to confess and then she went and ruined everything. Worst of all, there was nobody she could talk to anymore now. Hibiki didn't even want to see her face, Ako was with Lemonade and likely wouldn't understand her either. Ellen was on the other team. Everyone else was just annoyed by her constant fighting with Hibiki. She was... all alone.

Realizing that, she suddenly felt cold. No matter what, she had never been truly completely alone. Her family had always been there, and even though she had spent a whole year fighting with Hibiki, she still had her friends. Now she was truly alone. The thought scared her. What if everyone ostracized her now? What if she ended up as outsider? Shivering, she was really scared.

"What... do I do now?"

=== Dissonance ===

"The battlefield is really dangerous this time so please be careful everyone." Hikari was there to see Peach, Passion, Beat and Aqua off.

"The system seems to work normally again, so it should be okay." Karen wasn't too happy about fighting without Komachi at her side, but it couldn't be helped. The new system picked them out at random after all.

"Setsuna and I will handle any close combat. Ellen is going to provide backup. It'd be great if you could handle any oddities Aqua." Love, being leader of her team, felt compelled to try and take a leader position in this battle as well.

"I'll see what I can do. Thankfully, Beat is on my side now, I still hear my ears ringing when I think about the time I fought her." Scratching her nose, Karen showed the other blue Cure a smile. She didn't hold a grudge or anything silly like that.

The gate opened just after Aqua finished talking. Peach was first to step through, followed by Passion, Beat and lastly, Aqua. Luminous had a worried expression on her face. No matter how good their teamwork was, there were some serious problems with the stage. Large scale attacks could be pretty fatal.

Each of them was transported to a different pathway. They were pretty far down and they had quite a view of the destruction above and below them. Almost one third of all the pathways were already destroyed.

The moment they saw the other team, they knew that trouble was brewing. Dream, Rouge, Black and Muse. Ellen knew that Ako was quite versatile and strong, while Karen knew that having Nozomi in a fight was really, really bad.

Setsuna closed her eyes, activated her ability and switched to Eas. If Black was there, she needed the raw physical power that her Labyrinth form offered. Passion was not enough to overwhelm the veteran powerhouse.

Peach stretched out her arms, pointed in the air and shouted the activator for her special ability. "Lucky Take!" The whole battlefield seemed to briefly distort and then return to normal. It was an easy decision. Nobody else could use Lucky Take, Memento or Dissonance, so it would seriously hamper their abilities.

Eas charged in first, using the other Cures state of confusion. Smashing the pathway Black was standing on into thousands of bits, the black Cure jumped up and out of the way, Eas right on her track. Dream didn't move an inch, Rouge was heading straight for Eas and Muse had vanished completely.

Nagisa crossed her arms in front of her face to block the storm of Eas punches. The girl was really strong and she didn't know the full extent of her abilities, but she wasn't going to stay on the defensive. Focusing all her strength in her right arm, Nagisa was just about to land a frontal hit when Peach hit her in the back with a spinning kick, sending her flying downwards, right in Rouge's way.

"Out of my way." Grabbed Black by her leg, Rin whirled the older Cure out of the way. She didn't know what exactly Peach had done, but she couldn't use either fire claws or Hell, which was quite a bother.

"Hell Smelter!" Creation a massive fireball in her right hand, Rin threw the flaming energy mass in Eas and Peach's direction, virtually melting the solid stone in it's path.

"Love! Setsuna!" Ellen shouted just before she reached to play a powerful riff on her guitar. "Disruption!" A horrible screeching sound echoed through the chasm. Rouge's energy ball crumbled in itself quickly. Dream was still not doing anything. Everyone that heard the noise shivered uncontrollably in pain. Both Peach and Eas had covered their ears in time, knowing the signal.

Noticing too late that someone was behind her, Ellen took a brutal blow in the back from Ako, who was near invisible being clad completely in black. "Orchestra Impact." Her voice spelled pain for Ellen. An vibrating sound wave rocketed through the blue Cures body, damaging her inside. Coughing up blood, she was additionally flung across the chasm by the sheer force of Ako's attack.

Ako had experience fighting all on her own. But she wasn't used to fighting multiple foes. Dodging to the side because she felt something move behind her, she wasn't quick enough. A razor sharp and nail thin blade pierced her right lower arm. Getting out of the effective range, she was staring down Aqua, who looked quite confident. Her water blade wasn't directly tied to her ability, so she could still use it.

"Don't you go forgetting about me!" Rin rushed at both Peach and Eas, wrapped her entire body in blazing fire. Not so much a special attack as basic energy manipulation. For someone like her, that could make her body a miniature copy of a sun, that was easy enough.

"Love." Holding on to Peach's hands, Eas let herself be whirled around twice before the pink Cure hurled her partner at the enemy. "Light's out." Setsuna was quite threatening as an enemy and she was ruthless on top of it. Rouge had no means to avoid the powerful punch to her stomach. The impact alone was hard to endure already but the black clad woman pulled back her arm and hit the redhead again, flinging her like a small rock. Rin spit blood and water the second she crashed through five pathways at once.

And finally, Dream moved. A lightning fast maneuver of jumping in the air, collapsing the pathway she had stood on with the force of pushing herself off the stone, grabbing both of Eas arms and lifting her high above her head, Nozomi smashed the black clad girl down below, enough force behind the throw to send her flying straight through three pathways.

Love stepped in, launching a furious assault of punches on the other pink Cure. They were even in speed and Nozomi managed to block every single blow. "Heart...!" "Dream...!" Both of them readied an energy based attack at the same time. "Crush!"

Their fists collided, the energy mixing and sizzling, both sides unwilling to give the other even one centimeter, adamant about not retreating. Dream had the upper hand in raw power but she couldn't utilize her full potential. Her ideals held her back too much. Seeing Rin get hurt so badly was finally enough motivation to join the battle.

"Heat Explosion!" Rouge had recovered enough to join back into the fight and try her luck, but she was stopped short by Eas again. The Labyrintian was superior in both speed and power but lacked any kind of energy manipulation ability. But that wasn't necessary either way. Grabbing Rouge by her ankle and spinning her around once, she threw her right at Dream, who tried to back off from her grappling match with Peach.

But it wouldn't be that easy. Love dropped the energy attack instantly, ducked down and smashed the pathway, completely annihilating any chance Dream had to avoid the collision with her teammate. Rin hit Nozomi and both of them were helpless in mid air. "Ellen!" Eas called out to her lover, knowing she was somewhere nearby, waiting for a chance like that.

"Beat Heaven!" Ten powerful riffs echoed through the chasm, hurting even Love and Setsuna in the process. But that was nothing compared to what Dream and Rouge were about to suffer. Uncountable numbers of blue crotchets, small notes, spawned around them. "Beat Burst!"

The chasm was illuminated by the asynchronous explosion of every single note. Ellen saw too late that Black was charging right at her. "Destruction Smash!" Grabbing Ellen's face, Nagisa first smashed her back first into the pathway, collapsing it, grabbing her again and ramming her elbow into her stomach followed by a finisher, each hand holding tightly onto an arm, both her knee's pressed against Beat's chest, they fell down, each time they hit a pathway, Black exerted additional power right through Beat's body, smashing the stone to pieces. After five pathways, Beat was not moving a muscle.

Eas and Love had been too far away to do anything against it. Both Rouge and Dream must have taken considerable damage by Ellen's attack so they split up. Eas was going down while Love went up, ready to finish off Rouge.

"Aqua Serene!" Five copies of Karen appeared all around Ako, who had been hard pressed to avoid the razor sharp weapon of the blue Cure. All six moved independently of each other, making the situation extremely tricky. Karen completely ignored the whirl of wind when Eas shot into the depths, towards Black, right behind her. "Aqua Hex!" Each of five clones took a specific stance and Karen erected a hexagonal barrier of water. There were only two ways out of that. Up and down. She would notice if she chose down and subsequently, if she went up, too.

Ako chose the latter and went up, trying to get out of reach and hide in the darkness. Judging the explosion, the other team had landed a fairly major hit on someone. Her curiosity got the better of her and she looked up for just a split second, trying to determine what the rest of the battle was looking like.

Karen didn't forgive even that much of diverted attention. "Aqua Pierce!" Holding out her hand, fingers spread, each shot a needle thin burst of water, all five of them hitting Muse in the stomach. The holes were minuscule but they were there. Coughing up blood, Ako knew that she wouldn't last a long time with a wound like that. She could have evaded that so easily, too, if she had paid attention.

The battle between Black and Eas was shaking the place. Pathways were crumbling under their kicks and punches like they were made of paper. Black was a lot stronger and almost as fast as Eas but she had previous experience in fighting a Cure. Love was capable and she had always been. A low kick forced Black to crouch and guard. Jumping back, regaining her balance and doing a front flip, using her hands as foothold, Eas wrapped both her legs around Nagisa's neck. Pulling her sideways, Nagisa prevented the impact by tightly holding on to Eas legs herself, exerting enough power to offset the pull.

Dream was too caught up in checking on the unconscious Rouge to notice Peach right behind her. "Heart Ace...!" A small heart appearing in the palm of her hand, Love was in mid-air as she placed her hand on Nozomi's chest. "..Burst!" The energy went straight through Nozomi as if it had no effect at all.

"Rose Garden-" Nozomi found herself overwhelmed by trying to both carry Rin to safety and take care of Peach, so she resorted to using her full power against her will.

"Oh no you don't." Headbutting Dream, Love could hear the other Cure squeak in pain. Looking at her face, she had broken her nose. Her right hand grabbing Nozomi's throat, Love tried to end it before Dream reached the point where she would constantly use her full power. "Heart Impact! Heart Impact! Heart Impact!" Dream's body would have been thrown away like a truck had hit her if not for Peach's tight grasp on her throat. She couldn't even gasp out in pain as Peach was slowly chocking her. Three impacts were enough to make Nozomi's vision red and blurry, her consciousness about to fade away.

Eas had less luck. Nagisa relied a lot on her special move but she had been originally a pure physical fighter before her partner trained her in energy manipulation. Rolling to the side, she barely escaped having her face stomped in. "Love!" Eas was desperate for some backup and since Ellen had been brutally taken out, Peach was her only hope. She couldn't even change back to Passion because she didn't have Memento at her disposal. Rolling off the pathway, Eas grabbed hold of the stone, change her angle just slightly in mid-air and kicked herself off the stone towards the wall. She was still a little bit faster so she had to play for time until Love came to back her up.

Ako wouldn't go down alone. Knowing that she was going to be out relatively soon, she decided to at least take Aqua with her. Charging at the blue Cure without any regard for her own safety, Ako's arms were littered with tiny holes, blood trickling from each of them. Her breathing was so heavy as if she had just ran a marathon. But she finally made it. Grabbing Aqua by her right shoulder, Ako raised her knee high in the air, hitting Karen's chin. Her entire world was spinning and so she had no chance to avoid the following attack. "Major Symphony Eruption!"

Love saw Muse collapse after blasting Aqua with an immense golden energy beam. Only Black was left and it should be possible to take care of her when they out-numbered her.

Eas jumped up, right into Love's trajectory and grabbed her right hand, kicked herself off a nearby pathway and whirling high into the air while Love descended rapidly. One of them was below Black, the other above. Nagisa tried to remedy the situation by moving sideways but that didn't pay off.

By the time she had moved, both Peach and Eas had surrounded her. Blocking Eas frontal assault with her right arm, Nagisa whirled around and landed a clean hit on Peach, at the cost of giving Eas an opening. Peach could use energy attacks, Eas couldn't, so the former was a bigger threat despite the overall lower raw power.

But it was a big error to underestimate Eas. Jumping on Black's shoulders, Eas quickly lifted her arms high above her own head, intervened both her hands to one massive fist and smashed in Black's face. The sound of bone cracking and blood splashing signaled her to remove herself from her shoulders. Peach was right in front of Black when she left herself wide open to an attack. It wasn't exactly her special ability but it was the strongest attack she had. "Clover Heart...!" Eight hearts appeared instantaneously around Love and started spinning. Holding her arm out, all eight of the hearts converged in her fist. "...Finale!" Hitting Black right in the chest, a massive heart shaped energy blast pushed right through her. Her eyes completely white, Nagisa was down for the count.

Love was caught by Eas in mid-air, the scenery around them fading as they landed. Both of them being returned to their own rooms, they didn't even bother to check how much favor they had gained and instead headed straight for Ellen's room. The poor girl had been knocked out after all.

=== Dissonance ===

There was absolutely no way she could leave things as they were. Experiencing the battle for a second time and actively participating in it, it only confirmed her feelings. It was wrong for Cures to beat each other up like that. Beat blasted her and Rin with an energy attack that could have leveled a small building. Without any consideration for possible outcomes. Even though they were not reduced to wild animals like before, it was still something she couldn't accept.

And she now knew how to stop it. If the system was so frail that it malfunctioned this easily, that it changed so easily, then it wouldn't be a stretch to force another change on it. She didn't enjoy fighting but she could endure and justify it if it wasn't among Cures themselves. It was early in the evening when she had come to. Everyone had to be busy with their own things right now. It was the perfect time to execute her new plan.

If her own abilities were not enough to stop everyone, to change things, then there was one other power she could use. One that far surpassed anything she thought possible. The wish granting system that relied on favor. It was the one glaring loophole. Why had nobody else thought of using it to escape or to change the way things worked? Were they really that used to violence that they didn't mind?

Thinking about it anymore than this was not going to help. From this point onwards, she had to **do** something. Holding the bowl, every single Cure had their own, she focused on what she wanted. Having never used the system before, Nozomi assumed that she would need to say her wish out loud as well.

"I wish that we no longer need to fight each other."

Nozomi dropped the bowl just as she had finished her line. The coins vanished one after another and with each, the air seemed to distort, the ground seemed to come to life, the area was shaking, rumbling. A quake that shook not only the ground but the dimension itself. A chill of horror ran down her spine and a stinging pain forced her to grasp her head in agony.

The effect spread and spread until it covered her whole body, until every cell, every fiber of her being as ablaze with pain, her body convulsing as she rolled over the ground, her eyes shedding tears of boiling blood, her skin fading to ash white, saliva turning to sand in her mouth, her nails turning black, the air she breathed burning like fire in her lungs, her heart racing like she had run a thousand miles, her hair standing right up as if she had touched a lightning bolt.

The rumbling continued and got significantly worse as she continued to endure the inhuman pain running through her body. Dust fell from the ceiling and the walls, tiny rocks starting to break from the structure. And finally, after what seemed like hours of torture, the pain passed. The air smelled of molten iron and sulfur, a horrible stench.

Desperate to take in actual air and get the fire out of her lungs, Nozomi gasped, only to choke on the air all around her. Starting to cough, her body shook under new convulsions. Spitting blood and throwing up what little she had eaten that morning, Nozomi somehow managed to sit up, leaned against the side of her bed. To say that didn't go as planned was a monumental understatement.

And that was only the beginning of her troubles. As she recovered from the brutal.. whatever happened to her, her gaze fell to the back of her room, where something had changed. Specifically, something had appeared. A huge mirror, probably about two meters high and a meter wide, a gold and black frame, the glass shinning even though there was no real light source to reflect anything.

Pushing herself up on her bed, Nozomi found it difficult to even stand. The feeling of having barely cheated death itself was predominantly on her mind. Her hands and legs shaking, cold sweat started to run down her face. Waiting for a bit, nothing more seemed to happen. There was a lot of turmoil outside, people shouting and running around, but nothing else seemed to be happening. Was it over? Had the system denied her wish and punished them all instead? And what was the mirror for?

Standing up, Nozomi slowly walked over to it and stared at the large glass. It was by all means a beautiful mirror, the frame decorated with fine lines and symbols she couldn't make sense of. All but two. Imprinted in the very glass itself were five letters. "D-R-E-A-M... Why is my name imprinted on it? Because it is my mine?" Looking down and checking for other inscriptions, Nozomi noticed another set of letters, at the bottom of the glass, just above the frame itself. They were mirrored and hard to read. "What does it say...?" Standing up and trying to think about it, Nozomi noticed something odd. Her reflection was not mimicking her actions.

Instead, she just stared at herself, a fascinated gaze, like one had met their exact doppelganger in reality. "Why is..." Touching the glass where the cheek of her reflection was, Nozomi felt a chill that ran right to her bones. An ominous feeling of danger.

She didn't even have time to react when both arms of her reflection reached right through the glass, wrapped themselves around her neck. Within a second, the reflection had passed over into her room, ramming her knee with her full force into Nozomi's abdomen. The pink Cure couldn't handle an attack like that right after suffering the effects of her wish. Her conscious faded just as she heard her reflection talk to her in her own voice. "Nightmare."

=== Dissonance ===

"What is going on?" The confusion among the Cures had reached it's peak. First the unmeasurable pain, then the warping of their surroundings, and finally, this. Miki was standing face to face with Inori, who had just left for exile earlier that day.

The hallway was packed with people. Over fifteen Cures were present, all of them confused over the state of things. It didn't take long until the more composed ones assembled into a small circle to try and make sense of what happened.

White, Egret, Berry and Bright had gathered to discuss what was happening. "So far, everyone on our side mentions going through enormous pain just before this. There was a significant quake that changed the area, too." Honoka was still weak on her legs, but making sense of the situation came before her personal issues.

"The pain and the warping of space seemingly affected everyone. I was just walking down the hallway when it started. The wall started to break down and rebuild itself rapidly over and over from what I saw. In the end, the solid side turned into another twelve rooms. This makes a total of twenty-four rooms just in this hallway now." Michiru wasn't pleased that Kaoru wasn't there to help her out. She would find this without doubt most interesting.

"First of all, what caused this? Before we discern all the effects and results, we should try to look into the cause of it." Mai didn't like this at all. It was great to see Kaoru and Michiru again, but after the last system breakdown, she wasn't looking forward to whatever would follow this.

"The system was working fine, so it has to be some**one** who caused this." Their discussion continued while others tried to cope with the situation at hand. Rin, having a bad premonition, was hastily walking over to Nozomi's room. If she was the cause of this, then...!

But she didn't need to go that far. Still about ten meters away, the door to Dream's room opened and a weak and pale looking Nozomi came walking out of it. A thin trickle of blood was running from her arm. "Rin... what happened?"

Visibly relieved that Nozomi was in just as much confusion as everyone else, Rin slowed down her pace. "We don't know."

"Is everyone okay? It felt like I was dying just now, so I'm worried someone might have suffered really bad injuries." It was difficult just to stand for her, so she leaned against the wall, her gaze wandering from Cure to Cure.

"We all went through that apparently. I'm just relieved you didn't have anything to do with this."

"I'd never try and cause people pain like this!" Putting her hand on her chest, Nozomi was sending a pleading look to Rin.

"I know, I know. You don't need to tell me that."

Their attention was quickly redirected when Berry clapped her hands several times. "Everyone please assemble your team so we can look if there is anyone missing. We should make sure that nobody is left behind in their room, injured or needing help." Miki spotted Love and Setsuna together with Ellen. They would survive not being together for a few minutes.

Everyone but Moonlight had assembled after a few minutes. The Suite group refused to assemble, Melody and Rhythm not even looking at each other. Miki simply counted them one by one at the end. "Please stay inside the living grounds for now. We don't know what happened so please avoid going out into the labyrinth for now."

"We should check on other structural changes." Mai's idea was approved quickly. Most of the other Cures returned to their rooms, not feeling too good after the whole ordeal. They were recovering quickly, but the pain was still vibrant in their mind.

It took no less than half an hour to make a full list of all obvious changes. The number of rooms had doubled and so had the size of the other rooms. Going by comments of both sides, the rooms had been merged together. Blossom's garden had survived whatever event had happened without a scratch. The biggest change was that the plates and the gate that transported them to other areas, were both gone.

In their place was a connection to a massive tunnel, too high and wide to measure easily. Not knowing what exactly happened, they didn't venture inside for the time being.

A full hour after the event, everyone assembled in the living room. It was rather packed. White and Berry were the two that explained everything to the others. Lemonade was the first to ask the obvious question. "So, we know what was caused. Who's responsible?"

"We don't know. We asked everyone if they had used the favor system lately, but the most recent use dates back to more than ten hours ago. There is no reason to assume that there were side effects from wishing for a book." Honoka was as helpless as the others. There was not a single hint.

"Has anyone noticed something odd we haven't covered?" Honoka was hoping that someone picked up a hint at least.

"It smells like iron in the rooms. I first thought it's just mine, but it was in Marine's room too." Tsubomi spoke up about the unnatural smell. There was approving murmuring just after she mentioned the smell.

"I don't think the air is poisonous but we can't be too careful now. Try to limit how long you stay in your rooms. If you feel dizzy or sick, stay in the living room or walk around in the hallway. It's possible that the air will normalize soon." Honoka couldn't find any substance in any room that would make the air smell that strongly of iron.

There was nothing more to be said. They had to take a wait and see approach now. Rin was among the first to stand up, eager to go to bed. She was feeling really tired after having to battle and going through that disaster just now. Walking right out of the living room and leaving the now increasingly loud chatter behind her, she was stopped just short of reaching her room. It was Rhythm.

Seeing Ellen together with Peach and Passion like that, Ako with Lemonade and Hibiki with Sunshine, Kanade instinctively went to the first person she could think of to not be utterly alone amongst that many.

"Rin." Kanade wasn't too great with admitting things so she was fidgeting around for a bit.

"We slept with each other but I don't remember telling you to address me by my first name. Oh well, I don't really care. Go ahead, call me Rin." She wasn't in the best mood, even through the sex with Rhythm had been pretty good. It was plain as day that she had little to no experience but that didn't stop Rin from having fun by herself.

"You're sleeping alone right? I was thinking... if you want... I could... keep you company. If you feel lonely." Kanade couldn't possibly come out straight and say that she wanted to stay with her to avoid feeling abandoned.

"Now look. I thought I was pretty clear when I said this isn't going to be a thing between us. Sure, you're pretty cute, but I'm not the type to want a girlfriend that blows my damn head off because she gets offended or something." Shrugging and turning around, Rin walked a few steps before she could feel Kanade grab her hand from behind. Sighing hard and looking back, she didn't get a single word out.

There were signs of tears in the blonde's eyes and Rin wasn't really that cruel. "Fine... You can spent the night in my room. But don't be disillusioned about becoming my girlfriend. Blow up on me and I'm kicking you out faster than you can spell sorry." Maybe she had hung around Urara too much. She didn't want to be that cold to Kanade, but she felt that if she wasn't, it would give the girl the wrong idea.

Well, it wasn't really that hard to understand. After screwing up this badly, Melody probably won't even talk to her anymore. So her plan backfired massively. That she would come back to avoid being dumped completely was a really obvious thing to do. And she really didn't mind that much.

She was lonely herself. Sleeping with Urara was good, it satisfied her urges, but it wasn't really emotionally satisfying. She was longing for someone that cared about her and while Urara was her friend, that wasn't exactly the kind of caring she wanted.

Letting Kanade hold her hand, Rin appreciated that even though her actions were fueled by the wrong motives, Rhythm seemed to care at least a bit about her. In a way, Kanade wanted to be with her to avoid being alone and Rin accepted that in exchange for not being alone herself.

"Don't blame me for whatever happens. I'm just a woman, too. And I happen to like blondes." After being exposed to Urara's influence for as long as she had been, it wasn't difficult for Rin to say right out what she felt and thought. At least not to someone she wasn't emotionally very invested in.

"It's fine..." Kanade was thankful that Rin still accepted her, regardless of how much she had screwed up. Accusing Hibiki and Itsuki, overreacting and sleeping with the next girl that was willing to and then falling flat on her face after all of that.

Walking slowly to Rin's room, the red Cure didn't really know what to make of the situation. She kinda had a thing for blondes now, after Urara and Rhythm, and she would be lying if she said that Kanade wasn't really good looking. For now, she adopted a wait and see approach.

The evening went it's way from there. Kurumi and Hikari were joined by Bloom to prepare some dinner. They found that even the food had been brought over. While the situation felt wrong at first, almost all of them were kind of happy to have everyone together. Miki was lamenting the fact that Moonlight was gone, but other than that, the mood was surprisingly bright.

But it wouldn't stay that way.

=== Dissonance ===

Dinner had passed and it was already late at night when one of the doors opened and someone left their room. Trying to be completely silent, she had made sure that her package could not even squeal. The unconscious package didn't make a sound. There was too high a danger in keeping it around. She had to get rid of it for now. And oh how excited she was to be able to do it herself.

To kill her. To tear her head off. To cut her in pieces. To burn her carcass. To stomp and curb her. A lustful and dark grin formed on her face just thinking about it. Her nails sunk deep into her package, leaving bloody red marks. To get rid of that foolish thing wasn't enough. No. She had to set an example.

Carrying her package carefully, as to not damage it before the appropriate time, she made double sure that nobody other than her was in the hallway or the living room. She couldn't hear or see anyone, so her path was free. Looking lovingly, with an grotesque bloodthirsty grin disrupting her caring expression, on the face of her package, her mouth slowly opened, her tongue extending to the cheek of the girl she was carrying. Licking over the flesh, she could already taste the despair, the pain, the **death**.

She only had to keep it up for two more days and she would be rid of her permanently. Forty-eight hours after she killed her and she would be gone forever. Nobody would ever notice! She would need to tell the others soon. It would be so much easier to kill them all if they replaced them one by one.

"Nozomi? Where are you going?"

She froze in her tracks. That voice... Mint? What was she doing up this late? More importantly, how fast could she drop the package and try to break her neck or otherwise silence her. There was no doubt she would notice if she came any closer.

"Just for a little walk. I couldn't sleep after today." She had to make a decision soon. Keep lying to Mint and hope she walked away or drop the package, try to kill her and then kill the girl.

"What are you holding?" Komachi could sense that something was odd. Nozomi wasn't the type of person to just keep talking to her without even turning around. And what was she holding? It looked like... a person. Had someone fainted? But then, why wasn't she saying anything?

She didn't even see her move before the impact flipped her over. The following hit smacked her into the ground. Trying to gasp for air, she felt something cover her mouth. A hand, sticky with blood. Whoever that was, it only looked like Nozomi, that much was clear after the sudden assault. But would she live through this? The fake Nozomi was lifting up her head and trying to break her neck.

She was suddenly released when blood splashed over her face and hair. A thin blue blade was piercing the pink Cure's right arm. "More pests... to hell with this. I'll just kill as many of you as I can." Her voice sounded exactly like Nozomi's, just her tone was completely different. There was not a single shred of empathy or care in it.

Grabbing Mint and hurling her at the blue Cure behind her, Dream escaped immediate danger. Jumping back to her package, the hallway was now quickly filling with other Cures, woken by the sudden disturbance, the fighting. She had miscalculated just how much the sound of Mint crashing into the ground would echo thorough the place.

She was completely surrounded in a matter of seconds. Rin was one of the last to show up and she couldn't believe her eyes. One Nozomi that stared at everyone else with eyes of pure hatred and contempt, and another one with her eyes closed, unconscious, her dress partially shredded and soaked in what was likely her own blood.

"Who the hell are you? What have you done to the real Dream?" Rouge was shouting, readying her fire claws to tear apart the fake Dream.

"The **real** Dream? What a stupid question. You're looking at her. At them. I'm as much her as she is me. And we're both Dream. But really, I think I'll prefer it if you call me Nightmare. Just Nightmare. I don't need the silly Cure tag." For now, she had to bet on two things. One, that at least some of the others were monitoring this camp, and two, that she could buy enough time for them to come in, take advantage of the confusion and kill a few Cures.

"Shut up! Who cares? I'll just get it out of Nozomi after I take her back!" Rouge didn't wait another second and rushed at the fake Cure, at Nightmare. She didn't get very far. Bright stopped her by grabbing her right arm, flipping her over and on the ground.

"Calm down. Or I'll force you to. We need more information." Michiru didn't like the fight and think later approach.

"You're some kind of split entity of Dream, am I right?" Windy had recovered enough to participate in a short battle or pry information out of someone.

"Oh, smart girl. What makes you think that? The fact that I look just like her? Or that I practically told you that just now?" Feigning arrogance, Nightmare held on to the real Dream by her neck, carrying her like a bag of potatoes, Nozomi's legs sliding over the ground like she was a puppet being flung around.

"You are the reason the rooms smell of Iron, aren't you? Are you the only one?" Windy created a small orb of energy in her palm, ready to inflict a little pain on the surrounded Nightmare.

"Who knows. Maybe you'll find out if you ask me nicely." How much longer did she have to play this little game? There were a lot of them and she was alone. Even if she had a lot of power, she would die and that would be the end of the game for now. No, she had to get out of there. But she would not leave that useless copy of hers alive.

"I asked nicely. I don't mind sacrificing Dream if it enables us to pry out every little bit of information out of you." While she had acquired quite a bit of common sense in the last few years, Kaoru was all but beyond willing to use torture if it meant gaining critical information.

"What did you just say? Over my dead body!" Rin tried to get out of Bright's lock, but she was no match for her strength.

"I don't even have to say anything and you're already fighting amongst yourselves. Regardless, Ladies, it's time for me to go. **Do it**!" Throwing herself down on the ground, Nightmare took cover. The backup had finally arrived and chosen to do something. Or maybe they had just gotten sick of watching her squirm in the enemy's hands.

"Inferno Blaze!" Rouge recognize the attack as something she could do herself. But it was slightly different. A good dozen fireballs flew through the hallway, impacting at various points. The sizzling sound of solid stone being set ablaze, the screams of Cures shouting warnings and orders, the smell of burnt hair and cloth, the pain of the stinging heat.

All of that was drowned out by the seemingly slow motion movement of Nightmare. Surrounded by rampant spreading flames, standing proud and arrogant amidst the blazing fire, their eyes met. The light pink eyes betraying Nightmare's true nature, the love of others suffering. Rin felt a bitter thirst for vengeance as she looked at her.

The flames hiding all but a shadowy silhouette, a terrifying white grin in it's midst as the shadow faced the direction Rouge was in, one of her arms reached down to the unconscious body below her. Her mouth opening and a high pitched monstrous laugh escaping it, Nightmare lifted up Dream slowly by her head, her nails burying themselves deep into her forehead and the skin on her head. Dream's arms limp and hanging down, she was completely helpless.

With one mind numbingly quick move, Nightmare's left arm vanished. Rin couldn't comprehend where it went. Something was booming in her ears. The sound of something dripping. A gust of wind revealed a quick glance on Nightmare as more than just a shadowy figure. And now she knew where her arm went.

There was a gaping hole in Nozomi's chest, right where her heart was supposed to be. Blood was gushing out from the wound, spraying all over a silently laughing, perfect copy of Nozomi. Shaking her head a few times, her laughter finally burst out. "Ha... hahaha... this feeling! This smell! This sound! I love it, I love it, I love it!"

Rin was petrified, unable to lift even a single finger. Her mind was trying to shut down, trying to avoid seeing something that would leave irreversible damage.

"Nightmare. Time to go. Put her into the mirror so we can get the hell out of here." The voice belonged to Komachi, but her tone was that of someone that commanded soldiers, someone cold.

Clicking her tongue, Nightmare dropped the bleeding out body and clicked her fingers. "Black Mirror!"

Rin watched in terror as four skeletal arms emerged from a black mist on the ground, pulling Nozomi's corpse into the solid stone.

"There's no way they'd get me before the two days are up anyway. She's as good as dead for real." Turning around and facing Rouge, Nightmare blew a kiss to her.

The fire's sizzling, the chaotic shouting and the echoes of attacks being used, all of that disappeared when Rin raised her voice. "_**Nozomi**_**!**" Rin's desperate outcry echoed empty through the burning hallway, no longer able to reach her dear friend.

=== End of Event XVII ===


	18. Mirrors – Duo

**Dissonance**

_Event XVIII_

**Mirrors-Duo**

They couldn't believe what had happened just a few moments ago. A perfect copy of Dream had killed her original. A few of the others had been attacked and defended themselves against more copies. They had seen Mint, Rouge, Peach, Luminous and Passion. In the confusion, Nightmare got away and there was no sign of Nozomi's body, only a large bloody mark on the ground where she had been killed.

"Let's check her room." Urara was among the first to collect herself. Windy and Bright were with her as she entered Dream's room. To their surprise, the only oddity in the room was the large mirror that refused to reflect anything, no matter which of the three stood in front of it.

"It has something written on it. Dream on the upper end, mirrored, and Nightmare on the lower." Michiru backed away from the mirror so suddenly that she almost knocked over her sister. The smell of iron in the air intensified enormously for a few seconds and then vanished completely. The mirror showed no visible changes. "The other rooms."

The next logical step was to check the rooms that shared the iron smelling air before. Rouge's room was first and there too, did they find a large mirror that did not reflect anything. "It's the same. Only the words are different. It says Rouge and Blaze. Neither of them is written mirrored." Kaoru was still kneeling before the mirror and touching the surface. It was almost too smooth to be glass.

"So depending on which one is dead, it writes the name mirrored?" Urara guessed that it worked like that.

"It's too early to say that. We don't even know if Dream is dead or not." Turning around, Michiru tried to reach behind the mirror and move it, but it wouldn't budge even a single centimeter. "I don't know how it's fixated in place, but it's not going to go anywhere. Should we try breaking it?"

"Don't. If Rouge dies because you mess with this thing, I'm sending you right after her, understood?" Urara was not going to stand by and watch the sisters as they potentially screwed with Rin's life.

"She has..." "...a point." Looking at each other, both Bright and Windy slowly backed away from the mirror. "There doesn't seem to be any danger by..." "...just having the mirror in your room."

"Urara, Rin is throwing a fit about going and getting revenge for Nozomi!" Komachi was as pale as a ghost and not looking too well in general. Part of her hair and clothes were slightly scorched from the fire, too. "Karen is keeping her in check but she's completely out of her mind."

Leaving the two sisters behind, Urara found Rin struggling to get free from Black and Bloom's hold. Karen was on the ground and rubbing her cheek, having suffered a punch from Rouge. "Let me go! Let me go I said! I'm not going to just let them ago away with this! Don't you feel anything? Are you just gonna sit around and twiddle thumbs while they laugh at us after they killed-"

Rin was hit in the face so hard that she felt sick. "Get yourself together Rin! What is storming off to look for them gonna do, huh? You don't know where they are, how many of them there are, nor what is really going on! You heard Nightmare, you heard what she said! Two days. Instead of thinking Nozomi is already dead, how about you find some hope that she isn't? Or do you want her dead that much?" Urara's right hand was turning bright red, having hit Rin much too hard. But it wasn't just the red Cure who was angry. Karen, Komachi, Kurumi, they all had to be just as angry as she was.

"Do you really expect me to just sit around and wait? Nozomi is your friend too! Think about how many times she saved your ass!" Rin was still being held in place by Black and Bloom, who showed no sign of letting her go. Running out there was a suicide mission.

"Yeah, I expect you to do exactly that. Sit tight and wait until we actually have an idea of what is going on. If you want to make yourself useful, stand guard where the gate was! That's one of two ways in here, so if they're coming back, it's either there or the opposite side. You'll get your revenge, but not right now. Not by getting yourself killed in the process." Urara glared at Rin and it was finally making an impact.

Lowering her head, Rin was let go the moment the other two could feel her stop resisting. "They're gonna pay for this."

"Oh yes, they will." Turning about and walking to the back, Urara grabbed a hold of Kurumi and Komachi. "You two, with me. We're gonna collapse all but that one path through the gate into here." Upon seeing Blossom's worried face, she sighed. "The garden is gonna be fine. It's a dead end, so there's no need to block entry to it."

"Urara is doing the right thing. Go. I'll see what else we can find out." Karen gave Komachi a quick nod when the green Cure looked back after being dragged away a few steps. The initial shock had been great but it was nothing they couldn't handle. They all had already faced life threatening situations before, sometimes not knowing if they would make it back alive. This was no different. They just had to believe that Dream was still alive.

"How did this happen... was that the real Nozomi I talked to earlier? If it was, what happened... if she wasn't... Did she cause this?" Rin couldn't think straight and punched the floor multiple times before she went completely silent.

"White, Berry, we need to talk." Kaoru and Michiru showed up again, having visited quite a few rooms in the meantime. Intrusion on privacy didn't really mean anything to them right now.

"There are twenty-four mirrors." "But only three show two names." "Dream and Nightmare." "Rouge and Blaze." "Mint and Poison."

"Slow down. I'm having trouble following you." Miki wasn't exactly in a state of mind where she could handle an abridged explanation like that. She hadn't seen it with her own eyes but she the fact that Dream got likely killed was stuck in her head.

"Everyone has a large mirror in their room. You'll see when you enter yours." "Dream's, Rouge's and Mint's mirror show two names, one on the top, one on the bottom." "Everyone else' mirror is missing the bottom name. For now."

"It would be quite bad if there were twenty-four reflections of us." Honoka didn't find that to be particular desirable situation.

"Reflections." "They really might be." "Our warped selves." Looking at each other, Kaoru and Michiru tried to draw parallels between the real Dream and Nightmare but they didn't know her well enough.

"For now we know of three. But we best assume that there is one for everyone. Was there anything particular about Dream's mirror?" Miki spotted Inori talking to Karen a few meters away. "Bukki, come here for a moment." If they had ever needed a plan, now was the time.

"Dream was written mirrored." "All the other names were written normally." "Nightmare was written normally, too, just like Blaze and Poison." Kaoru rubbed her temple, still feeling lingering effects from the exile and whatever had caused the creation of the mirrors earlier.

"You want to ask me what we're going to do now, right?" Inori had known Miki for so long, it was easy to read her mind just a little bit. And in a situation like this, it was particularly easy. "Lemonade has already started doing the right thing. Limiting the angles of directions we can be attacked from. If there's only one way in and out of here, it can be defended easily. We should put guards in groups of two, at minimum, at that path. It would be great if we could fortify the spot in some way. Lemonade and Mint might be useful for that. I already thought about using the favor system to undo this, but I think there might be one big problem. It first dawned on me when Blossom created the garden. There were no animals, no real living creatures. I think this might be a limitation of the mechanism." Finishing her instructions, Inori took a deep breath and looked at three very perplexed faces. Honoka and the sisters didn't know that Pine was this clever, nor did they expect her to be.

"Beyond that, I don't think it's wise to stress ourselves out unnecessarily. It'll wear us down and give them an opening to attack. I'm sure that Dream is still alive. I asked Karen and she told me what Nightmare had to say. She used an attack called Black Mirror. Asking Karen about it, she didn't remember Dream being able to use any attack like that, which makes me think that this is part of the situation. This is just a theory though, so don't just tell everyone. I think Dream is still alive, somewhere. If all of us are together on this side, then there is likely a similar arrangement for our doubles."

"Reflections." "We believe that is what they are." "Warped images of ourselves." "Our opposite. Like a mirror image with a mirrored personality." Kaoru and Michiru extended on White's comments.

"You might be right. We'll find out eventually. Personally I don't think they'll come back tonight. We should use this to do a few things. Fortify the spot where the gate was, decide on the duration of each guard's shift, a rotation and possibly two scouts that can take a look outside. I'd recommend Egret and myself for this. We both specialize in speed so we should be able to outrun just about anyone together." She had a weird feeling volunteering for a potentially dangerous mission, but what else was there to do? Plans only went so far.

The ground trembled for a few seconds and a slow rising dust cloud approached them slowly. It came from the direction that was left of the garden. That was one of three way's sealed up. Urara was sweating heavily and both Komachi and Kurumi coughed from the dust cloud. A large hallway had connected the area to the labyrinth beyond. There was no way to tell just how far it reached so they made sure that it was closed up. Several metric tons of stone were now in the way between them and the outside. Even if it was Milky Rose and her immensely destructive ability, she'd make a monumental amount of noise and still need several minutes to get through there. It was locked up tight.

The process was simple. Urara anchored her chains deeply into the stone with her ability, Komachi held on to her and Kurumi applied the necessary physical pressure on the shield that Mint used to protect the two. The pull on the chains was strong enough to tear apart the structure, destroy the integrity of the place. "Let's take a short break and get to the other one."

"Mai. Come with me for a bit." Going back to the living room, where a gloomy mood dominated the place, everyone was trying to get past the shock of hearing of Dream's potential demise. They were already talking about **potential** demise. Pine's theory had spread like wildfire.

Using her Wings of Heaven ability, Mai was faster than anyone else excluding others under the same effect, like Pine or Rouge. "You want me to scout with Pine? I see no problem, but isn't the outside constantly changing? What are we looking for then?"

"We think it might not change anymore." "The reflections reached our area." "And we believe they occupy the area the dark team was at before." "So there has to be a connection." "Where there was none before." Dropping their quirk for a moment, Michiru explained in detail.

"The massive trembling before was likely a forceful change in structure of this place. Judging by how this place has essentially doubled it's number of rooms and the size of the facilities, it makes us believe that can't be all. There has to be some way the reflections managed to get all the way over here."

"If there is a way, we need to know it. It's not a solution to stay defensive. If Nightmare's words mean anything, two days, forty-eight hours, are a time limit to something. We have to find a way to get there and possibly take her out within that period of time."

"Then we shouldn't waste any time. Pine, do you have some way to mark our tracks inconspicuously? Even if we assume that they already know how to get here, we shouldn't mark the way we take." Mai picked up easily on small but important details like that.

"I'm going with you for that." Honoka held out her hand and created a miniature light pillar. "They lay dormant until I activate them and they disintegrate a few minutes later." She wasn't really one of the speedier Cures, but with Mai's ability, she'd be able to keep up with them.

"There is another problem." "A big one." The Kiryuu sisters remembered something that could absolutely not be ignored. It also nailed down who they had to take out first, if their theory about everyone having a doppelganger proved to be right. "Beat."

It took the others a few seconds to realize the meaning of that one word. "If she has a reflection running around, and if that reflection can use the same powers as her... she'll use Purger against us." Another loud crash almost overpowered Honoka's voice. A second dust cloud rose and slowly crept it's way in the living area. A dusty and exhausted looking Lemonade, Mint and Rose showed up, coughing and cursing.

"I'm never doing that again. Never. You hear me?" Kurumi was coughing after every word and her hair color looked like she had dyed part of it gray. Mint and Lemonade weren't off quite that badly but they too, looked pretty dirty.

"Shut your trap. It's not like we did this for shits and giggles. Do you see Komachi complaining?" Urara didn't like that kind of attitude.

"Are the paths closed?" Miki didn't really want to deal with an argument right there so she tried to interrupt them to the best of her ability. "Any complications? How secure are those ends?"

"Not even a mouse is getting through there." Trying to wrestle down a coughing fit, Lemonade shook her head. "If they break through there, you'll hear them five minutes ahead of time and from a kilometer away. Closed, shut, blocked off, impassable."

"What are we going to do about Beat's reflection? We have to assume that there is one, at least for now. In a situation like this, we have to be cautious." Honoka turned to Lemonade. "You're been with Muse for the last few days. Does she know anything about Beat's ability?"

"Don't know. I'll ask her. Wait here." The conversation continued right after Urara had walked off.

"Beyond this, what are we going to do? I say Nightmare, Blaze and Poison sent a pretty clear message about this. They want to kill not only their originals but everyone here." Miki was more than just a little worried about that. Fighting each other was one thing, but killing someone that was essentially a copy of yourself... or for someone else to have to do that... that was on a completely different level.

"Kill them." "All of them." Kaoru and Michiru had no mercy at all for people that were after the lives of Saki and Mai. "They attacked us without second thought." "We can't burden ourselves by thinking they're human." "They're just reflections." "Cheap copies."

"You say that now but how many of us do you expect to just take that at face value and go through with it? I... don't think I could actually **kill** someone, no matter who it is." Miki didn't like that train of thought at all.

"You killed already." "You, too, had an enemy. What became of him?" "What of his or her underlings?" "Don't delude yourself into thinking you never hurt anyone."

"Kaoru, Michiru, you're out of line now. Everyone has their own circumstances. You can't just generalize this." Mai had to stop them now before they completely fell into their bad habit of using logic alone to decide matters. The sisters looked away and sulked but did not say anything else.

"They're going to attack us if they spot us, so we have to make sure that whoever goes out is actually capable of dealing with the fact that they might have to fight them to the death, in self defense or not." Inori wasn't a fan of that either, but she realized just how dire the situation at hand was.

"Good luck explaining that to everyone. Love is not going to accept that, we both know that. And that means by extension, Setsuna and Ellen won't, either." Miki was still against lethal combat. It just wasn't in her to kill someone that looked like a Cure, no matter how artificial they were.

"It doesn't have to be everyone. If we can just find five or six of us that are capable... then that's that. They will have to carry that burden for those that can't."

"It started." Honoka turned around in a rush and faced the tunnel where the gateway had been. A beautiful and deadly tune was playing from the distance. It hit them like a solid stone wall. The moment the sound reached their ears, reached their bodies, they felt their very being pulled apart, drained away.

_"Rrha ki ra harr exec, En yehar~, Rrha ki ra harr exec hymmnos PAJA, En yehar nha near yor!"_

"I can't believe they're already doing that! That thing is bound to reach the other side too! Doesn't Beat's reflection care about her comrades?" Covering her ears out of reflex, Miki shouted at Honoka, who had been the only one beside Sunshine to be subject to the killing hymn at close range.

_"Was ki ra selena anw hymmnos PAJA - En ma ki ga chs syec van nel an hymme endia – En ma ki ra ks syec parge tes ar hymme mea – Was ki ra exec hymmnos PAJA – Was ki ra exec syec parge tie, gott yor!" _

Komachi was holding her head, half covering her face, before she created a five layered barrier around them. It helped but she couldn't keep that up indefinitely. "We need to do something! I can't protect everyone at once with my barriers!"

At that moment, Urara returned with Ako, both of them visibly in pain, especially Muse. "Good that I expected something like this... though I believed I'd have to use it against the real Ellen, not a knockoff. But this sounds just like the real thing. Everyone, cover your ears, I have no idea what's going to happen!"

Holding out both her arms, Ako released a thick golden mist. Notes were assembling themselves from the minuscule golden particles inside the mist as she moved her hands about. Taking a deep breath, she focused on her own power. Not that of Cure Muse, but that of the princess of Major Land, the future queen. One of the few people who could use the power of hymns.

The sound of the hymn... flickered, just as Ako opened her mouth. Her voice was soft and yet overpowering the brutal speed and words of Purger. Parts of words were still audible, the sound itself was getting fainter but it was still there. There was no sound at all while the notes still formed and Ako almost whispered the beginning of the lyrics.

"_In the eternal machination of nature... a single life is insignificant..."_

A choir composed of her own voice reached up, started to play around her, holding like a wall against the hymn of Ellen's reflection. It was like a struggle of power, two waves clashing against each other, the thunderous boom of each trying to drown the other.

"_**Yasra**__ dius manaf~... yasra D__**ius**__ manaf~...yasra dius __**Manaf**__~..." _The choir repeated itself seemingly endlessly, each time with a different meaning. The words sunk into the mind of the Song princess's audience, their meaning clear. Each life was important. Each life was precious. Each life deserved dignity. Each life was sacred. Each life would have it's reward and be rewarded with eternal peace.

Ako was sweating, breathing hard and in pain. She wasn't used to doing this. In fact, she had never before used the ancient magic that only few in Major Land could understand, fewer even learn. Taking a step back, her hymn stopped for just a moment, and that was enough for Beat's reflection's hymn to reach through.

_"I'll dance_ _dance, I'll dance in this feast unto death. Dance in this evils' night. "I'm a dancing Song Princess - You're my sacrifice – enjoy the show – give yourself to me – __**Now**__! Dancing to the __countdown of your death, it's your fate!"_

To hear that sung with Ellen's voice pained her more than anything else, more than the life draining effect itself. Ellen, Siren, Beat. She was one of her subjects, her friend and an ally. To hear her sing a hymn designed for mass murder was grueling.

Spreading her arms, closing her eyes and looking in the air, Ako stepped forward, the golden mist expanding, filling the space around her, notes assembling in parts of a score, floating around, disassembling when their part was done, but never vanishing.

As opposed to Ellen's wild dancing and whirling, Ako stood completely still, her arms open like she was waiting for someone to embrace her, like she was praying to heaven. She had to skip part of the hymn since she hadn't started together with Purger. And this was her first time using it, too!

The choir got louder and changed it's lyrics together with Ako, but her real voice reached easily beyond that, playing a calming sound that was slow and a little sad, a stark contrast to the fast and powerful purger.

"_**In the eternal machination of nature... a single life is insignificant... Yet every life is afforded the grace of God. **This is not sadness, for we are together now, and forever, as the children of music. **Even wounds caused by time are no hindrance, for we steadily continue our march. **This is all but sadness, for we are equal with them and all"_

Ako was completely nullifying the sound of the other Hymn now and she was just starting the most powerful part. But her voice was starting to give in. She could feel her stamina draining rapidly, her body burning up, her rationality urging her to stop before she would ruin herself. But she couldn't do that. To stop would mean to make everyone subject to Purger. She only had to persevere a little longer and at least Ellen's reflection would never be able to sing this specific hymn again. For that was what Suspend did. It forever halted the hymn it was used on in it's place, frozen in time, disconnected from the world. The choir stopped and a serene, inspiring music increased in volume until it completely encompassed Ako.

"_Humanity wanders endlessly in time, settling everywhere and nowhere. A child wandering the dark alleyways, ignoring the lighted roads."_ At that point her voice multiplied once, each singing a different phrase.** "A benevolent demon in the dark."** _"She plays the strings of time, she sounds the tune of life." _**"All the worlds sufferings are placed on the shoulder of a single child of man."**

The hymn broke abruptly when Ako stumbled and fell over. Urara was quick enough to catch her, finding her unconscious. Silence dominated the hallways. Others came to look what had happened but were kept a fair distance from Muse, who was slowly coming to again. "Rise and shine princess."

"Sarcasm right when I saved your leather. Not like I expected differently." Her eyes only half open, Ako felt drained. Not only because she had held out against Purger, but... to use a hymn like that was much more tiring than she ever believed. She was completely out of magic and stamina. Her cheeks flushed with color despite all that when Urara lifted her up and carried her away just like a princess.

"Make way for the princess!" The sarcasm was written thick on her face and Ako tried to protest by halfheartedly trying to push Urara away. The others laughed and parted ways, a little amused by the scene. But it wasn't just to lighten the mood. They were just outside the hearing range of everyone else when Ellen showed up, looking like a child that had been caught stealing cookies. Guilt was written all over her face. Lemonade could see both Peach and Passion hiding at the corner, watching her.

"Ako... I'm so sorry that-"

"Don't be stupid Ellen. I know more than you about this power. We don't chose what Hymns were are capable of. Nor did you chose to have an evil reflection running around. This isn't your fault so get a grip." Being still a little cold to Ellen, Ako found that a bit of scolding often worked better than carefully trying to mend wounds she didn't understand. "And let me down already Urara! I can walk on my own!"

The yellow Cure plain ignored that demand and walked past Beat, who still looked a bit guilty but not anywhere as much as before. "Don't be silly. Do you really want me to let you down so you can tumble and fall flat on your face? Way to thank me for letting you save face. You can't even walk anymore, right? You fainted from exhaustion already, stop being so stubborn." Urara had a caring side to her that Ako didn't see often. And yet every time she did, it made her heart beat faster, made her feel... warm.

Not saying anything, Ako blushed and kept quiet. Urara was right, but she couldn't admit it. Being carried didn't feel that bad after all.

"This is worse than we thought." Honoka's ears were still ringing a little from hearing that hymn for the third time now. "We can safely assume that there's a copy of everyone here. And they have all of our powers."

"At least we shut her up for now." Miki was having a raging headache. "Beat, can you check on your mirror for the name of your reflection? She made her presence known so maybe that is enough for it to show."

"Nobody else should have a super long range attack like that so we won't have to rely on Muse's ability beyond this point. Or so I hope." Inori was excellent at planning but everything had it's limits. There was no telling what could happen with twenty-four copies out there. With the sole exception of Nightmare, they didn't even know what they were like.

Everyone turned their head in surprise when Windy jumped on Honoka, pushed her on the ground. A split second later, a golden beam of light shot right over both of them, piercing the wall beyond, leaving behind molten stone. "Down!"

"Cardinal of Punishment!" A myriad of no more than fingertip sized golden orbs rained down on the Cures, a voice everyone recognized as Luminous's announcing the attack.

Mai tried to find Bright, crawling on the ground, evading the onslaught of energy attacks. Did they plan this? To attack once Purger was done and kill off any survivors? It wasn't a bad plan but thanks to Muse, it had failed. They were all still there.

The onslaught stopped from one second to the next and nothing else happened for almost a dozen seconds. A pale yellow spark flared up in the distance down the hallway, past the point where the gate had been. It was followed by several yellow sparks and another series of paler ones. Then, there was silence.

An ominous feeling grabbed hold of Egret. That color... there was no mistaking it. Michiru had somehow separated from the others and attacked Luminous copy. Getting up and running down the hallway, she arrived just in time to see a horrifying image. Luminous was lifted up in the air, her feet off the ground and floundering around, her hands trying to get rid of Bright's iron grasp.

Michiru had both her hands tightly wrapped around the neck of the enemy. She had suffered three burns on her right leg but otherwise not sustained any injuries. Mai might not like it but this was a job that **someone** had to do. Tightening her grasp, Luminous's copy gasped for air, her voice cut off, her arms flailing around futilely. Spotting Egret from the corner of her eyes, she reached out to her, a terrified look in her eyes.

Mai was just close enough to hear bone breaking, Luminous neck snapping under Bright's power. Michiru was completely calm, still exerting pressure on her throat, slowly crushing it completely. She'd make sure that this one would not attack anyone again. "Michiru, **stop!**" Mai shouted on top of her lungs, terrified by Kaoru's cold blood act.

"Why? She's the enemy Mai. I know you're a kind soul. I know you can't kill. But someone has to do it." Throwing the corpse on the ground, Michiru got ready to completely get rid of it. But she couldn't move any closer to it than she was. Something... weird was restricting her. She was no longer capable of moving her own body.

Extending her hand, Michiru felt her mouth open and close, uttering two words that forced themselves out of her throat. "White Mirror." Released from the restriction, she quickly jumped out of the way. A thick white mist emerged from around Luminous's copy, eight thin skeletal arms reaching out from the ground, wrapping themselves around the body, dragging it into the mist and the solid stone.

There was not a trace left of the corpse when Bright looked for it. The stone was cold, no different from the area around her. "Something... forced me to do that." Clicking her tongue, she got up and faced an angry Mai. The sound of the slap reached all the way back to the others, who wondered what had happened.

"I don't want you to act like that! You're just like Saki and me, you don't have to think you're supposed to do this!"

"I know. But still, Kaoru and I are probably two of the few who can get themselves to kill one of them. I don't want for anything to happen to you or Saki. Or any of the others. I can't see them as human, no matter what. So I can't really feel bad for fighting them." Ignoring the burning pain of having Mai slap her, Michiru answered her in a calm voice.

"But-" Mai was interrupted by Saki, who simply laid one hand on her lovers shoulder.

"That's their way of caring for us Mai. I don't like that they're killing either, but it's not like they do it because they think it's fun. It's to protect everyone else. That's okay, don't you think?" Saki could say some surprisingly deep and meaningful things once in a while.

"That sounds all well except the whole killing part." Mai took a step back and shook her head. That wasn't something she could just accept from one moment to another.

"We have a problem." Kaoru had caught up to her friends, but her expression was quite serious. Looking at her sister, she didn't even need to ask. There was a specific feeling of distance between the two, one that she could only explain as Michiru having done something that angered Mai. She didn't want to share that with her sister, who had done nothing yet. "We asked everyone to return to their rooms and Luminous came out running of hers just a few seconds ago. You need to see it for yourself. Sunshine and Melody offered to take the first guarding shift. White and Berry are waiting, come."

"You two should go back to your room, too. We don't know when there will be another attack. They lost someone now, so maybe that will give us a breather."

Hikari was visibly distressed by what she had seen. Hearing about Nightmare and seeing her for a few seconds had been one thing. But to face **that** was something completely different. Kurumi was with her, calming her down, but she was still worried about having to go and sleep in that room.

"White and Berry are inside." Rose was taking care of Hikari just outside the yellow Cure's room, mostly consisting of patting her head a bit.

Heading inside, they found both the white and the blue Cure facing Luminous's mirror. "I assume one of you did this?" Miki turned around, which let Kaoru and Michiru get a decent view on the glass. Luminous's copy was, sort of, **inside**. Beyond the glass was the reflection of Hikari, unconscious and unmoving, floating in darkness. She was the only thing visible.

Taking a closer look, Michiru couldn't find any sign of the injuries that she had inflicted. Her neck didn't appear to be broken nor did she seem truly dead. "This is not good."

"Mind explaining this so we understand?" Miki's patience for confusing developments was at it's limit. It was uncomfortable enough to continuously fight other Cures, now having to deal with this was too much for her taste.

"I broke her neck just a few minutes ago. I crushed most of her throat too. She shouldn't be alive, or whatever that kind of state is. The moment I killed her, something forced me to use some kind of ability on her. White Mirror. But this explains a lot of things."

"Nightmare used Black Mirror on her original, isn't that so? That would mean that somewhere out there, likely in Nightmare's room, there is another mirror which is holding Dream right now. Which means she isn't dead yet."

"That remains to be seen." Clenching her fist, Michiru exerted her full force and hit the mirror as hard as she could, much to the confusion and surprise of Honoka and Miki. She didn't even manage to make a dent or scratch. "Harder than tempered steel by far."

"Warn us next time you're going to do something reckless." Honoka wasn't too keen on experiments that could possibly blow up everything around you. She had a few too many of those already.

"It was necessary to determine if its possible to break one of the mirrors on our side." Stepping back from the mirror,Michiru watched the reflection of Luminous. The bottom name was mirrored, but she could read it just fine. Despite her attack, Aurora remained undisturbed.

"Let's summarize what we know so far. Nightmare seemingly killed Dream and used Black Mirror. Bright killed Aurora and used White Mirror. It is not possible for us originals to break our own mirrors. Upon using white mirror, Aurora was transferred to the mirror of Luminous."

"That makes it pretty simple. Dream is going to be inside Nightmare's mirror. You forget her comment. We wouldn't get her before two days were up. This makes me think that there is a time limit to rescue them. It probably also means that **they** have a time limit to rescue Aurora." Miki was both happy and worried about that kind of development.

"The obvious theory to deduce from this is rather simple. Any original killed will be transferred to the mirror of a reflection. Any reflection killed, vice versa. After forty-eight hours, someone imprisoned into a mirror will permanently die. Only a reflection can break the mirror of an original and vice versa." Kaoru knew that this would become a major hassle. Now, not only did they have to worry about dealing with having to _kill_ the reflections but also keep them isolated from the enemy until the time limit was up.

"We don't know what happens if you break a mirror. Maybe that will kill the inhabitant as well." Miki didn't like that thought. If that was the case, then they had no idea how to save Dream.

"There is one easy way to test that. The reflections knew where our camp was. They also seemed to know about the system with the mirrors. That makes it highly likely that they also know the specifics of rescuing someone from a mirror if it is possible at all. Let one of them slip through our guard, observe what they do and then kill both of them after we got what we wanted." Michiru stared at Aurora, who looked just like Luminous. She could still feel the warmth of her skin on her hands. She had never really killed another human being before, but it was surprisingly easy. She didn't regret it either.

"You're thinking like a villain." Miki's casual remark hit a sore point. Kaoru and Michiru never liked having people think about them like that. They changed sides voluntarily and permanently. They didn't want to be associated with their former employer. A somber glare towards the blue Cure made it pretty clear that they didn't like that kind of comment.

"She has a point regardless. For now, we should wait and see what happens to Aurora." Honoka agreed with Michiru despite the dangers. In situations like this, information was the most precious resource of all. That, and lives.

"What about Hikari? I understand her not wanting to sleep in there with something creepy like a copy of yourself floating in a mirror!" Kurumi had stepped into the room, watching the four analyze the situation, seemingly detached from the problem itself.

"There are plenty of empty rooms. She can sleep in Nagisa's room since she's always with me." Honoka could understand not wanting to sleep in the same room as your reflection. It would weird her out as well. "How much time has passed since you used white mirror, Bright?" They had to keep track of the exact progression of things over time.

"About six minutes." Watching Aurora closely, Bright narrowed her eyes. For just a split second she could have sworn that there was movement under the reflections eyelids. But she could have imagined it.

"We should guard and observe the mirror separately from the entrance. Someone should always be here, regardless of time and circumstances." Kaoru wasn't going to let important information slip through her fingers. "I'll stay here for the time being. I also think we should try not to fall into a state of permanent alertness. It will put too much stress on everyone."

"I agree. But it's not easy to just ignore what is going on. Fighting was one thing, but this is a real, constant danger." Honoka could deal with it, but it was still something you had to get used to. It was like... war.

"That's why they limited ways in here and why we're going to position guards. I believe it would be a good idea to put pressure on the reflections, but we don't know where exactly they're located at right now." Michiru didn't like that at all.

The situation was not any less stressful for others. Rin suffered from seeing her oldest friend getting killed and for now, she still thought that Nozomi was dead. Rage was making way for despair now. Feeling helpless, Rin just wanted to be alone for now.

And despite that, Kanade was still there with her, not knowing what to say. Imagining what it would be like to see Hibiki or Ellen die was scaring her so much that she didn't dare to say anything. With Rin leaned against the wall, her face hidden beneath her arms, her head resting on her knees, the red Cure seemed completely unapproachable.

She had known this before but it was now that Kanade realized she really knew absolutely nothing about Rin. Nothing about her personality, her friends, her life. To ask her to stay together and not know anything about her at all... what must Rin have thought when she asked...? Just sitting there, at the other end of the bed, and watching the red Cure be depressed, Kanade started to feel incredibly bad. To be in a situation like this... what if Hibiki was killed before they made up? What if Hibiki didn't even want to ever make up again? What if... shaking her head, Kanade tried to get those useless thoughts out of her head. Sighing, she rested her head against the wall and looked at the ceiling. What was she doing?

How many times had she warned Nozomi? Why did that girl have to be so stubborn? She even said jokingly that her ideals would one day be the death of her, years ago. And everyone laughed, not a single one suspecting that it would come true so much later.

For Rin, there was little doubt that this whole situation was caused by Nozomi somehow. Even though it looked like she had gotten used to the situation, even participated in a fight out of her own will, why did she have to go and do something like this?

If she was still somehow alive, Nozomi could ready herself for the biggest scolding in the history of mankind when she was rescued. And after that, she'd make sure that there were no more fuck ups with her. Ideals or not, if they get you killed they're worthless.

Swaying between rage and despair, Rin didn't know what to do now. She couldn't just set out on her own and try to look for Nozomi. No matter how strong and fast she was, there were others who were stronger and and some that were faster.

Looking up, Rin noticed only now that Rhythm was still there, seemingly worried about her own problems. She didn't really feel like having company now, but sending her away when she had a look like that on her face... she couldn't do it. No matter how long she had been with Urara, Rin wasn't that cold or egoistic.

"Kanade. Worried about Melody?" She had to take her mind off Nozomi in some way. It didn't help anyone if she lost sleep or stressed herself out by constantly thinking about her and what if's.

"I'm not... I'm not worried about that girl at all!" Kanade looked away and frowned.

"If you want to play pretend, do it somewhere else. I don't care for your stick and carrot attitude. You either talk to me like a reasonable person would or I'll talk to the wall. At least the wall doesn't feed me bullshit." Rin couldn't stand that kind of attitude. She always hated it when she saw it in manga and light novels, too.

Kanade had never, not once in her life, been told off like that for acting the way she always did with Hibiki. There had been snide remarks from Ako but nothing in this league. "Fine! I care, so what? Is that wrong of me?"

"Now listen. You might want to learn what it means to talk to people in a normal way. Because first acting stubborn and then getting angry is only gonna piss people off. I have enough to deal with right now so either you get your act together or we don't need to have this conversation." Rin had tried to be friendly and strike up a conversation but she could see easily why Melody and Kanade always got into arguments. That girl was a walking mass of stubbornness. The type that absolutely couldn't be honest with themselves.

The room fell silent as Kanade didn't seem to be able to break out of her habit. Looking down, staring at the blanket, she seemed even more depressed than before. No matter who she talked to, every time the topic became Hibiki, she started to act like that. Why couldn't she just be honest with herself?

The silence became heavy when the outside provided nothing but quietness as well. The room next to hers was Urara's and even though she believed that Muse had to be there as well, those two didn't make a sound. And the room left of hers... belonged to Nozomi.

Several minutes passed with Rin and Kanade simply remaining silent, not saying a single word to each other. It wasn't until Rouge sighed in exhaustion, ready to go to sleep and hopefully forget about things in her dreams, that Kanade opened her mouth again.

"...sure I worry... who wouldn't worry about friends you've had since you were little?" Kanade felt humbled when she was finally able to say it. "I don't know why I'm like this... every time I think about Hibiki, it becomes **all** I think about. I... always say these things and... end up doing stupid stuff. I didn't want things to get this... bad."

"You love her a lot, hm?" Rin didn't know what it felt like to truly love someone. She held Nozomi really dear, for she was her closest and oldest friend, but that was still different. She loved her parents, and even that was different.

"Hm." Nodding her head, Kanade sighed.

"Why did you ask me to stay with you Kanade? Doesn't it hurt you? I'm the one you used to get_ revenge_ on Melody." Rin tried to tickle the truth out of her. She wasn't very subtle about it, though.

It took a while for Kanade to answer. During this time, Rin casually watched her expression change several times, from angry to sad, from sad to embarrassed. Her final answer was no more than a whisper. "Because there is nobody else..."

So she really was in the same situation as her. Knowing what it felt like to be all alone would teach the girl a valuable lesson. "Let's go to sleep. If you want to stay, change to civilian form, it's too annoying to sleep in the same bed as someone who still wears a frilly costume."

Having already slept with Rin once, Kanade didn't feel bothered by changing out of Cure form despite being naked otherwise. Getting under the blanket, she still felt grateful to not have to sleep alone in a time like this.

Hikari, on the other side of the hallway, felt the same way. The mood was considerably better here, but still not what one would call happy. "I feel bad, making you let me stay in your room." Kneeling on Kurumi's bed, Hikari was feeling a lot better than before. Seeing her reflection really disturbed her at first but thanks to Kurumi's company, she got over it quickly. Sleeping in that room was quite beyond her for now, though.

"Don't worry about it. I wouldn't want to sleep in a room that has a body floating around in a mirror either. Nobody would want that I think." Stretching, Kurumi yawned. She wasn't that tired, but it had been a long day. Dinner had been sort of canceled. If someone was hungry, they could go and get something for themselves of course.

"I saw Nightmare and all but seeing my own... copy. She really looks exactly like me. Say Kurumi, what do you think they're thinking about us?"

"Who knows. Nightmare seemed like she really enjoyed slaughtering her original. Your copy also attacked without any warning. I'm not sure they really think, like real people. Maybe they're just machinations of the system." Sitting down on the edge of her bed and looking at Hikari, Rose was happy that her friend wasn't freaking out.

"I'd still feel horrible hurting one of them... they look and sound just like us after all." Hikari sighed. Just imagining having to fight herself, or Honoka and Nagisa's copies... it made her feel sorry for them.

"Leave the fighting to us. Well, maybe not to me. I think about this similarly but some of us are going to have to fight. It's unavoidable." Kurumi patted Hikari's head and smiled a little. It was not all bad. At least everyone was back together.

"You're really strong Kurumi... I worry what will happen if your reflection attacks us." Laying down and looking up at the purple Cure, Hikari sighed.

"If it comes to that, I'll stop her. I won't let some cheap copy of myself hurt Karen and the others."

"You're still protective of Karen, even though you're no longer together. I think that's cute." Hikari could tell that her friend still cared deeply about the blue Cure. It wasn't that surprising, they had been a couple for years after all.

"I... know it's not going to make up for being a bad partner for so long. Or give me a chance to get back together with her." It was still something she hadn't quite coped with. Karen dumping her had been a shock. And even though she adapted, she still missed her.

"I'm sorry, I didn't want you to remember bad things." Hikari felt guilty for reminding Kurumi of her breakup.

"No, it's fine. I see now that I really had it coming to me. It's just... I can't really tell why I acted like that. My world was just Karen and me. Everyone else had disappeared. I... think when the team ceased to be a team, things went south for me."

"You never really told me about what happened to the six of you. Want to talk about it?" Hikari was a good listener, especially when it came to people's worries. Although a lot of it was just Nagisa whining about Honoka's teasing, jokingly.

"I guess it all started when everyone finished middle school. We were split out to four different schools because of our grades. Urara went to the same school as me. Rin went to a school that had her coming home late every day so we didn't see her much at all. Nozomi had to settle for a different school from us all. Komachi and Karen attended yet another high school and they were a year above us, too."

"So you all went to different schools? It's hard to see each other a lot then. I know what you mean. Nagisa and Honoka were always a grade above me, Nagisa studied like crazy to be able to attend the same school as Honoka. It was almost painful to watch how much she struggled."

"I wish we could have managed that. But Rin was, at the time, hoping she could become a jeweler and studied that quite a bit. Urara was having a really hard time with her work as idol and her attendance was pretty much non-existent, so I was on my own. I didn't really make any friends since I was scared they would find out about me being a Cure. It'd just make problems for everyone if they knew."

"Us three always kept that a secret too. Sometimes it really hurt to lie to the people you care about to keep it a secret. After a few months, Akane, who took me in, stopped asking me about it. I believe she figured it out but never said anything." Hikari, to this day, didn't know if Akane, who she treated like an older sister, knew about her real origin or her being a Cure.

"You can probably tell how this went. I was alone and even though I started dating Karen, school kept us apart every day. Komachi separated from Karen because of this. None of us saw Rin or Nozomi much. They were both struggling with school, Rin because she was aiming for something different and Nozomi... well, she was never the brightest."

"So you..."

"I went back to the way I was before I met all of them. By the time I graduated from high school and moved in with Karen, we had all gone our separate ways. Urara had gone through hell and came back burned, Rin found her dream to be unreachable, Komachi was burying herself in work... probably because of me. And Nozomi... her trying to be a busybody and fix everyone's problems left her with more problems of her own than she could deal with. She was held back a year and that finally cut the deal."

"Kurumi..."

"You know, I never talked about this to anyone. Not even Karen. But it feels good to have finally told someone. Now please.. can you stop crying? You're making me feel super embarrassed." Scratching her cheek, Kurumi turned her face away, her face bright red. Hikari had been shedding tears at her sob story even though that hadn't been her intention.

"But... it's such a sad story. And you're trying... to make amends, too!" Hikari was really moved by the story although her crying had more of a comical effect than anything else.

Smiling, Kurumi put her hand on Hikari's head. "You're such a good girl. Don't worry about me. Sometimes, things don't work out but I'm not going to let that affect me."

There was someone else who was saying just that. That she wouldn't let things gone wrong affect her. Not anymore.

"I was worried you'd start sulking. Good to see I was wrong." Setsuna, Love and Ellen had made a short trip to the garden. It was a beautiful place, even at night. Love was resting just at the bottom of the flower mound, her head on Setsuna's lap, eyes closed, she enjoyed the night air despite the turbulent situation and the dangers ahead. Traveling had hardened her composure a lot.

Ellen was leaning against Setsuna, back to back, her right hand's fingers intervened with those of Setsuna's left. She felt secure as long as she was with the other two. "Please stop teasing me Setsuna. I feel a little bad that Ako had to go to such lengths to protect everyone, but she's right. It wasn't my choice to be able to sing Purger."

"Everyone is forgetting an important thing. If they really are our reflections, our polar opposites, then not all of them are going to be aggressive and evil. Rouge is a hothead, so her double should be easy to reason with. Inori and Miki are hard workers, so theirs will be really lazy. It's fun to think about what your opposite is like."

"It's not fun at all. Your opposite is going to be the meanest and most cruel out of everyone, Love." Setsuna poked her partners cheek a few times, knowing that her own reflection was not going to be very nice, too.

"We know that my other self isn't the nice type either. She used Purger so indiscriminately... she probably didn't think anything of hurting those on her own side. It's like she thought of the hymn as a weapon to destroy everything around her. I can't accept that."

"It would be weird if you could. She's the exact opposite of you after all. Have you looked at her name?" Love was a little curious. Setsuna and her both hadn't met or heard of their copies so they still didn't know their names.

"It didn't show up. Honestly... I don't want to know. I just wish someone else would find her and take her out and never tell me. I can't think of them as something other than people, just like us. I'd never be able to actually... kill one of them."

"I could." Setsuna's reply surprised both of her partners. They didn't need to wait for an explanation. "I love both of you. I love what I have with you and I don't want to lose any of it. I don't want to lose Miki or Inori or any of the others. If that means putting aside my pride as a Cure and doing some dirty work, then that's what I need to do. Of course I'm not going to be proud of doing these things, just as I'm not proud of the part of Eas that once worked for Moebius. But in both cases, I protected and will protect what I care about. You two are my life now, just as Labyrinth was my life back then."

"You don't need to be so serious Setsuna. Ellen and I wouldn't have questioned you." Love smiled and got up, laying one hand on Setsuna's cheek, kissing her softly. "But thanks for explaining anyway."

Holding on more tightly to her hand, Ellen smiled, happy to know that someone cared about her to this extent. "I just hope nobody is going to ask me to use Purger against them."

"Silly, nobody is going to ask you that. They all experienced now what it means to be subject to that song. Even if we end up having to kill all our reflections, there are much better ways than slowly torturing them by draining their life." Hugging Setsuna, Love looked over her partner's shoulder, talking to Ellen.

"I would feel bad about letting Setsuna fight all alone for us so..." Turning around and hugging Setsuna from behind, almost crushing her partner as Love was hugging her from the front, Ellen smiled. "I'll at least provide backup. I really don't want to fight them, and I can't stand the idea of killing them, but..." Ellen paused for a second. "I can't let her fight on her own. It's going together through good **and** bad times, isn't it?"

"Ellen is absolutely right. I'm not going to let you fight all on your own Setsuna. When did I ever leave you to deal with the uncomfortable stuff all alone?" Love realized just a second too late that there had been an instance of that.

"Beside that time in Hong Kong, when you-" Setsuna was quickly shut up by Love, who seemed terribly embarrassed to have that story brought up again. Sometimes, just sometimes, she lost control when she saw something truly interesting. And then she caused a lot of trouble for Setsuna.

"Have you met up with the rest of your team yet Ellen?" Love changed the topic quickly and away from herself. She was so thankful when Ellen didn't pursue the issue of Hong Kong.

"I saw Hibiki and Kanade briefly earlier, but they seemed in a really bad mood... I haven't seen Ako yet." Making a short pause and blushing a little, Ellen started to fidget. "And... I think of you two as my team now. I mean, I still like Hibiki, Kanade and Ako a lot! But being with them and not seeing you two would make me feel really lonely."

"You're so cute when you get all embarrassed over saying things like that. But... Love... Ellen..." Setsuna sighed and tried to push both of them away. "You're heavy!" All three of them laughed as they separated for a bit. Love climbed up the flower mound, while Setsuna got to use Ellen's lap as pillow this time around.

The three of them didn't realize that they were being watched from the distance, by another couple. Tsubomi had been worried about her garden and Erika wouldn't let her go out alone. They only watched in silence, happy to see that the garden helped people forget about the issues around them.

Of course they were worried and scared about what would happen if they were attacked again. But Erika had an innate talent to distract Tsubomi from those things. The pink Cure was leaned against her partners shoulder, slowly plaiting a strand of the long blue hair into a small braid, just feeling well by being among flowers and plants together with Erika.

"Did you see Itsuki?" They had been there for almost half an hour, just relaxing and enjoying the scenery, forgetting all about the problems of being imprisoned and in danger of being attacked. Erika wasn't bored but she worried about her friends.

"Hm..? Itsuki? There was so much going on, I only saw her briefly and didn't get to talk to her." Tsubomi was half in trance, feeling so very much safe that even recalling the earlier turmoil didn't manage to break her out of her immersion in playing with Erika's hair.

"She was together with Melody, you know, from the same team Beat is from, the pink one. They totally have something going on, it was so easy to tell. They were holding hands and she was acting like her protector. It was so cute." Erika knew full well about Tsubomi's failed attempt to ask Itsuki out but she also knew that it wasn't going to do her any good if she kept tip-toeing around the issue.

"I wonder what kind of girl Melody is." Tsubomi couldn't deny that she was curious about it. After all, Itsuki had turned her down and now she was with someone else. It was only natural for her to want to know what kind of girl it took to pique Sunshine's interest.

"Jealous?" Marine would always love teasing Tsubomi a little. Not too much and not too little, it was always funny to see her get flustered or pout.

And just as predicted, Tsubomi started to pout. "Stupid Erika. Why would I be jealous?"

Patting her own chest, Erika looked up and hummed for a few seconds. "Because my breasts are smaller, Itsuki is taller and more sexy than me?"

"You're plenty sexy for me, thank you." The pouting continued and Erika had difficulty not bursting out in laughter. She had been called a lot of things, but that was the first time someone called her plenty sexy. "I'm still friends with Itsuki, so I'm curious."

"I know that of course. But you know, Itsuki's boobs are something else. They just keep on growing and growing and-" Erika burst out in laughter, unable to stop as Tsubomi continued to pout more and more.

After a good minute of wild laughing, Erika gasped for air and finally calmed down again. "I'm not really interested in sizes bigger than D though. So don't you worry." Erika poked Tsubomi's cheek and watched her partner puff them up even more.

"I don't care anymore!" Standing up and walking to the next set of flowers, Tsubomi sulked a little. She knew that Erika was just making fun of her a little. It wasn't any different from the way they usually were. And in a way, she was thankful for that. She liked the way things had been with Erika and even though she could do a few things with her she wasn't able to do before, it was nice that they could still tease each other like this.

The third member of the Heartcatch team was a lot less relaxed at the time. Standing guard was an extremely important and stressful activity right now. With Rose, Lemonade and Mint's help, they had collapsed part of the tunnel to create only a small opening in the center. Hiding behind the rubble to the right and the left, two Cure's could easily monitor anything that moved in their direction from the tunnel.

"Why is something so boring so tiring?" Hibiki was sitting on a large boulder, staring down the hallway through a hole in the rubble in front of her. Sure, it was important, but that didn't change how boring it was. After three attacks, they probably won't come again that night.

"Don't complain Hibiki. We're only going to be here for about another hour and a half. I'll treat you to ice cream after that." Itsuki was being tired out by standing guard as well, although it was considerably worse for Hibiki. Her attention span for boring activities wasn't exactly what she'd call big.

"Don't treat me like a kid! I'm taking this seriously!" Hibiki started to pout, still in a bad mood because of what happened that morning.

"So you don't want any ice cream. That's okay. More for me." Itsuki grinned, knowing what kind of reaction a comment like that would produce.

Pouting more and thinking about sulking a little, Hibiki quickly gave up. "...I'll have some."

"I couldn't hear that Hibiki. Did you say something?" Pretending to not have heard Hibiki's comment, Itsuki covered her mouth, hiding her smile. Hibiki was so easy to tease.

"I said I'll have some! Geez, you're terrible Itsuki! Stupid, Meany!" Turning around and hiding her face from the yellow Cure on the other side of the lookout, Hibiki felt two very soft, round and squishy things press against her back. "Just what did you eat to make them this big..."

Kissing Hibiki's neck, Itsuki suddenly froze. "Did you get some of my hai-" Hibiki felt how Itsuki's hand suddenly covered her mouth and she instinctively stopped talking.

They could feel each others heart beat faster with every second, a booming sound from the inside. Hibiki felt Itsuki's breath on her neck, Sunshine felt Melody's on her hand. They didn't dare to move even a centimeter for almost a minute, listening intently for any odd noise.

Breathing out with a gasp of relief, Itsuki kept holding on to Hibiki but removed her hand from her partners mouth. "I thought I heard footsteps down the hallway. Must be my imagination."

"It's a bit early to hallucinate the enemy, Itsuki. You really scared me there!" The pink Cure might have volunteered for guard duty, but she didn't know if she could truly handle fighting a reflection to the death. Her instincts were telling her no.

"Sorry. I'm just not mentally prepared for this yet. I'm worried mad about encountering a reflection and you getting hurt. I don't know what I'd do if that happened." Itsuki never had a problem to say what she felt out loud. And it always made Hibiki embarrassed.

"You care about me that much?" Hibiki felt her heart beating faster again, just like a minute ago when they had listened for an approaching enemy.

"This might sound cruel to my teammates, but I care about you more than them. I love you, so of course I don't want you to get hurt."

"Geez... when you say things like that I don't know how to respond..." Hibiki's face was flushed red. She was all but used to having people say things like that out loud. Kanade for sure would never come out like that and just tell her what she felt.

"You don't need to. I don't pretend to know what you're thinking or feel, but I like to think that you feel about me in a similar way as I feel about you." Itsuki finally let go of Hibiki and returned to her post.

The pink Cure was silent for a while, not really knowing what she should say. It was a little unfair. Itsuki was clearly much better than her at saying her feelings out loud. "I don't want you to get hurt either. Because... I love you too." Her face was tinted in a fierce crimson color as she said those words.

Itsuki was about to tease her partner a little but gave Hibiki a short breather. She must have really pulled her courage together if she reacted like that. Letting a minute pass, Itsuki smiled. "You're still only getting a normal sized ice."

"Why you...!" Hibiki jumped up and even though she tried hard to look angry and stare at Itsuki, the ridiculous face the yellow Cure was pulling made her laugh right away. "Stop it, stop it, I can't breathe!" Hibiki leaned against the wall and almost fell over from laughing too hard.

Their laughter could be heard all the way down to the bathroom where Karen and Komachi were getting ready for bed. Brushing their teeth, standing next to each other, they no longer felt that weird being in this place.

"We've gotten really used to living here..." Komachi didn't long for her real home at all. She lived alone and when they got back, Karen had some issues with Kurumi to sort out. This place was both a prison and her safe haven.

"What choice did we have? It wouldn't help anyone if we rejected the place and deprived ourselves of any comfort out of stubbornness." Karen stopped brushing for a moment to say that and then faced the mirror again, brushing. Getting a toothache in this place would be hazardous to say the least.

Komachi just nodded, finishing up early. Looking over her shoulder, she spotted Urara and Muse, both of them entering the living room. Everyone was back together and still split up. She hadn't talked to anyone from her team beside Karen since they were reunited, and it really difficult to break the ice now.

"Do you think..." Putting her worries in words was a lot harder than she remembered it to be. With the threat of clones attacking them at any time right in front of them, she wanted to be close to Karen at all times. From what she could tell, she was the only one that specialized in defense. She would protect Karen.

"I try not to think about it. Copies of ourselves, looking like us, having our powers but a warped personality... that's a nightmare if I ever had one. This is a lot worse than what happened with Shadow, years ago."

"Dark Mint and Dark Aqua... I suppose this is similar." The novelist looked at her long time love from the side. "Are you going to fight them?"

"I killed Dark Aqua back then. If I come across her, I'll kill whatever my reflection calls herself. Or any other copy. They may look and think like they're alive, but they're just fabrications of this place."

Komachi knew that Karen wasn't really that cold blooded. It was something she told herself to justify fighting and killing those reflections. As for herself... she had tried to save Dark Mint... and failed. Was there any way to save her reflection? Or those of others? Would she gamble with her own life on it, now that she had finally gotten together with Karen?

"People are going to rely on you Komachi. Even if it's hard, you need to be ready to fight. I know that a lot of us think they can just sit back and let a few of the others do the fighting, but people get tired, wounded or simply can't go on at some point. I don't like this any more than you but... we all need each other. I need you."

Blushing a little, Komachi nodded. If Karen was that serious about it, she would fight too. Even if it meant facing an enemy that was just as alive as they were, just as desperate to survive. It was in her nature to hurt others. She was... just protecting those close to her.

"Do you want to go to the garden for a bit before we go to bed?" A little bit of relaxing would be good.

"Sure."

=== Dissonance ===

"Out of my way, Malice." Nightmare was staring down another reflection, having just arrived back in the former dark quarters. Now it was home to the reflections.

"Not so fast. Who tells me you're not Dream? It would be easy for her to impersonate you, sneak in here and then slowly kill us one by one while we sleep." A smug and devilish grin was playing around Malice's lips.

"Check my goddamn mirror to see the real Dream is in there, you impudent worm." Nightmare didn't flinch when Torment moved up to her in an instant, two golden glowing hand blades only centimeters from her throat. "Get off my ass Agony, before I beat you back into the mirror."

"Now, now, shouldn't we at least pretend we get along? They're going to help each other out over there, so let's postpone any bickering until later. Or maybe you all have a death wish? Is that it? Should I just ease your pain and send you oblivion right now? Just say the word." Leaned against the corner wall, Poison interrupted the heated conversation. Tiny, translucent walls of energy slowly grew around the other reflections, a clear and easy to understand threat.

"Rage, check her mirror." Malice nodded to the red reflection that had kept guard behind her back. Even now, they still were together. A bond that not even warped personalities could server.

"We should stop fighting... this isn't really what-" Another red reflection tried to pacify the mirrored Cures.

Blaze was hit in the face so hard that she flipped over and smashed into the wall. Nightmare had moved away from Agony so fast that the yellow reflection hadn't time to react. "Weird, I don't remember asking for your opinion. So why the hell are you talking? And what was that with you acting all high and mighty when we were over there, huh?" Blaze's blood was trickling from her fist.

"She's the real Nightmare." Rage had returned and reported to Malice, who wasn't pleased to hear that. She would have liked to get rid of that obstacle right now. But there would be more chances to do so. Many more. A sinister smile dominated her face as she turned away and left, both Rage and Agony following her.

Rage was bound to her by their unbreakable bond. She loved and hated Malice. She wanted to kill her and she wanted to sleep with her. Wanted to choke her and kiss her. Both emotions kept each other perfectly in check. Agony just followed whoever was the most likely to let her hurt others.

"Are you garbage now or did you just play around with them Poison?" Nightmare walked over to where Blaze had crashed into the wall. The red reflection was laying on the ground, whimpering and covering her face with her hands. "Shut the hell up, garbage!" Kicking Blaze repeatedly in the sides, Nightmare's face was distorted in anger. Only Dream! She had managed to kill only one of those useless idiots! Wasting their powers for bullshit like fighting to keep up order and good! Power was to be used, for yourself!

"Did I miss the memo that you became my boss now? I don't remember having to justify anything, especially not to a crazed maniac." Creating a barrier around herself, the green reflection showed a sadistic smile. She loved pushing people's buttons to see them break out in rage and anger.

"Think before you say something you'll regret. I'm not Dream. I don't put up with selfish bullshit." Finally leaving Blaze in peace, Nightmare walked away, pissed with the incompetence of everyone around her. She was the strongest, they should just follow her orders.

"Not the best relationship they have, do they?" Someone else had witnessed the full scene. She felt absolutely nothing for any of them. Not rage, not anger but also no pity. Her mind was like a machine, coldly manipulating the outcome of every scenario she could think of.

"Dawn... shouldn't we help Blaze? She looks like she's in pain." Dusk on the other hand was as simple as they came. Seeing Blaze in pain, she wanted to help her. She didn't question what would happen if she showed sympathy in front of the others. Her thoughts simply didn't reach that far.

"Don't be ridiculous. We have nothing to gain from helping her. There are too many risks of Poison or Nightmare witnessing it and becoming aggressive against us. How many are in the garden now?"

"I saw Hymn, Aurum, Umbra, Breeze, Freeze and Misery earlier. I feel so bad for them... they didn't want to hurt anyone but Malice rounded them up like animals, leaving Vulture and Wither to kill everyone that tries to leave."

"Think of it as natural selection. We only have use for the strong, those that can fight, so we can become the originals. Of course we can't look after the weak in a situation like this." Dawn looked around and only saw Poison remain there, seemingly blissfully enjoying Blaze's suffering. The look on her face was almost ecstatic. A complete sadist.

The first hour of the dark camp, the reflection camp, could be called the beginning of formations. Everyone split up into three large groups. Malice somehow ended up manipulating a lot of them into joining under her command. Wither, Vulture, Ember, Maelstrom and Hymn joined hands with her. Those Dusk just named were garbage. Reflections too friendly, carefree or just weak to be of any use in a fight. The last group wasn't as much a group as it was a lack thereof. They refused to answer to Malice but they were also not garbage. Either strong individuals or reflections smart enough to stay out of the way of the really dangerous ones. Herself and Dusk both belonged to the third group.

But Malice was not the only one making alliances. They might be called garbage, but not all of them were completely useless. Flare was had already joined up with Dawn and Dusk, and now she was monitoring Blaze. She could be a useful ally to spy on Nightmare, but there was the danger of her ending up as garbage.

"Dawn.. are we going to get something to eat? I'm really hungry." Dusk was, in more than one way, truly a simple girl.

On the other end of the hallway, Malice had just reached the garden, lifting Hymn up by her throat, staring her down. "Another chance? You blew it when you failed to do something so stupidly simple that even an ape can do it. Maybe we should change your name from Hymn to Offkey. How about it, Offkey? Feel like doing some singing for me?"

"You.. just because... I can't sing purger... don't be so... arroga-" Hymn couldn't finish her line as Malice dropped her and rammed her knee in Hymn's face, causing her to start a nosebleed.

"Oh did you say something, **Offkey**? I thought you said something stupid. Good thing I just imagined it. I would have to hurt you if you said something stupid." Stomping on Hymn's right hand with her left boot, Malice looked at her like she wasn't even worth being alive.

"Vulture, have any of them showed any sign of trying to get out? They're just going to put pressure on our side if they get caught and killed so keep them here." Malice looked at a white reflection who seemed very amused by watching Malice hurt Hymn.

"Sadly, none of them tried anything. Wither had some fun with Aurum, making her squeal but that's about it. I didn't join your side to keep playing guard dog Malice. When are we going to go out and take some heads?" Vulture was an unpleasant thing. A materialist to the core, she wanted her own original to be gone as soon as possible. Once it was guaranteed that she was the only one remaining, she didn't have to worry about anything else.

"Do as you're told and you'll get what you want. Switch with Wither occasionally to get some sleep. Agony, you stay here too. Just don't kill any of them." Walking away and leaving the yellow reflection with Vulture, Malice was already making plans for the next day. Right now, the confusion amongst the other team had to be at it's peak. Waiting till morning so they would let down their guard was just the first, simple, step of her operation.

And again, Dawn and Dusk were just around the corner, spying on Malice. They might all belong to the same team, but they didn't agree with each others methods in the slightest. Flare had just met up with the black and white duo. "Silence is in her room, relaxing without a care in the world. She's too strong to be garbage but she doesn't even seem interested in becoming a successor." The term that was spreading among the reflections for the one that remained after either the original or the reflection had been killed. "Fury was in the middle of raping Apathy when I found her. She looks like her mind is on a one way track. I couldn't find Azalea anywhere." They all knew each others names instinctively, they didn't have to check the mirrors for that. It was one of the advantages they had over the originals team.

"We should wait and see what Malice does. With any luck, she'll kill our originals in her ploys. We can always dispose of her after she becomes a successor." While she was a careful planner, Dawn didn't pretend to not want to become a successor. One side had to die, and she was kind of attached to living. Although she wouldn't mind exchanging Dusk for her original. She preferred someone intelligent as partner. Flare was fickle, easy to anger and a liar, but that was tolerable. She was only using her. For now.

Not too far away, down the hallway, Ember and Maelstrom took up guard duty. For now, Malice was running the show and while Ember was a cruel and efficient girl, she felt attached to the hopelessly clumsy Maelstrom. She just had a thing for klutzy girls.

"I didn't expect them to be able to counter Purger... I'm shocked." The blue reflection wasn't exactly the brightest either. Not incredibly simple like Dusk or Agony, but sufficiently so to classify her as garbage if on her own. Her abilities made her useful enough to save her from the garbage bin, the garden.

How ironic it was that the place her original created, someone who loved flowers and cared deeply for her friends, would end up as the prison for those reflections that were useless in a life or death battle. "Silence knew. And yet she didn't do anything. Hymn went straight to the garbage class as soon as Malice found out she won't be able to use her for Purger." Ember preferred to stay on the safe side of things. Joining Malice's group and doing as told would guarantee that she'd be able to monitor how things developed from a safe distance.

"I wonder if Silence doesn't like Hymn..." Maelstrom scratched her cheek and stared in the dark of the tunnel. Somewhere at the end of that path was the area the originals lived in. Even though she didn't have any competitive sense, she still had a drive in here that told her to want to survive. To kill the girl that looked just like her, on the other side.

"We're all opposites of our originals. Almost all the originals go along well with each other. It's not surprising we don't. But that's not going to stop me from living through this and becoming a successor." Ember leaned back and checked the area for people eavesdropping. She couldn't detect anyone at first glance.

"A successor?"

"One original, one reflection. The one that kills the other one is she who succeeds the right to be the survivor. The successor of whoever died. I don't know who of us came up with this, but it makes sense. It's easy to say, too." Ember didn't mind explaining things to Maelstrom.

Both of them were alarmed by footsteps that came closer quickly. Looking back, it was the first time they had seen her. Azalea. "Where are you going?" Ember only cared about intruders but she thought it beneficial to know where she was going.

"None of your business." The purple reflection's tone made clear that she wasn't going to answer any kind of question. Arrogance was virtually leaking out of her voice and glare. Prancing past the two on guard duty, she quickly vanished into the dark. She had her own plans.

"Arrogant bitch. Well, not surprising. The real one turned her personality around just a while ago. No wonder she's acting all high and mighty now. Maelstrom, don't mention to anyone we saw her." Monopolizing specific information could be very useful.

=== Dissonance ===

"I can't forget the way Michiru looked when she killed Aurora." Mai was laying flat on her stomach, arms crossed over her pillow, her head resting on her arms.

"Nothing good is going to come out of beating yourself up over this. They're doing what they think is right. And... in a way, I envy them. Imagining killing one of them, even though I know they're not really people... it's a horrible thing. Michiru and Kaoru don't seem to feel that way."

"That's a horrible thing to say. Their lack of empathy towards the reflections isn't something you should want. What if everyone thought that way?"

"Then nobody would be worried about the situation. We would kill them all and hopefully the system returns to normal. I'm not saying that's how it should be but... there is so much we worry about Mai. There's so much we suffered through in our lives when we think back on it. I could really do without feeling remorse for living on."

Mai didn't say anything because she knew that Saki had a point. Everyone had likely had their fill of suffering already. Feeling horrible and possibly worse because the situation forced them to kill to live on... nobody needed that now.

In a way, Kaoru and Michiru really were to be envied. In any other situation, envy might very well have been pity. And the sisters were fully aware of that.

Sleeping back to back, Michiru couldn't stop staring at her own hands. She didn't regret killing Aurora, but she couldn't shake off the feeling that she was supposed to feel something. But there was nothing. No pity, no regret, nothing at all. It was like destroying the life of someone else was a natural action for her. "Are we monsters?" Michiru's voice was calm and composed.

"There is no real answer to that. To someone, somewhere, we're monsters. To others, we might be saints. To others again, we might not matter either way." Kaoru's answer was as theoretical as the question had been. "Saki and Mai would never see us as monsters. They've known us for so long, they understand we're doing this to protect everyone."

"Shouldn't we still feel at least sorry for those we kill? Isn't a lack of pity a sign that we're lacking humanity?" Michiru turned her head slightly, looking up.

"The whole point of us being able to fight the reflections more easily and without restraint is that we don't feel pity for them. They're the enemy. We dispatch the enemy. If we are monsters, then so is every soldier in the world."

"An all-out war between originals and reflections... that might just be what this really is. No matter which side wins, they'll still be trapped in this space. There is no real winner. Only the illusion of being one. The reflections used Purger without warning. That's equal to a surprise nuclear strike, isn't it?"

"You're stretching the analogy too far now. But I suppose it does justify any kind of revenge strike against them. Come to think of it, why did you kill Aurora that quickly? We could have tortured her for information."

"Everyone was confused and under a lot of stress. They would've never been able to rationalize torture for information in a situation like that. If I hadn't killed her, this would have turned into a much more severe situation. I suppose I was actually worried that Mai and Saki would not let us kill her at all."

"They still understand the situation. They might hate it, loathe it, despise it. But they know that they're not going to get around it, one way or another. Most of the others know, too. I'm worried about who will be able to fight, though." Kaoru closed her eyes and went through an imaginary list of names.

"Rouge will have motivation to avenge Dream. Lemonade seems like the type to not have any problem killing. Black and White will manage. I don't know enough about the others."

"We'll see eventually. In the worst case scenario, we can separate them, I knock them out with Stormflair and you break their neck or otherwise kill them. Subsequently, you'll carry me and escape. If we keep that up, we'll decimate them one by one. But... let's not discuss this anymore tonight. I don't want to fall asleep and dream about assassinating reflections." Kaoru, even though she didn't feel pity for Aurora, did not enjoy the act of killing. No matter what kind of life form the reflections were. They were alive.

"You're right. I can do without a dream like that too." Making a long pause, Michiru sighed. "I wonder if this is what people feel like when they want to get drunk to have a deep, dreamless sleep."

"You have favor, wish for it. I don't mind either way but I'd rather have a clear head tomorrow."

Turning around and wrapping her arms around her sister, Michiru simply closed her eyes. She didn't need to say anything else. The next day would be long and stressful.

=== Dissonance ===

"Was that song your ability? Does everyone from your team know one of these?" Urara was helping herself to some sandwiches she had made, while Ako was still finishing up her own.

"No, that's different from our Cure powers. Beat and I are originally from a fairy world called Major Land. You can guess, it's ruled and governed by music. Beat used to be one of our most powerful song fairies back then when she was still called Siren. I didn't know that she was able to use Hymnos until I heard her sing Purger."

"So it's that, some kind of fairy power? I'm surprised you didn't use it earlier than this, like in a battle. It seems ridiculously powerful." Finding her sandwich to be a bit lacking, she grabbed the mayonnaise and put some between bread and cabbage.

"They're not really designed to be used in battle. I know three Hymnos right now and only one of them has an offensive effect. Or at least that's what I think. I haven't used any of them except Suspend. I can't even use that one properly."

"You're the princess of this Major Land thing, right? I remember catching something about that. I'd have expected you to do this with ease."

Ako grit her teeth. She didn't want to tell Urara the reason she failed to use the full Hymnos. Ellen could sing Purger in it's full form and of course, her mother was capable of wielding the Hymnos as ruler of Major Land. It was a power that grew together with a person, over time. If she really was eighteen, she would have been able to sing all of Suspend. "It's not that easy."

"Hmm... can everyone in Major Land use this stuff? Sounds like a very handy power." Finishing her sandwich, Urara leaned against a shelf filled with pots and pans. "I'd like to have some kind of inherent power too."

"I know of six people that can use Hymnos, but one of them is probably not even aware of what it is. Beat and I are two of them. The other four are either very powerful song fairies or royal family." The Melody of Sorrow was in fact a Hymnos created by Mephisto and Siren, the Melody of Happiness in its current form the work of Aphrodite and Hummy. It took enormous power to create a functional Hymnos.

"So what do the other two do? I'm not sure what this Suspend did, but it stopped Beat's reflection." Urara was losing interest and tried to shift the topic to something more useful. Practical application of Muse's power.

"I never tried to use them or seen anyone use them. My mother taught me both of them."

"Wow, that's really boring. Anyway, let's go. We're up for the next shift and I don't want to have to listen to Sunshine's or Melody's bitching when we're late."

"Boring...? You're really..." Shaking her head, Ako sighed deeply and ignored that part of Urara's comment. She had gotten used to her to the point where things like this no longer made her angry. Grabbing her sandwich and leaving the kitchen, Ako followed the yellow Cure. Looking at her back, she was wondering just how much longer this weird status quo was going to last.

Should she reject or accept Lemonade? Both choices were confusing her to some degree and both ways had parts to them she really feared. Being with Urara was fun, so if she rejected her, that would end. With Ellen, Hibiki and Kanade busy with their own business, it would be pretty lonely. Accepting her would inevitably lead to revealing that she was just a middle school girl.

Seeing Melody jump up and down in anger from the distance and hearing Sunshine's laughter made it pretty obvious that there was some teasing going on. Ako didn't have any patience left for Hibiki and her relationships. The situation calmed down instantly when Sunshine seemed to say something. Seeing Hibiki switch from angry to docile was something new to Ako.

Itsuki stood up and faced Lemonade before they had arrived at the makeshift guard post. By sheer coincidence, she happened to be just as tall as Muse. Even Hibiki was slightly taller than Lemonade, which seemed to piss off the chain user. "Time for us to settle down and grow roots. I'm so excited, yay." Urara was saying it with such thick sarcasm that nobody bothered to respond. They didn't want to instigate a fight. "Anything odd during your shift?"

"I thought I heard steps down the tunnel once but I could have imagined it." Itsuki knew just how vital even the tiniest bit of info could be, so she reported even things like this faithfully.

"Anything else?" Urara didn't like the job but if she had to do it, she'd do it right.

In the meantime, Hibiki approached Ako. "You were kinda cool back then when you stopped Ellen's reflection, Ako. Just as expected from the princess of Major Land. But I was surprised you didn't reve-" Hibiki shut up when Ako suddenly glared at her like she had said something really bad.

"Sorry, just tired." The damage was likely done now but she didn't want to make it worse, just in case. If she had to make up a lie to even out Hibiki's loose mouth, then she should at least keep the information leak to a minimum.

"Hibiki, are you coming?" Itsuki had walked a few steps ahead and was now calling for the pink Cure. Without another word, the girl left both her friend and Lemonade behind.

"Is Melody always this hyper? It's grating on my nerves. Reminds me uncomfortably of Rin back in the day." Sitting down on a large stone, Urara was already bored with herself. She should have brought something to drink. But then again, getting drunk on guard duty would make the others pretty damn mad. Most likely.

"Funny that you should say that. Given what happened with her and Kanade, I'm surprised to not see her sulking like crazy. I guess this time is different from their usual little fights."

"Well, Rhythm probably went and fucked Rin. And with the kind of attitude she had, she probably also went and rubbed it right in Melody's face."

"I didn't know about that. When did that happen?"

"I'm saying **probably**. Got no idea if she really did. I happened to be there when Rhythm got herself kicked out of Sunshine's room, cursing and boiling in her own anger."

"And you just happened to say something to make it all worse, didn't you?" Ako knew Urara well enough to guess that much.

"Maybe. But girls like that only learn things only the hard way. I'm not going to feel guilty just because she doesn't have a grip on her priorities."

"Not everyone sees the world as cynical as you do. Kanade is a pretty sweet and trusting girl. She was always kind of infatuated with Hibiki, so no surprise she'd react crazy if something happened."

"Infatuated? They looked like they couldn't decide if they hated or loved each other. It really pissed me off. That bitch almost blew my head off once during one of their damn fights, you know?"

"Too infatuated. She cares about her so much, she's got problems with seeing the big picture. Or anything around Hibiki."

"Your team sucks."

"I don't want to hear that from you of all people."

"Touche."

The conversation died down instantly after that. Urara started to play with a few small rocks and after a few minutes stood up to completely seal off the tunnel entrance with dozens of golden chains. "Saves us the trouble of checking for Aqua's reflection."

"You think my team is going to end up like yours?" Ako was depressed by the possibility of that.

"I think you're asking the wrong person. If you look at it, out of the six that were on our team, I'm by far the worst when it comes to making an effort to get the team back together. Honestly, I just don't think I can go back to how things were when we were younger. No matter how much Rin or Nozomi want that." Urara stretched out her hand, plunged a chain into a nearby wall and started placing stones on it.

"Maybe they don't want that either. It's been years, right? They all must have changed. You should at least give them a chance."

"Who knows. Nozomi's dead. I wouldn't be surprised if Rin is going to change for the worse after this. Sure, Kurumi got a grip, apparently, but that's still a long way. And for what? I got my own life now. There's really nothing- what the fuck was that for?" Lemonade rubbed her head after Ako had punched her just hard enough to make it hurt.

"Listen to yourself! That's excuses piled on excuses. In your words, it's total bullshit." Ako wasn't really shouting but her voice was definitely raised a pitch or two.

Urara grit her teeth. Yeah, those were all excuses. "So what about it? I can't make excuses? I'm a saint now or something?"

"No, you can't make excuses. Because I like the part of you that's honest with yourself." She couldn't say it without blushing just a little. Using the word **like** was still a bit weird for her.

"Of all the things I got you just had to pick that. That's so ridiculously cliché. And goddamn unfair. Fine, fine, I won't make excuses then. I'm scared, okay? There, I said it! Happy now? Did that shatter your image of who I am? The independent and strong Urara's scared she'll be rejected by her friends, oh wow. Is that what you wanted to hear?"

"Yes, that's what I wanted to hear. Because you're just human, like the rest of us. Everyone has something they're afraid of."

"So what are you afraid of the most, huh? I should get to know since you know my dirty little secret now."

"That is..."

=== Dissonance ===

"Nightmare and Malice moved just like I predicted... what simple girls. Aw, that's a good girl. Come here." Poison sat in the garden on a bench, the grass below her feet rotting away, the air around her smelling foul. Freeze was cowering at her feet, a large trickle of blood running from her temple and her calves. Her breathing was weak, her eyes unfocused, her expression a painful distortion of her original carefree and simple look

"Agony did a good job... your pained expression is delightful. Ah... it's making me feel hot." Raising her foot and stomped on Freeze's back, the green reflection moaned in delight. Grabbing her right breast, she started to grope herself.

Freeze eyes were filled with fear, knowing that Poison hated her but loved to torture her. And yet she loved to be near her, loved to see that delighted expression when she expressed her pain and fear. A completely warped relationship of hate, torment and one-sided love.

"Anyone pointed out to you yet that you're a sick fuck?" Hymn's voice was a shadow of it's former self, the lingering effect of Suspend still hurting her. That Malice had nearly crushed her throat when she disappointed her hadn't helped either.

"Is that you wanting some **love** too, Offkey?" The belittling name for Hymn had spread among all the more aggressive orientated reflections. And Poison was one of the biggest sadists among them, only surpassed by Nightmare and Malice, who both had their own favorite type of suffering.

"Don't call me that!" Hymn was about to jump at the green reflection when a thin water beam pierced her upper arm. The bloodied Freeze looked up at the blue reflection that had been declared garbage by Malice.

"How dare you try and touch my Poison." Freeze's face was immediately buried in the slightly wet ground, smearing it with mud. The boot placed on her head was keeping her down.

"I must have misheard something. Did this worm just call me **her** Poison? All this garden stuff must be getting to me, I'm hallucinating. I think what you were saying..." Lifting her boot and pulling on Freeze's long hair, the blue reflection gasped for air, each breath painful and yet her face was filled with happiness over being touched by her love. "Beloved Mistress Poison... isn't that right, garbage?" Not once would she address Freeze by her name.

"Yes... mistress Poison." And right back into the mud. Poison's face was showing an ice cold grin. Talking through the mud as Poison continued to put pressure on her head, Freeze corrected herself. "Be..loved... Miss...Mistress...Poison..."

"Now that's better." Letting up and looking at Hymn, the former member of Malice's group averted her face in disgust. She didn't care for friendship or camaraderie but this was making her puke. Even someone like Malice wasn't as corrupt as this. She just liked to see people suffer but Poison took it to a whole new level with Freeze.

Walking away, Hymn looked at the others that were here, in the green prison. Agony had gone to sleep after beating up Freeze badly and both Wither and Vulture were busy making out at the entrance. Trying to escape wasn't going to be of any use. Where would she go? The others were all working alone, and Malice had no more use for her. The originals would kill her on sight, too.

Or would they? She didn't care for any of the other reflections but she did want to survive herself. Maybe there was some kind of deal she could make with the originals. Selling out the position, personalities, numbers, details of the system... yes... that should work. They would let her live. She could always find a more... permanent solution by herself.

But now was not the time. She had just attacked the originals with Purger and they retaliated with Suspend. Hearing Freeze cry out in pain from behind, followed by an outburst of moaning from Poison, she didn't even want to look back.

Finding Misery crying in a corner, Hymn couldn't help but feel a little pity. She was there when Malice had kicked her out for being useless. Tearing her costume to shreds, leaving her cold and naked on the cold stone ground, Rage and Agony pulled her up by her long Lavender colored hair, laughing at her, mocking her, hurting her by cutting and punching her. Malice just watched, a few steps away, her expression almost complete indifference. And just as Agony and Rage were done, she smiled. "How about this..." Taking Agony's hand and brutally pushing her fingers apart, Malice grabbed the yellow blade. Pulling up the crying and pleading Misery by her hair, Malice proceeded to completely tear up said hair. Each cut worse than the one before, Misery more closely resembled an abandoned puppet whose hairpiece had been destroyed by a fire and an angry puppy than a human.

Still not satisfied, Malice carved deep cuts in her face, legs and back, completely scarring her head to feet. About to pass out from blood loss, they stopped, not willing to free her from the burden and shame of living on, disfigured like a monster.

The girl was still sobbing even though she couldn't shed any more tears. Since they were not really human and had no civilian form, she couldn't even turn back and transform again to at least have something to cover herself. Her name was really befitting now... Misery.

Despite her nature, she wanted to help the girl just a little. But she couldn't let anyone see it. If Malice found out, she'd definitely target her next, maybe even kill her. She couldn't risk that, not with her current plan of saving herself.

"Sorry..." She didn't know she could even feel that way. The system had created them as polar opposites of what their originals were, but even so... seeing the girl treated like that was too much to bear.

But the situation was really the worst. Looking to her right, Breeze and Umbra were sleeping on large branches like they didn't have a care in the world. They were... chaos. Every emotion one could think of, they took to the absolute extreme. A real bother. Not even Agony dared to mess with them, seeing as anger was a perfectly valid emotion for them. And they did have some very troublesome powers.

Apathy was nowhere to be seen. Fury was probably either still raping her or doing otherwise horrible things. She couldn't understand why Fury's attraction to Apathy remained intact. If their personalities were warped, they should hate each other.

Aurum, much like Umbra and Breeze, didn't seem to have a care in the world. She was too naive to get legitimately angry, which made her a prime target for Agony. The yellow reflection was laying unconscious in a puddle of her own blood that had already dyed the grass red. She seemed still alive, but it was only a matter of time before Agony took it too far and killed her. Even with all the sadistic behavior, Aurum didn't seem to be able to get mad or even distrust Agony.

She was feeling dizzy and tired. Sitting down in a well hidden corner, in tall grass behind a few bushes, Hymn closed her eyes, trying to get some rest. But she couldn't. Not even a minute passed before she got up again, checked carefully that nobody saw her and dragged Misery away.

Patting her head didn't seem enough to calm her down. They'd find them if she kept weeping. Tearing out parts of her own costume, mostly from her skirt, she started bandaging the cuts, covering up Misery as good as she could. She didn't manage to cover more than underwear would, but it was enough to make Misery stop crying. "Thanks... you're so nice..." Her voice was still whiny and weak, and not even a full ten seconds passed before she fell asleep, leaned against the wall.

"I'm not nice at all..." Hymn covered half of her face with her right hand. She wasn't nice at all. She really only cared about her own survival. But she couldn't ignore someone that was so obviously being harassed and hurt. Aurum was a different case as her personality basically caused her to be Agony's target and there was nothing she could do about it. But Misery was just meek and without self-esteem.

"What am I doing? Shit..." She didn't regret it, but she would have to find a way to get away without someone noticing her torn costume. She could maybe fault Nightmare or Poison for it if it came to that... "Forget killing originals... I got worse enemies right here." Hymn sat down next to Misery, the two of them well hidden behind the greenery. Another loud moan from Poison echoed through the room, followed by another outcry from Freeze. "This place is the worst..."

=== Dissonance ===

"Erika, you know Lemonade... don't you think those two were fighting?" Tsubomi and her partner had relieved the yellow and the black Cure from guard duty after their time was up. Erika was in a sour mood, as she had just started to make out with Tsubomi when Muse had called out to them from the entrance of the garden, telling them they were almost half an hour late.

"Who knows... I don't really know her that well. Or well at all. But she did look pretty pissed off." Bored with herself, Erika used a small stone to play tic tac toe with herself, drawing white lines on the wall and erasing them with a bit of water afterwards.

"I wonder what happened. Maybe they don't like each other?"

"Tsubomi, can we not talk about this? I don't really care what Lemonade is doing." Not only did it remind her uncomfortably of that one night stand, making her horny on top of being annoyed, but it also kept reminding her that stuff just kept getting in the way of her sleeping with Tsubomi.

Ignoring Erika's feisty attitude, Tsubomi focused on their actual job, guard duty. The silence, only disturbed by the scratching of stones, got awkward quick but Erika didn't feel like talking anyway. It had been a long day and even she got tired at some point. The adrenaline and excitement from making out with Tsubomi had worn off by now and there was no way she could continue that here.

"Tsubomi... remember when we fought our inner selves? Do you think you'll be able to handle fighting something that looks just like you or me?" Erika stopped playing around, looking at the ground. As much as she wanted to forget about the situation at hand, she couldn't. There was no way to run away from it.

"...I don't... I don't know. I can fight the others in battles just fine but... this isn't just a match. This is real... isn't it?" She had avoided thinking about it because there wasn't an answer to that question.

"Fighting myself was easy... at least when I think about it now. As soon as I figured out what it was all about, it was a cinch. But this is different, yeah... I... want to think of them as nothing more than puppets, but it's not really working."

"You saw Nightmare up close, right? What was it like?" Tsubomi looked over to her partner, who seemed to worry surprisingly much about the issue. She had expected Erika to have come up with some kind of plan by now.

"I'd by lying out my teeth if I just called her a monster. We saw Dune... Sabaaku... Dark Precure. They all had some level of evil to them, but this... I know there are some really despicable people out there in this world. Nightmare has to be among the worst you can imagine. You know what kind of expression she was showing when she had impaled Dream with her hand?" Erika shivered when she recalled the scene. Feeling the flames on her skin, the heat, she still felt cold as ice seeing the scene. "Imagine a young child that had just gotten a toy it wanted for a long time. And it's a present from the parents it loves so very much. That type of expression. Pure, undiluted joy. I feel sick just thinking about it."

"I can't believe something... like that spawned off Dream. From what I heard, she was quite the idealist..." Tsubomi didn't want to imagine what kind of monster her reflection was.

"That's just it. An idealist, someone who loves people and wants everyone to get along... the opposite of that is a complete and utter monster. Someone with no compassion and complete disregard for life. Nightmare really suits her... because she's a living one." Erika shivered again, feeling really sick now.

"Erika, you're pale..." Getting up and walking over to her partner, Tsubomi could see with the naked eye that her love was having goosebumps. "Was it really that...?"

"It's... not something you can just explain with words. Her presence, her expression... the way she looked... I'm never going to forget that. Not for as long as I live. But I'm happy that you didn't see it. If I were to face her, I'm not sure I could fight. Honestly... I'm afraid. If there are more monsters out there like her, I want to run away."

Tsubomi sat down and embraced her partner, shocked by how disturbed Erika was. She had seen Yuri react to death with anger and rage. But to see the usually confident and proud Marine scared of something... that was frightening on it's own. "You don't have to fight alone. I'm always by your side."

"That sounds really corny Tsubomi." Erika wrestled with herself to show a meek smile before she just closed her eyes, seeking refuge in the embrace of her partner. Nightmare's expression and laughter were burned into her mind. It was a lot worse than facing Dune. "But... I'm happy you say that. I don't want to be alone with those things running around outside."

"It feels odd to be the one reassuring you... usually it's the other way around."

"I'll be back to my old self in no time. Just let me soak up a bit more Tsubomi energy."

"Geez, even now you say silly stuff..."

=== Dissonance ===

Morning came eventually. Tsubomi and Erika traded places with Bright and Windy. The dining hall, previous the living room, had been expanded and was now able to fit everyone inside. Hikari, Kurumi, Saki were joined by Kanade after a while. Nobody said anything about her fight with Hibiki or her general behavior. They did well to forget about things like that when there were much bigger problems at hand.

"Karen, you seen Rin?" Urara was, much to the surprise of a few others, alone and not with Muse. People were already whispering and spreading rumors if something had happened between them.

"Not this morning. Did you talk to her yet? She's taking the whole affair with Nozomi pretty badly..." By now, the news of reflections and, likely, originals being imprisoned in the mirrors and not being completely dead yet had spread to everyone.

"If there's an explosion in a few minutes, that's just me slapping her out of bed. This isn't the time to seclude yourself in a room and sulk. We got to try and take Nozomi back." Walking off without waiting for an answer or even acknowledgment of her words, Urara left behind a rather worried couple.

"Looks like she won't have any problems fighting the reflections..." Komachi hadn't slept very well, mostly because she kept worrying.

"That's a good thing. Morning Inori." Aqua greeted the yawning and somewhat tired looking yellow Cure. Just lifting her hand and walking over to where the rest of her team plus Beat was, Inori kept yawning twice more before she sat down on a chair and immediately leaned back, closing her eyes.

"Were you up the whole night fantasizing about something?" Miki's jab hit the mark and Inori glared at her for a second before she returned to tired mode. "Wow, scary."

"You three really have no care in the world, don't you? I wish I could have a happy-go-lucky attitude like that." Turning to Love and Setsuna, the blue Cure sighed. She was really worried about Moonlight, who seemed to be stuck in exile.

"If you're so worried about Moonlight, why don't you go and look for her?" Inori sent a jab right back. Eye for an eye.

"What's this about Yuri?" Erika had only heard Pine say Moonlight and nothing else. Tsubomi was missing from the table, having gone to the garden to check on things before she ate breakfast.

"Lovebird here is worried about her crush being stuck in exile." Inori was in a really bad mood and realized too late that she was blabbering too much.

"You have a crush on Yuri? Wow, tough luck. I'm sorry to tell you that she's already going out with someone." Marine shook her head twice and laid her hand on Berry's shoulder. "You should give up before you're let down by her. Yuri's a real snow woman."

"You're Marine, from Moonlight's team. And yet you don't even know that she's going to end her relationship with that other girl? Some close teammates you are." Love could smell a storm brewing but Miki could be pretty stubborn. If she tried to stop them from arguing, she'd only make it worse.

"Yuri's going to dump my sister? You must be hallucinating. They work and live together. You must have misunderstood something there." Erika couldn't believe nonsense like that. Who did Berry think she was to say that?

"Go ask her yourself when she comes back. She's been dealing with a lot of stress because her partner isn't a Cure. Not only do we have the same job but Yuri told me that I even look like her girlfriend."

"It was funny for a bit but you're going over the line now. Yuri's not the kind that would just dump my sister. So you better take that back."

"Maybe you don't know your precious sister or teammate as good as you think you do? I've got no reason to take back the truth, so if you can't handle that, you should get out of my sight."

Both girls stared at each other. Erika was a lot smaller than Berry, so even with Berry sitting and her standing, there wasn't much of a difference. The tension in the air was quickly raising and Inori could feel the pressure of guilt now. Her loose mouth caused this to happen.

"Okay, that's enough. How about both of you wait until Moonlight actually shows up so you can ask her. Might all just be some kind of misunderstanding." Stopping the fighting by putting her arms between the two and slowly separating them, Love couldn't believe that both of them were arguing like little girls.

"Stay out of this Love. This doesn't concern you." Miki was stubborn about not backing off from the argument.

"Yeah, this has nothing to do with you." Erika shared the notion of not leaving that argument unresolved. "Why would Yuri chose you over my sister? She doesn't even know you! To begin with, when did you even ask her?"

"So many easy questions. I talked to her during negotiations and told her I wanted her. And I kept doing that. As for why she'd chose me, isn't that obvious? I'm **perfect**."

"Perfectly arrogant, sure. My sister works as a well known model. She even lives with Yuri. You got no chance." Erika sneered and shrugged. If that was all Berry had going for her claims, then this was already over.

"What's her name? If she's so famous, I should know of her. Since I'm a model too."

"Momoka Kurumi."

Miki burst out in laughter, covering her mouth quickly and shaking her head. "You're comparing **her** with **me**? You really don't know anything, do you? If she's well known, I'm famous."

Both of them started to stare at each other around the same time, looking like they were ready to literally start a fight in the dining hall. The angry glares from the Cures around them stopped them short. They had enough problems with the reflections, they didn't need in-fighting.

"This isn't over. Yuri is mine." Miki leered at Erika and turned away, before she did actually hit the small girl.

"Over my dead body." Stomping away and sitting back down next to Tsubomi, both of the blue Cures did not talk to anyone during breakfast, too pissed off.

=== Dissonance ===

Not even bothering to knock, Urara marched straight into Rin's room. The bed was a total chaos of blanket, limbs and golden hair sticking out at random, Rouge and Rhythm sleeping back to back. Urara was surprised to find the room **not** reeking of sex considering how long Rin had been on her own.

Taking a few steps forward and pulling the blanket as hard as she could, Urara didn't expect the two of them to be this tangled up in it. Rin was a messy sleeper alright but that she dragged Rhythm in it was unexpected. Both girls hit the ground, Kanade cushioned by Rin, the former in Cure form, the latter naked and in civilian form. "You bitch... don't you know any other way than this to wake me up?" Rin's mood was at an all-time low right off the bat.

"Urara, what are you doin-" Ako had tracked down the yellow Cure after finally getting out of bed herself. Seeing Rin naked was too much. Turning around and waiting outside the room, Ako tried to hide her flushed face. To see Kanade with Rouge was unexpected, too. "Here I was wondering why I saw you in Rouge's room but why did I expect anything other than you being up to no good?"

"Get your ass in gear Rin. We're going to track down that idiot clone of Nozomi and give her a royal beating like the world hasn't seen before. Alternatively, I'll snap her neck and you burn what's left of her." Urara was more pissed than she was shocked at Nozomi's supposed death. The more she asked around and thought about it, the less likely it seemed that she really was dead. From a psychological perspective, leaving a corpse that would rot and for which there was no way to get rid of would have been much more effective. And a sadistic bastard like Nightmare wouldn't have passed up a chance like that.

"I should burn you for kicking me out of bed like this for the umpteenth time. Kanade, how long are you going to be shocked and act like a iron weight on me? Get... off." Shoving the girl away, the confused Rhythm hit the ground and got up, not quite sure what kind of reaction she should deal with first. Thank god she had decided to sleep as Cure, even though she had taken off quite a bit of her costume.

Urara, satisfied with the reaction, turned around and walked out of the room. "That's not the first time you see a woman naked, get a grip Ako." Teasing the girl while she stepped past the black Cure, Urara laughed as she started pouting.

"Don't say stuff that Kanade is going to misunderstand! It's not my fault when you switch to civilian form right in front of me!"

"I didn't say who you had seen naked. You stepped in that pile all by yourself." Grinning, Urara kept walking toward the dining hall, Ako right behind her. By the time they arrived, everyone was already eating and chattering. It didn't look one bit like they were facing a dangerous enemy that knew everything about them.

Beside Rouge and Rhythm, only Bloom and Egret were missing, having the current guard shift. Black and White would switch with them as soon as breakfast was done. Sitting down to the right of Blossom, an angry Marine leering at nobody in particular next to the pink Cure, Ako took the spot left of Urara.

Too lazy to ask, Urara extended a smaller version of her chains down the table and got a hold of a bread basket, taking out two bread rolls, then holding the basket, with the chain, up to Ako, who also took two rolls.

Ako noticed only now that Hibiki was sitting two spots to the left, Sunshine between them. "Morning Hibiki." In a way it was fascinating how every single Cure on their team ended up hanging out with someone from another team. "Slept well?"

"Like a rock. Was just as heavy, too. You're going on a diet, Hibiki." Answering for Hibiki, Itsuki laughed at the flushed face of her partner, who immediately started complaining.

"It's not my fault that-" Ako finished that sentence for her with a smug grin.

"That you can't keep still even when asleep? Oh that's totally your fault Hibiki. You two sleep in the same room?" Ako didn't have any bad intentions by asking, but it did seem to annoy Hibiki a little.

"Keeping my beloved close to me. Although she keeps kicking and hitting me, even after we have se-" Itsuki flinched under the elbow jab from her Hibiki, who was all but keen to tell a thirteen year old girl about her sex life. Especially not if said girl had a sharp tongue.

"Ako has a really light sleep, wakes up every time I as much as grope her." Saying it completely nonchalantly, Urara bit in a dumpling topped with some cheese, not even bothering to look at the other three. Ako was grateful for that since if she had looked, Hibiki's extremely awkward face would have been a dead giveaway that something was up.

"Itsuki, switch places with Ako for a bit." The look in Hibiki's eyes made pretty clear that this was important to her. Getting up, looking at Muse and nodding in direction of her teammate, Itsuki sat down next to Urara, who completely ignored the development, absorbed into creating a monstrosity of bread and cheese.

"I've been wondering about this for a while now... but what's going on with you and Lemonade?" Hibiki had lowered her voice, sensible enough to not let everyone hear about this.

"You're asking the wrong person. I wish I knew what I was doing. It's fun to be with her and I like her but I'm not sure I'm ready to be romantically interested."

"She's at least five years older than you! Don't you think it's... a bit sick for an adult to be interested in a middle school girl?" Hibiki hesitated a bit before she said **sick** as that was a pretty strong accusation.

"If you tell her I'm only thirteen and this isn't what I actually look like, we're through, completely and permanently. I'm not saying anything about you hooking up with Sunshine, heck, I'm even thinking it might be good for you since you and Kanade have been really fighting too much. I expect the same level of tolerance from you." Ako's glare sent a shiver down Hibiki's spine. She wasn't joking.

"But... isn't it weird for **you**? True, Itsuki is older than me, but not by that much... You're younger than I was when I first got to be a Cure and Lemonade is-" Hibiki stopped her sentence midway when she saw Ako's annoyed look.

"The only thing that's weird right now is that you, who kept fighting with Kanade, was too dense to ever notice her feelings for you, and is generally an air head, is trying to explain to me that my relationship with Urara is weird. I like it. And I got more control over this than you have over your disputes with Kanade. I appreciate you being worried but this is my life. I'm going to deal with it. By myself." Getting up and tipping Itsuki on the shoulder, the yellow Cure switched back to her old seat, finding a worried and somewhat beaten Hibiki.

"I heard everything, sorry." Itsuki had really good hearing. "She's... got a bit of a point though. I understand if you're worried about your friend, but you can't make a decision for her. And you probably shouldn't try to talk others out of relationships. That's kind of shooting yourself in the foot." Kissing Hibiki on the cheek, Itsuki turned around when she heard a loud thud. Rouge had walked past Urara's back and hit her head with the back of her hand. Kanade walked past Hibiki with a sore look on her face, Hibiki turning away, not even looking at her former partner.

Sitting down next to Peach, who had first Passion and then Beat to her right, Rin didn't bother to wait for Kanade to sit down to her left before she started eating. She had courtesy enough to hand the white Cure the bread basket, but she didn't talk to her. Their relationship, if it could even be called that, was built on thin ice.

Eating in silence until Peach got up and left for the bathroom, Karen used the chance to take her seat for a little while. Setsuna and Ellen were talking amongst themselves so they didn't mind. "Are you okay Rin?" It was a little awkward to talk to her. In the past, they had never gotten along well and when the team had broken up, they had maybe exchanged a dozen words ever since.

"As okay as any of us can be after seeing Nozomi get killed by her reflection. I'm not going to be a child and act all stubborn because we haven't talked in years, if that is what you're worried about. We're past the age of doing stuff like that."

"You changed a lot. I'm happy to see you're not secluding yourself in your room or in shock over what happened to Nozomi."

"Being in shock and playing shut-in is not going to improve our chances of getting Nozomi back. Going by the way Urara is acting, beside the usual high and mighty, she thinks it's possible." Biting in her bread, Rin noticed that Kanade was very intently watching her conversation with Karen.

"Honoka, Miki and a few others think so too. There are too many weird things going on to assume that she's really dead. Most of all, I don't want to believe it."

"I doubt any of us do. Sure, she can be a real pain in the ass sometimes, but Nozomi is Nozomi. We know and love her even with all of her faults."

"I'm not sure if you're praising or harassing her now." Cracking a embarrassed smile, Karen saw Rin smile for a little bit.

"Neither am I. But that's how things are. We're still a team, even if we're not the way we were back then."

"Rin... to be honest, I'm happy we can talk like this. I actually expected you to just argue with me, like we did in old times."

"It's not just you who grew up Karen. I'm turning twenty in about half a year and I'm trying to make the regulars on the national team. I can't afford to act like a teenager forever. Even Nozomi, imagine this, even Nozomi grew up and acted more like an adult... before we came here. As soon as she turns into Dream, it's all ideals this, ideals that."

"Well, that's who she is. And we can't say it's not thanks to her that we're still alive today. She saved us quite a few times. I'll see you later Rin. Thanks for talking."

"Sure." Rin was surprised at herself for how mature she had handled that. Karen and her had always been at each others throats, but maybe hanging out with Urara so much, and of course, getting older gave her a new perspective on things.

Looking to the side and seeing the depressed Kanade, it was quite obvious that she realized that this was how grown-ups were supposed to deal with issues, not act like a mass of jealousy and a little girl. Her behavior was not any better than when she had been fourteen.

"Stop pulling that sullen face. You messed up, but this isn't something you can't fix. For now... well.. I guess I do kind of want you to stay with me." Rin watched Kanade's look change to surprised and finally embarrassed. "Jeez, I'd never think you're really.. what, sixteen, seventeen? Getting embarrassed over that."

Her usual behavior didn't fly with Rin, so Kanade had to think through what she said before she actually opened her mouth. It was a completely new experience for her. Just saying whatever and fighting with Hibiki was something she had done for so long, it was difficult to break free from it. Which resulted in her being very, very quiet.

"I guess it's a little ironic that I'm the one lecturing you about the constant fighting with Melody. Aqua and I used to be at each others throats for every little thing. We weren't interested in each other the way you and Melody are, though."

"That just now didn't give me that impression at all..." Kanade could see her point but it was still hard to swallow. Getting stubborn and angry now would only take away her last connection to the group. Rin was, right now, the only one who talked to her.

"Of course not. I'm talking about when we were around fourteen, fifteen, sixteen, that range. Basically, for as long as we were very active as Cures. When we got older, we mellowed out. I guess I did, mostly."

"So you think it's my fault?"

"Most of it, probably. This is just me taking a wild guess, but you're really horrid at dealing with jealousy, right?"

Kanade didn't say anything and just let her head hang. By now, she had long realized that she had trouble dealing with stuff like that. She didn't need Rin to tell her that.

"Nailed it. Well, then there is your problem. Or at least one of them."

"So what am I supposed to do? It's not like I can just suddenly pretend I don't care!" And there she was, jumping back into old habits.

"Nobody said anything about not caring or pretending. Stop jumping to conclusions and extremes. I can't give you any advice on dealing with that little problem of yours." Even though she didn't specify why, it was pretty obvious that Rin didn't exactly have tons of experience with relationships herself.

Just to the right of them was the prime example of no jealousy whatsoever. Much to Ellen's embarrassment, Setsuna had somehow convinced her to be fed by her and Love. Having cut down cheese into cubes and picking them up with a long toothpick, Setsuna held it in front of Ellen's face. "Say _ahh_~" The red Cure was smiling so wide, it only served as additional source of shame.

Eyes closed and half her face as red as Passion's costume, Ellen leaned forward, parted her lips and waited for Setsuna to actually feed her. Tasting the cheese on her tongue, she closed her mouth, opened her eyes and watched Setsuna smile at her in bliss.

Love came back just in time to see the flustered Ellen react with shyness to Setsuna's bliss. It wasn't very hard to guess what had happened, especially not with a fork still in the hand of the red Cure. "Don't tease her too much."

"I'm not teasing her. You should have seen how **adorable** she was." Losing her grip a little, Setsuna put her fork away and hugged Ellen, unable to contain herself any longer. Rubbing her cheek on Ellen's, she kept repeating the same words. "**So cute**."

Leaning down and whispering to the blue Cure, Love's words significantly relieved her. "She'll calm down in a minute. She's always like that when she gets to feed me, too."

"Setsuna, I talked to White on the way. We're going to switch with Black and White for guard shift after Bloom and Egret. Black managed to eat something she didn't take well to." Turning to Ellen, Love had a grin on her face. "I heard from Setsuna that you play the guitar. That's a nice chance to show us."

"Sure, I don't mind." Being used to playing and singing for an audience didn't free her from being a little nervous about it. Then playing for strangers was completely different than playing for her partners. Thinking of just Setsuna as her partner and Love as an addition was no longer happening to her at any time. The pink Cure was really nice but had an incredible way to sneak herself into a position where one couldn't help but fall for her.

"You three have not a care in the world." Inori's attention was directed to the trio due to Setsuna still clinging to Ellen. It wasn't just her either. Quite a few heads were turned at the public display of affection, and now that the blue Cure noticed, her face's color returned to the earlier red flash.

"Nothing good is going to come out of being overly worried. We always worked something out."

"You'd be hopeless without Setsuna, Miki and me around, though." Inori was joking about it and Love knew that well. "If I had thousand Yen for every time you just went off to do your own thing, I wouldn't have to work."

"Exaggerator. I'm not that bad. Right Setsuna?" Turning around to look at her partner, Love was ambushed.

"Taking me with you to travel without even speaking English? Check. Leaving most of the organization to me? Check. Always coming on to me in bed after a hard day of work? Check. Going off on your-" Ellen put a stop to Setsuna's list by starting to laugh at Love's exaggerated annoyed face.

"Why you! You promised not to tell anyone!" Getting out of the way, Ellen watched Love grab Setsuna, the pink Cure pinching the cheek of her partner.

"Did you know Setsuna used to be extremely quiet? There were days where she barely got out a word." Inori didn't see any harm in getting friendly with Ellen. If she was a part of Love's relationship, then she was automatically a friend as well.

"I knew. Love told me a bit about their travels and how Setsuna adapted to it. I can only imagine what it's like to go overseas." She wasn't exactly the most skilled talker either, but being with the two older girls helped her out quite a bit. Just having a topic to talk about was useful.

"Going to a foreign country without knowing anything, just relying on herself and Setsuna... I couldn't do that." Watching Love jokingly punish Setsuna with tickling, most of the others no longer bothered to look, quite used to their antics.

"How long have you known Love? I feel like there are so many things I don't know about her that I'll never catch up."

"You don't need to catch up. I'm sure those two see it like that, too. As for how long I've known Love... I honestly can't remember not knowing her. My mother told me we were already friendly as toddlers, so I guess I've known her all my life." Inori paused briefly, her expression changing to an impressed look. "And boy did she get me into a lot of trouble sometimes."

"You used to be so formal, what happened to that Bukki?" Love, finally leaving poor Setsuna in peace, was hugging Ellen from behind, looking over her shoulder. The blue Cure didn't seem to mind at all. She was already used to Love being really affectionate, even in public.

"Don't act like this isn't your fault. You happened, Love. By the time you went traveling with Setsuna, I was already talking like this. Dealing with patients every day helped ease up on the formalities, too."

"Ellen, did I tell you that one of the fairies that helped us fight Labyrinth looked like a ferret? And that Bukki-" Love was rudely interrupted by a blushing Pine covering the mouth of the pink Cure.

"She doesn't need to know about that!"

"You don't have any problems with other animals now, right? I imagine caring for animals and treating them professionally is quite different."

"Hedgehogs are annoying to deal with. Some cats just don't like me, too. But there's nothing like the thing with Tarte." Letting Love go and warning her with a look, Inori was sure that she would tell Ellen at some later point anyway.

"Speaking of Cats... Ellen, is it okay for us to tell her?" Love was changing the topic and even though the vocalist blushed a little, she nervously nodded. "Ellen used to be a song fairy, a black cat. She even used to be able to shapeshift into other people."

"That isn't that unusual. Setsuna came from Labyrinth. And I heard that there are non-humans both in Dream's and White's team as well. By my guess, it's Luminous and Rose. You're just too into aliens, Love."

"Don't call them aliens, geez." Patting Ellen's head, who by herself didn't seem to mind the little joke, Love stared Inori down for a few seconds before they both started to laugh.

"Don't let White know. She's a scientist, so she'll be all over you, trying to make a study out of it." Not actually knowing Honoka that well, Inori's grin made it clear that she was still joking.

"Guard Shift!" Shouting through the dinner hall, Saki and Mai entered, the former stretching and yawning, still tired from having to get up early, the latter quiet and smiling at her partners attitude. She was hungry too, not quite as ravished as Saki, but still. "Honoka, Nagisa, it's.. where are they?" Not spotting the two, Saki tried to see above the others.

"We're switching in for them." Love showed up quickly, while Setsuna and Ellen tried to finish the rest of their breakfast in a hurry, having talked and fooled around too much. "White asked me to since Black's... preoccupied in the bathroom."

"Why am I not surprised?" Shrugging and looking to her partner, Saki was met with a scolding glare. "I know... don't say anything." Hanging her head, she didn't want Mai to tell everyone that she was as much of a glutton as Nagisa.

"Setsuna, Ellen!" Standing near the gate, Love called for her partners, who were talking to Pine, who graciously offered to take their dishes to the kitchen so they could run and leave. The three of them leaving the room, the mood changed not a bit. The others were still chatting and with a few exceptions, having fun. All of that despite the threat outside.

It wasn't the first time they had been in grave danger after all. The first shock wore off quickly after being through various ordeals in their past. They were older and more composed now, too. "I'm surprised how well everyone is coping." Talking with her mouth full, Saki ignored the second scolding look from Mai. She was too hungry to care.

"If it's just forgetting the threat and moving on with their regular... well, as regular as it gets here, lives, I'd assume that most of us can do that. Fighting the reflections is going to be a completely different thing." Mai sat to the left of Luminous, who wasn't looking all that awake yet. For her, sleeping in Kurumi's room had been more of a challenge than she expected.

"Do you feel any different Hikari?" They knew each other well enough to use their first names but only just barely. Nagisa and Honoka brought the girl along to their meet-ups whenever they could.

Yawning slightly before answering and covering her mouth with her hand, Hikari looked a bit tired. "I'm tired, but other than that, I feel just the same. Are you asking because of Aurora?"

"Well, we're not sure how long it has been but we should be approaching the twelve hour mark soon. I'm curious if there is any real effect on an original when the reflection disappears in the mirror."

"I'm not going to let you use Hikari as guinea pig, Egret." Kurumi was sitting to Hikari's left and overheard the short conversation.

"Nobody said anything about that. Aurora is in the mirror and we should at least monitor if anything is happening to Hikari." Mai wasn't going to lose her cool about something like that. "I'm just as worried as you are about her."

"Sorry for accusing you." Picking up her toast and taking a bite, Kurumi did feel the effect of stress on her mind. "The last few days were a bit... too intense for me."

"Everyone feels that way. Nobody is faulting you for being a bit riled up. Saki, can you stop stuffing yourself? It's embarrassing." Watching Saki fit a whole toast in her mouth in one go, Mai turned away, not wanting to see a barbarian way of eating like that.

"It's not my fault we came late to breakfast and even had to get up early. I'm starving."

"Don't lie to me. You're just using that as an excuse to stuff yourself. You got up fine plenty of times when you trained and you went much longer then without eating."

"Just eat with Honoka if it annoys you so much. I'll eat with Nagisa then. You already said that's fine, right?" Their plan was still going. Nagisa being missing from the table was part of it as well. They'd show their partners once and for all that they wouldn't get away with their teasing indefinitely. It maybe wasn't the best situation, but if they kept delaying it, it was the same as giving up.

"You're an adult, you don't need my permission." And Mai was still going to turn the tables on them. It wasn't, by any stretch of the imagination, the first time Saki had tried to get her back for teasing, but she had never involved other people before.

"Are those two fighting?" Kurumi couldn't help but be curious about it. The air was a little tense around them.

"It's just like with Honoka and Nagisa. They tease each other but it's usually Nagisa who's at the receiving end." Giggling, Hikari watched the couple banter back and forth for a bit longer, finally resulting in Saki finishing her breakfast and leaning back, playing a little with Mai's long pony tail. Their argument was seemingly forgotten, both of them smiling at each other occasionally. "See?"

=== Dissonance ===

"I said **get up!**" Brutally kicking the injured Aurum on the ground, Rage grabbed the girl by her hair and pulled her up. She was alive but who knew for how much longer? She was breathing but not reacting to outside stimuli, as if she was in a coma. Dropping the yellow reflection and turning around, Rage hit Agony so hard that the bloodthirsty reflection lost her balance and fell to the ground. "You stupid animal, don't you comprehend what _'don't kill her' _means? Your original is pretty damn smart, so how come you're so fucking stupid?"

"Get off your high horse before I turn you into ground meat..." Creating her diamond blades, Agony was about to lash out on Rage, eager to take off her head and use it as soccer ball. She didn't take kindly to being hit.

"Take your squabble somewhere else. It's too early for your stupid fights." Poison was in a foul mood, being woken up by those idiots. Maybe sleeping in the garden hadn't been the smartest choice.

Freeze had been used as a pillow for the whole night, forced to remain completely still, knowing that her beloved mistress was going to put her through hell if she woke her. "Or... that has to be it. You two came here to amuse me, is that right? You thought you'd let yourself be tormented and tortured a little to lift my mood. How **nice of you**." Poison's voice took a drastic change as she slowly got up, a murderous glare in her eyes. "**Let's not let your enthusiasm get to waste then. Since you're both so ****eager and I'm oh so bad at picking only one, I'll take care of both of you at the same time."**

Both Agony and Rage backed off, knowing full well that Poison wasn't someone they wanted to fight. Survival instinct overrode both pride and blood thirst of the other two. If Malice enjoyed the suffering of others, Poison very much relished in seeing their pain and presumably, death. Nightmare was completely focused on killing, for that matter.

"Agony. Rage. Where has that useless pile of garbage gone?" Malice had just stepped past Ember, who kept guard at the entrance to the garden, the green prison. Turning around and creating a small heart shaped orb in her hand, she faced the slightly smaller reflection. "You didn't let anyone escape. **Is that right, Ember**?" The tone made clear that anything but the only thing that wouldn't cause Malice to punish her was a quick and definitive answer, as well as what she wanted to hear.

"Nobody left. Not even Poison."

"If she's still in here, it doesn't matter. Agony, Rage, find that useless bitch and bring her to me. We might find another use for her yet."

A single step outside and Malice was hit by an enormous energy blast, shattering most of the ground right in front of the garden. Puking blood like numerous arrows had buried themselves into her chest, the reflection bounced off the stone and was grabbed in mid air by her ankle. Glancing at her attackers face, Malice felt like going back to bed. Nightmare was having a bad morning. Wonderful.

Spitting more blood right in Nightmare's face, which did not even disturb the girl, Malice was hammered against the wall, another blast incoming in just a second. "Malice Impact!" Destroyed the wall behind her, Malice slipped away from the murderous reflection and hid in the dust cloud. Turning around, searching for the escapee, Nightmare was hit from below. Sweeping her off her feet, Malice grabbed both arms of Dream's reflection, rammed one foot in her back and started to pull, fully intending to rip her arms not only out of their sockets but completely tearing apart her shoulders.

Screams of rage and pain echoing through the halls as Nightmare felt her consciousness weaken. Nobody could take pain like that without going crazy. But she wasn't about to give in. "Nightmare Rose Explosion!"

The entire hallway was filled with pink energy when Rage and Agony reached it, coughing fits coming from two directions. Nightmare was further away, her right wrist badly broken to the point where parts of bone poked out of her skin. Her face was a grotesque mix of pain and rage.

Malice was not off any better, deep wounds in her shoulders and one at her right side. Bleeding heavily, she directed both her arms at the other reflection. "Pillar of Malice!" A dozen of heart shaped pink energy orbs spawned right above Nightmare, who jumped out of the way but not quick enough. Her left leg was hit, several large stone shards burying itself into her tissue. The attack completely destroyed the floor below where Nightmare had been.

She had enough. "Nightmare-" And was also out of time. Rage had rushed past Malice to attack Nightmare.

"Four Point Rage Impact!" Seemingly multiplying for a brief second, Nightmare was hit from all four cardinal directions by a powerful impact attack, the energy rupturing her skin and her interior organs badly enough to make her vomit a large amount of blood. Agony was up next but Nightmare was a lot tougher than anyone expected her to be. Grabbing Rage by her throat and throwing her at Agony, the yellow reflection wasn't strong enough to catch her _ally _and keep standing.

Even she wouldn't be able to take out three of them at once. She hated the thought, but for now, a tactical retreat was in order. Crossing her arms in front of her chest and focusing her energy into one large orb right in front of her arms, she readied one of her ultimate attacks. Screaming out anger, the name of her attack echoed in slow motion thorough the hallway before it took effect."Nightmare Resolution!"

The quake of the impact could be felt even at the furthest back of the garden, where Hymn and Misery were hiding. Someone was fighting and from the looks of it, it wasn't an attack by the originals. It was too early for them to have found their base regardless. But this might be her chance. Getting out of the garden and to the other side...

Looking to her side, Misery was still sound asleep, her head resting on Hymn's shoulder. Just looking at the poor girl, she felt sorry for her. What would happen to her from now on? If Agony and Rage found her, or even worse, Malice, she would end up even worse than before. But staying hidden forever was not an option either. At some point she had to go to the bathroom, eat and drink.

Of all people, why did she have to develop a conscience? It didn't matter shit to her what happened to Misery. Berry was not going to tolerate her copy to be around. Even for herself, she had to rely on Peach and Passion to actually make a deal with her. And all that was after she somehow convinced them that she had been forced to use Purger under the threat of being killed.

That was a lie of course, but who cares about the truth? If she had known that helping Misery would end up giving her a guilt trip, she would have just left her. Her eyes narrowing, Hymn got up and turned to the barely covered, disfigured blue reflection. Her throat felt sore as she readied herself to do the one thing that would really help her. Misery's eyes sprang wide open the second Hymn's hands tightened around her throat.

"Sorry... you're better off somewhere where they can't hurt you." Hymn could barely use her own voice, not because of any magical effect but because she didn't really want to kill Misery. Tightening her grasp, Misery gasped for air, her arms and legs wildly flailing around while Hymn continued to deprive her of air.

The only word Misery could get out before the world in front of her faded to black almost drove tears to Hymn's eyes. "Sorry..." The taller reflection was laying completely lifeless on the ground, no longer drawing breath, no longer suffering from fear and harassment.

"White Mirror." Hymn had not seen the effect before, but she knew well that Misery would now be imprisoned in the mirror of her original. Even that was much better than what she had gone through here. Looking at her hands, she couldn't forget the eyes of Misery in her last moment. She knew that Hymn was ending her life to prevent her from going through any more hardship. Even for a selfish act like that... Misery seemed thankful to her.

She could have tried to bring Misery with her. Get her food by stealing from either camp. Slip her into the showers. Get her... "When did I become such a good person? This is how it should be. She'll vanish into nothingness and won't have to suffer anymore. There was no way for her to take Berry's place anyway." Shaking her head, Hymn still felt guilt and sad over what she had done. Why couldn't she have total control over her feelings?

Waiting a bit and spying for anything to happen after the quake, Hymn slipped out of the bushes but stayed well hidden, always carefully making sure that nobody could see her. Poison seemed to have gone back to sleep and Freeze still served as her slave. At least she wasn't being tortured at this time. If Misery had been someone she pitied, the same held true for Freeze. Her unnatural obsession with Poison, stemming from her original, was going to be the death of her.

The entrance was nearby and there was no guard. Blood and destruction were all over the place, none of the construction even resembling what it had been the day before. A high level fight must have taken place there.

A sudden scream from inside one of the rooms startled her. Someone was very obviously in pain. Two trails of blood led away from the hallway, one towards the tunnel, one towards Malice room. Seeing as Poison was still in the garden, it narrowed down the number of potential attackers to just Nightmare and possibly Blaze. The likelihood of the borderline crazy Nightmare attacking Malice was very high.

Slipping out of the garden and rushing towards the exit at full speed, Hymn managed to get away without anyone spotting her. In a situation like that, it wasn't surprising that nobody cared about possible escapees.

But now what? It was a high risk to surrender and go to the camp of the originals. Staying with Malice would only get her killed anyway at some point. If the originals refused any kind of deal, she could at least ask for an easy way to go... like Misery.

"Those are some shitty choices I have... And it's all the fault of that monster, Malice." Running straight down the hallway, Hymn didn't notice that there were occasionally bloody trails, in form of a hand or a foot.

=== Dissonance ===

"This is all your fault." "It was your lack of judgment that allowed this to happen." "If you hadn't been so arrogant." "You killed your father." "I only wanted to live and you..." "If only you had been a better daughter." "You... killed... me." "Cologne died for you." "He died for nothing." "Everyone died for nothing." "Why did you survive if we had to die?" "What gives you the right to enjoy your life after what you did to us?" "Look at me. Look at me. Look at me. **Look at me. Look at me. Look at me!**"

The echo of Yuri's laughter resonated inside her own head. Looking down, she stood amidst a mountain of corpses. No matter how many she killed, she never felt satisfied, never was her hunger for blood stilled, never did her fists rest. Thousands of them. Tens of thousands of them. Hundreds of thousands of them. How many had she killed? Not enough. How many more would she kill? **More.**

Her white teeth glimmered in the light of another energy orb she created in her right hand. Her fingers were numb, coated in a thick layer of dark, hardened blood. Below her feet, atop the mountain of corpses, of flesh and blood, of death, was yet another pleading Dark Cure. "Stop... stop it Yuri! I'm your sister! We're one fami-" The words stopped when the energy orb splattered the contents of the girls head all over the place. The body continued to spasms for a few seconds while Yuri kicked it to the side, turning around, looking at the next copy of her father.

"You... can't do this Yuri. I did it all for you! I wanted to protect you! I'm not evil! Please, you can't-" Sabaaku's wail reached even the bottom of the several hundred meter high corpse pile. Having grabbed his right arm, Yuri pulled it out of it's socket like it was no more than an act of playing around. Looking at the severed limb in her hand with utmost fascination, she first kicked the man over and then stepped on his throat. "Wail, wail, wail... why don't you two shut up. I don't need family. I don't need anyone. I'm the strongest Cure. I can beat anyone. I don't need any dumb fairy, father, mother, sister, ally or friends. Look around you! Hundreds of thousands of you could not beat me! Your words are empty lies before my power."

"That's not... you... Yuri. You're..." Again, she did not let the creature finish. They were no more than lambs, ready to be slaughtered, in her eyes. Less than pigs. Less than garbage. Less than any other living creature. What right did they have to even dare to talk to her?

If one of them had bothered to look into the eyes of Moonlight, they would have found them to be a prison. A prison for Tsukikage Yuri. A dark sphere, reeking of decay and death, a swamp of blood and bones, Yuri was chained to a pile of corpses. Her father, sister, mother, Momoka, cologne, Tsubomi, Erika, Itsuki and many more. They were all part of the enormous pillar of flesh she was chained to. Their hands were pulling on her hair, on her naked body, their voices penetrating the most inner part of her mind.

"You did this to us..." "You sacrificed us..." "Your pride..." "Your thirst for revenge..." "Your fear consumed you..." "This is your work..." "You killed us..." "You stand on our corpses..."

She had no voice to raise objections. No eyes to look away. No feeling to turn her body. All she could do was watch and listen. All she could do was endure.

Moonlight turned around to look for the next soon-to-be corpse when something grabbed her leg. Looking down, she was horrified to find an already slain and dismembered body hold on to her ankle. The right arm of a corpse of Dark was trying to pull on her. Kicking the arm with her other foot, she felt two more hands latch on to her from behind. Turning around, she faced two unidentifiable messes, their legs no more than bloody stumps, blood and organs gushing from enormous flesh wounds.

Trying to back off, several more arms grabbed her legs, stopping her dead. A wink of panic grabbing her heart, she only noticed now that the mountain itself was heating up, the smell increasing steadily, the whole thing coming to life. Seconds stretched to minutes as adrenaline and fear rushed through her veins. How could something like this happen? She was the strongest Cure! Nothing could beat her!

And then she saw it. Saw herself. Flying high above her, a large white wing on her back, closely resembling Dark's. "Time to pay the price for your power."

The corpses pulled her deeper and deeper into the _ground_, slowly submerging her into the warm swamp of blood, limbs, organs and death. Hundreds of hands were latched on to her, completely holding her in place. And her other self was slowly descending, until she stood on top of the pile. The second her boots connected to the mountain, every single corpse started moaning, their voices forming a chant of incomprehensible measures, shaking the air.

"Feel what those felt that stood in your way." Eyes that were no more than black spheres, a mouth that seemed to not move and yet speak directly into her mind. And she felt her body rot while she was still alive. Her flesh softened up. Maggots crawling over her skin, under her skin, into wounds. Blood was gushing up her throat, slowly choking her. But she was not allowed to die. Not until she had tasted the pain of all she had killed.

Yuri was drowning in her own mind. Forced to witness hundreds of thousands of murders, each was a single drop. A million drops formed an ocean. But that much wasn't needed to completely drown her in horrors. The corpses were clawing at her, tearing at her, their voices growing louder and louder.

Moonlight was rotting away, the pain and disgust causing her mind to be a swirl of chaos. She wouldn't have been able to move even if nothing was holding her. She couldn't puke anything but her own blood. Her tears were as dark as the night, sticking to her rotting skin.

The other Moonlight, standing atop the mountain, was rotting away too. Sharing the fate of her other self, she was slowly falling to piece. First she lost an arm... second she lost a leg... muscles turned to a red mud, falling to the ground like ground meat.

A few meters away from the two rotting Moonlight's, a blue glove erupted from among the corpses. Clawing itself into the _ground_, a shoulder followed, and finally, a head emerged, covered in blood. Coughing and shaking, yet another Moonlight appeared, slowly making her way out of the corpse mountain. Just as she finally freed herself of her prison, the other two completely rotted away, falling to pieces.

And she was back inside the dark room, chained to the corpse pillar. Escape was impossible. Enduring was impossible. Her mind screamed out in terror as the process repeated itself. As she looked down on her hands, her left hand was holding on to green hair. Her right hand was holding on to white hair. Two severed heads, one in each hand.

Walking through a bloody swamp, far away from the mountain of the slain, she carried both the heads with her. Another head was strapped to her back. Momoka's head. Their eyes were all focused on her. "It is your fault I was killed." "You struck me down." "I only wanted to be a better father." "I should have never met you." "You are the reason I had to live an existence of misery." "You killed your own father." The heads kept talking to her endlessly and she absorbed it all. Wading through the swamp towards an unknown goal, Moonlight just kept walking, carrying the severed heads with her.

=== Dissonance ===

"We asked around but..." "...nobody left our camp." Bright and Windy stood in front of Berry's mirror, together with the blue Cure herself, as well as White, Egret and Aqua.

"Why would they kill someone on their own side?" Honoka couldn't see any logical reason for in-fighting to happen on the other side. Even if it did, it made no sense to outright kill one of their own.

"It makes a lot of sense if you assume that every reflection has the polar opposite personality to their original. Everyone else from my team, Peach, Pine, Passion, they're all very friendly and especially caring people. The easiest way to say this would be that their reflections are complete monsters." Miki wasn't pleased that the name of her reflection was **Misery** of all things. It made sense if using her own explanation but she still didn't like it.

"Blaze showed up to save Nightmare. And so did Komachi's reflection. Based on their personalities, they shouldn't get along at all." Karen couldn't understand the reason either.

"I don't even know when she showed up. She was just floating in the mirror when I came back." Miki shook her head. ""She wasn't there when I woke up this morning, so it had to happen sometime shortly before breakfast and around thirty minutes ago." Deep down, she was relieved. Misery looked exactly like her, and having to fight an exact double wasn't pretty. Worse yet, if Love or the others had to fight her, it would have ended badly.

"That's most of the forenoon. At least three hours and some. That's quite a wide time frame to narrow down when she was killed. Then again, even if we know when, it's not going to help us figure out how she died."

"Doesn't it look like she is crying?" Mai had been staring at the imprisoned reflection for a while now.

Karen was the first to step closer and take another look. "It really looks that way. There are a lot of tiny drops in the.. I guess air around her. I can't see her face clearly, but it looks like she's crying."

"Does that really matter? I'd appreciate if you didn't look. She still looks like me and I prefer to not look like a crybaby." Miki didn't like others seeing her crying. It made her feel weak.

"Aurora reached out to me just before she died." Mai looked over at Michiru, who had broken the neck of the yellow reflection.

"They might be reflections of us but they want to live all the same. At least most of them do I think. But if it's at the expense of one of us dying, that's not going to happen." Michiru firmly stood by her decision to ruthlessly kill Aurora with her full power.

"I don't like saying it but if they keep killing each other, it will help us a lot. The less of them we have to fight, the better for us." Kaoru opened her palm and created a small energy orb. "We should break the mirror and see what happens." If a conscious mind shut down when she used Stormflair, she should be able to break any non-indestructible object with a similar attack.

"You can break your own mirror if you feel like it. But you're staying away from mine." There was no way she could agree to something as risky as that. For all they knew, breaking the mirror could kill them or have otherwise horrible consequences.

"Fine. I'll do that." Dispersing the energy slowly, Kaoru closed her hand. "Regardless, if you intent to rescue Dream, time is running out. None of us can be sure, but at least twelve hours have passed since Nightmare killed her. And we still don't know anything about the location of their base, numbers and capabilities."

"By now, I think it is safe to say that there are as many of them as there are of us." Honoka looked at the mirror one more time and then turned to Miki. "We're asking Hikari about her mental condition every couple hours. We'll do the same for you, just in case. We don't know if there is any effect on us originals if a reflection is in the mirror."

"Talking about her, where is Hikari?" Mai was a little worried about her stress level since people kept bringing up Aurora.

Before anyone could answer, Lemonade knocked on the door. Leaning against the door itself and hitting it with the back of her hand, her expression told them she didn't bring good news. "My reflection has shown up too. For now, she's quietly rotating inside the mirror. Not sure why but she's called Aurum. That makes three dead reflections. Are they having a contest over there on who can kill the most of their own allies?" Urara had been in her room, together with Ako, when Aurum materialized.

"Did you see her show up?" Honoka was especially curious about the process as both Hikari and Miki had not been able to witness their respective reflection show up.

"It's pretty simple. A white mist fills the mirror and by the time it dissipates, the reflection is there. Chances are good it's the same way likewise for the reflections and us originals showing up. Just a black mist. Because, you know, Black Mirror, White Mirror." Turning away from the small collective, Urara looked over her shoulder. "I'm looking for volunteers for a sweep party to get our idiot leader back. Any of you feel up for it? Given what we're up against, the more, the better."

"We're going." The two sisters spoke in unison and quickly stepped out of the room before Mai could raise any objections. They still didn't like going against her will, but if lives were at stake, that mattered little.

Nobody else spoke up. "Fair enough." Urara left the room and walked away, Bright and Windy following her. Ako was waiting just outside her own room at the lower end of the hallway. "Want me to go with you?" She was making the offer but didn't know if she could actually handle fighting others to the death.

"I want you to be here when I come back and want to cuddle." Joking about it, she still made Ako blush. The black Cure still followed Urara, knowing that there was the risk that she wouldn't come back. She already liked her enough to want to spent just a little more time with her before she left. Shoving open the door to Rin's room, Urara watched Rhythm comb Rin's shoulder length hair.

"Rin, get ready. I'm putting together a sweep party. Time to go and get that idiot of a leader back."

"Lovely description of Nozomi. When are we leaving?" Jumping up and looking at the slightly frightened Kanade, Rin sighed. "You stay here Kanade. You're not in any condition to be useful in a real fight."

About to raise an objection just for the sake of doing so, Rin picked up her pillow and threw it at Kanade's face, without saying anything. Grabbing and hugging the pillow, Kanade watched the red Cure walk off together with Lemonade.

There were several others in the dining hall. "Hey. Any volunteers ready to come with us to pay the reflections a visit and get Dream back?" Urara shouted once and immediately got the attention of everyone. Almost half a minute of silence passed and the vocalist was ready to turn around when Blossom got up, much to, judging by the designer's shocked expression, Marine's surprise. "I'm going. I've seen one of us lose family before. If I have a chance to stop that, I'll go."

Looking around, confused and not sure what to do, Erika jumped up too. "If Tsubomi goes, I'll go too." Seeing that her partner would still go even if it was Lemonade who asked, Erika could tell how serious she was about what she said.

"That should be enough. We got six people, plenty to handle a few cheap copies. We'll get going right away then." Having Marine around would help a lot. No matter who they encountered, she could copy their special move. "Marine. Get Egret and maybe White to let you copy their special moves before we go."

"Unless we run into the enemy within ten minutes, that's not going to help. I can't keep the abilities indefinitely." Marine's shrug was met by Urara clicking her tongue.

"Fine. Let's go then." The small group arrived at the guard post, manned by Peach, Passion and Beat, who were having a good time just chatting, and went right past it.

"It wasn't changed. This area looks exactly the same as when I killed Aurora." Michiru stopped for a second and looked around. The tunnel, or hallway, was about twenty meters wide and easily just as high. There was no end in sight, no matter how much she squinted her eyes.

"For now, let's just follow this path. If we're lucky, it'll lead us straight to the enemy camp." Urara and her squad set out to save Nozomi.

=== Dissonance ===

Kanade couldn't believe how much it hurt to be left behind. Even if what Rin said was true, just having to wait while not knowing if someone was coming back... was hard. Her mess up with Hibiki still sat heavy on her heart.

The conversation about it she had with Rin didn't exactly manage to get up her hopes.

"_Hearing about it like that, I understand well why she picked up. You love her more than anyone. You care about her. But you do both of these things too much. Too obsessively. Anyone would feel caged in if they're treated like that."_

"_So what am I supposed to do then!"_

"_That's what you should have asked Melody, not me. You don't get it at all Kanade. You can berate her all you want, it won't worsen your relationship if she actually knows you're doing it because you care. But the way you handled things would make anyone think you're expecting them to just see you as their whole world."_

"_If you know so much about relationships, then why don't you have-" Rin slapped her right across the face, hard enough to make her cheek turn bright red._

"_I'm going to hit you every time you act like that. I know what **not** to do in a relationship. That doesn't mean I know what you **should** do. And just so you know... I learned all of it by watching Urara."_

"_Rin... sorry... so, you never actually were in a relationship?"_

"_Who'd bother? I'm rude, a tomboy, don't have Komachi's or Karen's figure. List goes on. Urara at least has her looks and an aggressive personality going for her. I'm not the type to get by with that."_

_Kanade kept quiet for almost a minute before she looked up at Rin. "I don't think that's true."_

"_What isn't? Most of these things describe perfectly who I am. If you're just trying to be nice for the sake of being-"_

_Shaking her head slowly, Kanade took a deep breath, trying to find the right words. "I... realize I have my own problems. But I think you're creating one for yourself where there is none. Why would you need to look like Mint or Aqua? Or anyone else? I... think you're plenty attractive."_

"_I can see what Melody likes about you. You have a way to make a girls heart beat faster. Don't take this the wrong way, I'm not going to start any real relationship with you. That would never end well."_

"_Do.. you think Hibiki will ever forgive me?"_

"_The you as you're right now?" Closing her eyes, Rin shook her head. "Not a chance. I know what happened so I can tell you that something like that isn't undone or solved by being sorry. The only way you're ever going to prove to her you are really sorry for what happened is by changing. Stop being this obsessed girl that fails to see the world around herself the second her crush is involved."_

"_That's easier said than done... I miss Hibiki..."_

"_Then maybe you should have worked out something before you royally screwed it.. oh dammit, stop crying." Looking away, Rin felt horrible now. She couldn't help but think that it was her fault that Kanade was crying now._

"_But... but... what if it takes me weeks.. or months or even longer... to change? What if Hibiki doesn't care about me anymore then? What if she's completely Sunshine's partner?"_

"_You'll have to accept that possibility. This is your own fault. We carry the consequences of our actions. All of us." The awkward mood only worsened when Kanade started to cry harder. It wasn't until Rin moved over to her and hugged her. "I'm not good at this... but please stop crying. You messed up because you love her too much. It hurts to see you in pain over that."_

_Holding on to Rin, Kanade cried her heart out for almost an hour until she fell asleep from exhaustion._

It had helped her to let it all out. But people didn't change overnight. It was a really tedious process and she needed Rin to make it work. Nobody else would bother.

Realizing that she needed Rin, Kanade felt another source of fear. If Rin died on her trip to save her friend, not only would she lose Rin, but her last chance to make up with Hibiki would go up in smoke.

Hugging the pillow and falling on her sides, Kanade closed her eyes, trying to imagine the few intimate moments she had spent with her love. It hadn't lasted long, but she would never lose those memories of hers. They were among the most precious she had.

And she was thankful to Rin. For all that mattered, they were complete strangers. Rin really had no reason to help her, especially not after she used Rin to get back at Hibiki. She didn't want to remember that part. Sleeping with Rin had been entirely pointless. It was just a big childish reaction. But it weighed heavy on her psyche. Looking at Rin, talking to her and... being hugged. All of that felt like she was exploiting Rin even more.

=== Dissonance ===

"Are you okay with not going?" Komachi stopped working for a second. Leaned over a large pile of paper, a ballpoint pen in her right hand, a large can of tea to her right and Karen on the bed behind her, she really **was** worried about her partner.

"Just imagining how much you'd worry stopped me. I'm a decent fighter but not knowing you're safe would make me a liability. I couldn't focus at all." Getting up and leaving the novel she was reading on Komachi's bed, Karen hugged her love from behind. "Most of all, I didn't want to run into the risk of having to fight your reflection. I could never hurt you, even if it's just someone that looks like you."

"You're making me blush..." Not even attempting to hide her face, Komachi turned around slightly and kissed Karen on the cheek. They still were a little slow when it came to intimacy, but sleeping together, kissing and making out a little was already part of their daily life.

"Karen.. do you think I should have gone? I'm the strongest when it comes to defense after all." Looking at her script, her head leaned slightly to the side, she enjoyed how close her lover was.

"You're not the type that is able to kill people or even help doing that. I think Urara realized that, so she didn't even ask you. I wouldn't have let you go anyway. I'd be so worried I wouldn't have one quiet second. Being there with you wouldn't change that."

"When did you become so overprotective Karen?" A tiny tease, Komachi looked for the violinists gentle hand, intervening her own fingers with those of her partner.

"Maybe since you came back into my life?" Smiling and leaning her head against Komachi's, the blue Cure sighed. "Even though I was with Kurumi... I always missed you. Not quite romantically but... you had been part of my life for so long, it was sad to not have you by my side. I understand why you kept your distance... and I'm s-"

"Don't tell me you're sorry. I'd feel bad for Kurumi. You must have liked her back then and even for a long time after that. I'm with you now, but that doesn't mean I hate Kurumi. I... might have felt jealous and wanted her to be gone at times, but I never really hated her."

"I won't let you go again." Making a short but meaningful pause, Karen leaned slightly over her partners shoulder, and just as Komachi turned her head to look her in the eyes, Karen whispered to her. "Because I love you." Even before she responded, Komachi kissed Karen, unlike all the times they had before.

Even though it was a slow, soft and gentle kiss, with the two of them barely moving, they could feel a passion in it that was different from a normal kiss. A love that reached back almost a decade gave their kiss a special something.

Karen could feel just how deeply in love Komachi had been with her all this time, quietly holding in it, hoping that she would one day notice her feelings and Komachi felt just how earnestly Karen was returning those feelings now. She didn't want anything as much as to be with her.

They needed each other to be truly happy. Both Karen and Komachi understood that now. "And you still get embarrassed, kissing me." She had spent enough time with Kurumi to have plenty of experience in that area, but Komachi, not so much.

"You wait several years for your oldest friend to become your girlfriend and then kiss her without getting embarrassed about it." Turning away and pouting a little, Komachi still smiled a little.

"There must have been a lot of guys and even girls that wanted to date you. You're super nice, have a great figure and you're even a bit famous." Letting go of Komachi, laying down on the bed and burying her face in her partner's pillow, Karen waited for an answer.

"I didn't deal with people much. I focused so much on my work that I barely went out. Even if someone asked me out, I wouldn't accept."

"That's so sweet of you." Lifting her head a little and letting the quiet atmosphere do it's work, Karen liked to watch Komachi work. "Tell me about the story again..."

"Only if you promise not to fall asleep again." Not even turning around, Komachi wrote another line.

"I told you that was only because I was tired! It was right after a shower too! You know they make me sleepy!" Getting flustered over something as silly as that, Karen still never noticed when Komachi was just teasing her.

"Yes, yes. What is the last point you remember?" Giggling and feeling quite happy that Karen showed interest in her work, Komachi picked up her script and started looking through the pages.

=== Dissonance ===

Her wounds were pretty bad. She didn't expect Malice to actually be that strong. Underestimating her enemy was such a rookie error. Turning around, a trail of blood led straight back to the reflection base. There was nothing she could do about it now. As Dream's reflection she shared her strong healing capabilities so she wouldn't die, but that only applied if nobody else attacked her. Fixing her wrist had consumed a lot more energy than she expected. And she was still losing blood.

She couldn't see anything in the distance, but she could hear the sound of something crumbling, like a cave in. It was quite far away and the sound was weak, but that made pretty clear that the originals were on their way to launch an attack. Unbelievable that they had the gall to do that.

There were several openings in the tunnel all around her, leading into the intricate and complex maze that surrounded the tunnel. Even knowing all the details of the mirror system, she didn't know any more than Dream did about the shifting area to the outside of the bases.

If everything went all, whoever was traversing the tunnel would go right past her, attack the reflections and take out Malice. She could handle Rage and Agony, or possibly even control them. It was only know-it-all types like that bitch Malice that she couldn't stand. Letting someone else tear off her head and break her spine in half wasn't something she liked to even think about.

Smashing a block and crushing it in her hand to fine dust, she repeated that process to thoroughly hide the red trail she was leaving. Going deep into one of the rooms that connected to the large tunnel, she hid behind a crumbled wall, certain that they would not find her. Hiding from a bunch of maggots, that truly was the ultimate shame. She would get Malice back for it. Rage and Agony as well. And all those pesky originals.

Sitting there and listening, she could hear voices after roughly ten or fifteen minutes. It was incredibly hard to keep track of time when both wounded and under stress. The first voice she could identify was Aurum's original. That wasn't good. Knowing her personality, she'd kill her on the spot without hesitation.

The other voices belonged to Bright, Windy and Rouge. "A troop of killers... I have the worst luck." And it only got worse yet.

Listening intently, Nightmare heard their steps stop echo through the tunnel. "Lemonade, I can smell something metallic. It's really strong here. I can't see anything though." Looking around, the place wasn't well lit enough by Bright's energy sphere that they could see very far. If not for the sphere, they would be in near darkness, the stone itself only glowing very faint.

"Blood." Kaoru was the first to draw the connection. If there was a metallic smell in the air and no easily detectable source, there was blood somewhere.

Nightmare tensed up as she heard them talk. But then they got completely silent. What the reflection couldn't see was that Lemonade signaled everyone to gather together in a small circle. Lowering their voices so much that even someone who stood just five meters away couldn't have heard them, she issued new orders.

"If there is blood, there is something wounded around here. It's impossible to be one of us, which means a reflection or multiple reflections are hiding around here. The possibility that they have planned for us to notice it and look for the source exists. We would be walking right into an ambush. Even if it's just one, it could be potentially fatal if she gets to attack someone unnoticed. We're ignoring this and following the tunnel. Blossom, Marine, you two are in charge of covering our back. Windy, Bright, you two cover our flanks. Rouge and I will take care of the front."

Everyone nodded and they proceeded in a state of high alertness, aware that an attack could come from any direction at any moment. Nightmare listened for their steps to become more and more distance as the minutes passed until they could no longer be heard.

The tension leaving her body, Nightmare felt her consciousness take a break, the already very dim world in front of her turning to complete darkness, her metabolism not able to go on without taking a rest. "I'll get you.. for this..." Humiliated and angry, Nightmare lost consciousness, her body putting all it's energy toward stopping the bleeding and healing her wounds.

"This blood trail is fresh." Taking off her glove and dipping her index finger into the red liquid, Michiru made sure of just how fresh it was. "It's no longer warm. So some time has passed. There is a trail though."

"We're following it. Stay on alert, we don't know just how close we are to the enemy base." Urara imagined that this was what it must feel like to be in the army. It wasn't that far-fetched an analogy. They were two opposing parties, two bases, each side had to kill the other. The only major difference was the nature of said enemy.

The trail got thicker down the road. It was impossible to tell how much time had passed. To Tsubomi it felt like half an hour, to Rin barely like ten minutes. Stress, tension and the adrenaline flooding into their blood was destroying any sense of time they had before. They all hurried behind a large stone fragment, easily ten meters long and several meters high, when they heard a voice further down the tunnel. Tsubomi instantly recognized the voice as Erika's.

"My reflection right off the bat. I'm really cursed aren't I?" Whispering to herself, Tsubomi glared at her, as it was no time for making jokes.

"That has to be the reflection base. Blossom, any ideas to get her to come over here without noticing us? We have Windy on our side, so we can knock her out and kill her possibly without anyone noticing." Urara was completely serious about killing Marine's reflection.

"I have an idea. You're not going to like it though."

Whispering her plan to the others, Erika was absolutely against it. "Do you have a better plan then, Marine?"

"No, but this is crazy! Tsubomi shouldn't put herself in danger like that." Erika couldn't agree to a plan where Tsubomi would put herself in danger.

Bright grabbed Marine by her shoulder and pulled her closer, their eyes on the same level. "Would you prefer we rush the entrance and possibly alarm **everyone** inside? And afterwards, die because we're outnumbered? Her plan is our best bet simply because it separates your reflection from the others. We're doing this. If you're so against it, come up with a better plan next time." Michiru didn't like it when people rejected a sound plan solely based on emotions.

"If this goes wrong, I'm drowning your ass."

"Enough arguing. Take position. We'll move when you are ready Blossom." Urara hoped that this would go off without a hitch. One less reflection to worry about. Most of all, Marine had that bothersome ability and so did her reflection.

Windy and Bright had taken cover in the darkest spot behind the large stone fragment, Marine and Rouge on the other side. Urara had taken an advantageous position atop a nearby pillar, monitoring everything from above. Without Bright's ability, there was no way for anyone to spot them unless they made some sudden moves.

Taking a deep breath, she could feel her heart beat faster than ever before. It was a risky plan alright, but she had volunteered to come here. She didn't plan to get cold feet now. Backing off further into the distance, Tsubomi started running towards the enemy base as hard as she could, a grim look on her face.

Seeing Erika's reflection come in sight, the blue girl didn't attack on sight, a success. There was nobody else in sight. Everything was good to go.

"Ember? When... how did you?" Just as she assumed, Marine's reflection wasn't quick to catch on. Intelligence didn't automatically equal to being good at figuring out ploys after all. There was more to it. Trying to imagine what her reflection was like was a difficult thing but if she got it vaguely right, she could play off any inconsistencies as being influenced of stress.

"We have a problem. Someone created a passage that leads right into the back of our base. I already alerted the others." Trying to act tough and cold, which is what she imagined her reflection was like, Tsubomi couldn't help but be extremely nervous.

"The originals?" Maelstrom was in a state of complete confusion. Ember had been called by Malice a while ago and hadn't returned. Was this what she had been up to?

"I'll show you. Come." Tsubomi turned around and left, not bothering to even check of Maelstrom was following her.

The plan worked completely as intended. Reaching the large stone fragment, passing it, Tsubomi stopped right in front of a nearby junction, waiting for Erika's copy to catch up. "This is it."

"Did Malice order you to check this?" Taking a look into the dark room, Maelstrom had no chance to ever notice Bright. The plan had worked so flawlessly, they switched from using Stormflair to disable her to simply killing her outright.

Slowly moving away, Tsubomi was just out of range when Michiru jumped on the blue reflection. The eyes of Erika's copy were filled with terror when Bright closed her grasp on her throat. Marine didn't have much in the way of defense, just like Aurora. Urara chained the reflection to the ground, locking her arms, legs and even her head in place.

Unable to move, all she could see were the emotionless eyes of Bright, who tightened her grasp with full force, trying to be as quick as possible. Looking to who she thought was Ember, Blossom just stood there, her head half turned away. A single tear ran out of Maelstrom's eyes before the sound of breaking bone signalized that she was dead. "White Mirror."

"Maelstrom?" The real Ember had come back and was looking for her partner. "Where did she go?"

"Let's retreat for now. If she finds out her partner is simply gone, they're going to alert everyone else." Urara looked around. One of them was missing. "Where the heck is Marine?"

Tsubomi whirled around, barely in time to see Erika leave her cover, walking up to the reflection. "Sorry. Thought I heard something."

"Didn't I tell you to not leave the post? If Malice catches wind of this, she'll throw you in with the other garbage."

"I forgot. Sorry." Acting apologetic, Erika figured that as long as they didn't notice any change, they could continue their assault. If Tsubomi could fool Maelstrom, then she could surely fool Ember.

"It's time to switch." Erika turned around and faced both White's and Black's reflections. That wasn't going according to plan.

"Does Malice know?"

"She won't care as long as someone keeps guard. You know this." Unexpectedly, or more accurately, just as expected, Black was the one that seemed to be the composed and logical one on this side. But what should she do now? Running away would instantly blow her cover. Taking three of them on at once was impossible, even for her. The only real choice left to her... was to keep on acting.

"Fine with me. Maelstrom, let's go." Dusk and Dawn taking the guard post, the rest of the team Erika had come with watched as the blue Cure walked away with the pink reflection. That would end badly.

"We have to save her!" Tsubomi could barely sit still, much less focus on being rational.

"Are you crazy? There are at least three of them right now, and they'll make enough noise to alarm everyone else inside. There have to be over a dozen more of them inside. There is no way we can fight them outnumbered three to one." Urara didn't like this any more than Blossom, but what could they do? If only Marine hadn't gone off on her own.

"But-" Tsubomi's consciousness took a sudden dive when Bright knocked her out with a hit to her neck.

"What are you doing?" Urara was about to burst a fuse, everyone doing what they wanted.

"She was going to run off eventually. We can't risk that. We should retreat for a bit and work on a new strategy."

"That idiot just had to go and piss Malice off. She's ordered all of us to attack Nightmare on sight and kill her, regardless of how inconvenient it might be on the grand scale." Ember had not yet even a hunch that she was talking to the real Marine, not Maelstrom.

"How is Malice?" Erika tried to observe the area as much as possible without actively appearing to do so. From the looks, it was completely identical to their own base. The hallway, the twenty four doors. If there was a dining hall around the corner and a garden somewhere, it was an exact copy.

"What do you think? Pissed off to hell. We're going to stay out of sight." As Ember grabbed Marine's hand, Erika instinctively twitched, full knowing that the girl in front of her may look and sound like Tsubomi but was the complete opposite of her, an enemy that would kill her if she found out. Or at the very least, very different. "Stop being afraid of her. I didn't spent all this time keeping you from getting thrown in with the other garbage to let you mess up now."

Erika took a deep breath, trying to relax. She could attribute it to making it look like she was taking Ember's advice... it was more like an order, in reality. Following the pink reflection past the rooms, they headed towards the bathroom. Erika worried that every reflection might have a mark of some kind, to identify them from the originals. They should have checked Aurora or Maelstrom!

"What's wrong? You said you looked forward to sex in the shower earlier." Carefully taking off her costume, Ember knew that she couldn't get a new one, unlike the originals. They were creations based off their Cure form. "Don't tell me you're still worried about Malice throwing you in with the garbage."

"I... left my post even though you said I shouldn't."

"Yeah, and Malice doesn't need to know that. Forget about it. You're such a worrywart." Completely naked, Ember laid her arm around Erika's neck and forcefully kissed her. The blue Cure's mind just barely managed to stop her body from reacting in reflex and shoving her away. For now... she had no choice but to play along. No matter what happened. She could apologize to Tsubomi later. And hope she would understand.

Feeling Ember's tongue enter her mouth, Erika started to play along, moving her right hand over Ember's sides, up to her breasts. They felt exactly like Tsubomi's. That she hadn't managed to sleep with her real partner yet was only further increasing the psychological burden on her.

Thankfully, Ember broke away, showing a wide smile and suggestively licking her lips, and went into the shower cabin. "Strip already or do you want me to do it?"

Not eager to be touched by the fake any more than necessary, Erika carefully took off her outfit, wondering why Ember went through the trouble of doing it. Just turning into civilian form would have been much easier. But there had to be a reason for that. Acting unusual was an absolute taboo now.

Leaving her costume behind, Marine stepped into the shower. Turning on hot water, Tsubomi, no, Ember, grabbed Erika by her arms and pushed her against the wall. It was to be expected. If she, Marine, was the aggressive one with the real Tsubomi, the reflection would be the one to dominate Maelstrom.

Starting to lick and kiss Erika's neck, Ember grinned when she heard her partner start moaning under the pleasure. She loved Maelstrom, but in a different way from her original. For her, it was about dominating a weaker mind, taking advantage of her nice body and her devotion. Nevertheless, she liked to pleasure Maelstrom.

Even though her body responded to every touch, likely because the girl was a perfect biological copy of Tsubomi, Erika's mind was resisting. The danger of exposing the lie and getting killed kept her in check, but she still felt like she was betraying her partner's love.

Forcing the blue Cure on her knees with a firm push, Ember turned up the water and took a step forward, not leaving Erika any room to escape. Even an idiot could have realized instantly what was being expected of her. Trying to make herself believe as hard as she could, that it was Tsubomi and not Ember she was facing, Erika moved her arms up the girls legs, stuck out her tongue and started to pleasure to pink reflection in her most intimate spot.

Putting her right hand on the wet wall, Ember put her left on the back of the blue girls head, pushing her face even closer to her slick spot. "Do it quicker... this is even better than doing it in bed." Her voice was starting to become more high pitched as she got more and more excited. Erika couldn't stop herself even if she had wanted to. She longed to do this with Tsubomi so much, and now it wasn't really **her**, and she still couldn't resist. Her mind knew the difference. A body doesn't.

Erika could feel when Ember came, the reflection leaning over and slowly stepping away, pulling Erika up, laying her arms around the designers neck, kissing her, immediately sticking her tongue into Marine's mouth.

Erika's bodily sensations were all genuine. She was excited by having sex with the enemy. Mentally, she didn't want to admit it, but being led around by someone who looked and sounded just like Tsubomi was incredibly exciting.

Getting pushed against the wall, Erika felt one of Embers hands move down her sides, right between her legs. Even without the shower, she was dripping wet. Ember coming as hard as she did a minute ago from getting licked had multiplied Erika's lust tenfold.

Continuously kissing, Erika dared to make a move on her own and started to grope and massage Ember's breasts. Judging by the pressed out moaning, she enjoyed it quite a bit. Finally breaking out of the constant kissing because she desperately needed to breathe more than just through her nose, Erika was shocked by how much she was moaning herself.

Just as she was about to recover a little of her composure, Ember sunk two of her fingers even deeper between Marine's legs, and that was enough to make the blue haired girl come. Laying her arms around the pink reflections neck, Erika could barely feel her legs. Moaning and breathing hard into Embers ear, she already knew that this stunt would make her experience some extraordinary guilt later on.

"We'll continue in bed..." Her voice was much sweeter than before. Turning the shower to maximum, Ember lifted Erika's chin with her fingers, kissing her one last time.

=== Dissonance ===

"It's been an hour. Blossom should come to soon. What are we gonna do?" Rin sat in a small circle that, other than herself, consisted of Urara, the unconscious Blossom and Bright. Windy had gone to check on the entrance to the enemy base.

"It will take too long to go back and get Black and White and try that maneuver again." Michiru shook her head. "Unless Blossom's reflection comes back together with Marine, we won't be able to get in there anytime soon."

"Blossom is not going to like that." Urara was worried about Marine, but no more than she would have worried about literally anyone else. She had no lingering feelings for her.

"That doesn't matter. A frontal assault is crazy. Other than the two guards, Rose's reflection as well as those of Mint, Rhythm and Melody have shown up near the entrance frequently." Michiru rejected that notion.

"So what, are you going to say we should leave her there for the night? She'll get herself killed." Rin didn't want to have to go back and tell Kanade she left Marine behind.

"There was no disturbance yet. If she managed to keep the act up this long, she should be fine. It's not ideal, but this does have it's advantages." Michiru turned her head, seeing Windy come through a wide crack in a otherwise solid wall. They were well hidden from any reflections that would pass by for whatever reason.

"They changed the guard. Bloom's and Egret's reflection are keeping guard now. That is the worst that could have happened." Kaoru sat down and looked at the still peacefully sleeping Blossom.

"What is so bad about them? I don't remember Egret being that strong." Rin hadn't fought her yet, but she didn't get that impression from the girl.

"Her special ability is called Wings of Heaven. None of us could outrun even Bloom or even Bright's reflection while she uses that. It's a speed buff." Moving over to where Blossom was and shaking her, Kaoru needed more info. Breaking in by force would be suicide and any other method would be very time consuming.

Getting to and being confused for a few seconds, Tsubomi quickly realized what must have happened. She didn't approve of it but she could understand why they had done it. "Blossom." Kaoru clicked with her fingers twice to make sure the pink Cure had completely come to her senses. "How well does Marine act? Is she capable of pretending to be her own reflection for an extended period of time?"

"I... I believe so. Erika is really good at a lot of things. If it's really important, she'll be able to keep it up. But... I still don't want to leave her there!" As her lover and friend, Tsubomi couldn't do that.

"We might not have a choice. Bloom and Egret, their reflections, are standing guard now. Unless we find another way than the front, we can't get in." Kaoru looked back at Urara, who wasn't able to come up with a plan of her own.

"It was our luck that the earlier plan worked. If Marine's reflection had not trusted you, we would have had to retreat. And to make matters worse, it would have alarmed them all that we know the location of their base now."

"There are no animals or any other living creatures other than us Cures and the reflections. Trying to lure them away with a distraction is not going to work because of that. They'll know right away that they're under attack. In the worst case scenario, a few of us could end up ambushed and killed." Urara had gone through over a dozen plans and none seemed reliable.

"Our best course of action is to wait for Marine and your reflection to come on guard duty again. If nobody notices, she'll be able to get us a lot of information, both on their numbers, prowess as well as the interior structure." Michiru looked at Tsubomi, who still seemed completely against the idea

"Like a spy." Rin thought that to be quite a fitting analogy.

Lowering her head and not saying anything, Tsubomi finally gave up and agreed. Even if she kept being against it, they had no plan. A frontal assault was impossible and even if they were twice as many Cures, it would still cost lives.

"One of us should stay and keep track of their guard rotation." Urara looked at the two Kiryuu's, who seemed the most likely to fit the job.

"I'll do it. Erika is my partner."

"We will switch the lookout every four hours. We should avoid the large tunnel and find a way through the nearby rooms. There are so many, they should connect at least to an earlier point." Urara decided things and created a very small and thin chain. It didn't glow golden and one would need to touch it to realize it was there. "I'll mark our way with this. Whoever switches with the current lookout, use the route we'll use to go back now."

The other four nodded their head once in agreement. Kaoru quickly explained to Blossom where she would have to go to monitor the entrance without being seen. "There is a crack in the wall in the room above this one. There is a collapsed staircase in the back of this room that connects the two. Use that. I'll see you in four hours."

Catching up with the other three, Kaoru left Tsubomi behind. The pink Cure made her way to the spot Kaoru described. It was quite hard to make out details, like when they were talking, or other small movements, but she was able to recognize who kept guard.

"Wait for me... Erika."

=== Dissonance ===

"Ellen!" Setsuna jumped in front of the blue Cure, hit the ground as hard as she could and lifted up a massive stone fragment in an attempt to act as shield.

"Abbadon!" The next attack tore against the shield, rapidly destroying it. Love had taken a blow to the head. She wasn't in danger, but she was unconscious. "Is that all you originals are capable of? How boring. This is hardly worth my time. Guillotine Cut!"

Grabbing Setsuna and pulled her out of the way, both Cures landed on the hard stone ground while a massive metal blade cut their shield apart like butter. The blade cut deep into the ceiling behind them.

The three of them had suffered a surprise attack a minute ago and Love had been hit hard. But they no longer had to wait for backup. A purple flash rushed past them, just as the blade vanished. The sound of a hammer hitting metal, loud enough to make the smaller stones on the ground vibrate, echoed through the tunnel. Rose had reinforced her fist with a coat of metal, while her reflection had protected herself by using the same technique to coat her arm.

"My own original, huh? You should kneel before me, you inferior creature! Ten Blade Des-"

Not letting her reflection finish, Kurumi grabbed her copy's arm, jumped up and landed right on her shoulder, smashing the fake into the ground."Shut the hell up!" Kurumi was pissed. Even though everyone knew it was just her reflection, how dare that reflection attack people while she wore her face and used her voice!

"Spike Dome!" Jumping away not quite fast enough, several of the erupting metal spikes scratching by her legs, severely gimping her ability to move for the moment. "Now, see how infer-"

Blood and saliva finished that line, Kurumi ignoring the pain and warnings her body was sending her, jumping forward, hitting her reflection's face as hard as she could. The sound of bone breaking, she could fee at least one tooth sticking in her fingers.

"You impudent...!" Covering her face, Rose's reflection tried to stop the bleeding with little success.

"Rose, move!" Ellen wasn't going to just let the fight happen right in front of her. Kurumi simply threw herself flat on the ground and that had to be good enough. She lacked the ability to make any big jumps. "Wild Rock..." The purple reflection tried to back off from the rapidly spawning notes by jumping backwards, but Beat was too good at energy manipulation to let something like that stop her. "Rampage!" The notes all started flying forward, exploding at the smallest impact. "Setsuna!"

She didn't have to be told. Rushing to where Kurumi was on the ground, Setsuna chose to save her ally, not chase after the enemy. The dust cloud created by Ellen's attack provided excellent cover. While the red Cure was pulling back with Rose, Ellen had recovered Love, getting her out of harms way.

Others were arriving now, the first to show being Berry and Pine, who didn't even stop to ask what was going on. "Spade..." "Diamond..." Both of them took a fighting stance, creating a large energy symbol in form of their suit right in front of them. "Rain!"

Dozens of fingertip sized projectiles flew out from their symbols, both of them randomly shooting into the dust cloud. Their assault was complimented by White, who was accompanied by Black, who took position next to Berry and Pine, ready to fight whoever emerged from the tunnel. "Sixty Pillar Purge!" Focusing as much energy as she could muster into both her hands, Honoka hit the ground. Both Berry and Pine stopped their attacks when numerous light beams frizzled from from random directly thorough the tunnel.

Mint was the last to aid the defense in creating a massive five layered barrier that covered the complete entrance. The dust cloud persisted for another minute. After that, nobody was to be seen or heard. "She escaped." Honoka turned around and checked who was injured. Kurumi was slowly limping towards the back, cursing, but not seriously injured. Love was still out cold, but she couldn't find any problems. "If she feels sick or dizzy when she wakes up, and it stays, call me. She might have a concussion." She wasn't a doctor, but good friends with one due to her work.

"Has Lemonade and her team come back yet?" Honoka was taking the lead in organizing things. "Mint, Aqua, can you keep guard for now? With your barriers, there won't be any surprise attacks."

"I can handle that." As long as she didn't have to actually fight them, she was fine with just helping out by standing guard. Karen gave her a quick nod. The others exchanged a few meaningful glances and left as well, none too enthusiastic about yet another attack happening.

To her surprise, it was Muse who reported back about Urara and her team. "They haven't come back yet. I'd have heard from Urara by now."

"If they had been ambushed, the attack on this camp would have been a lot bigger and more fierce. Muse, can you check in with the others if any more reflections have shown up? I'll cover this side."

Starting to check the rooms, none of them really expected to find anything. They were a very capable group, but even so, it was unlikely they'd just start a fight out of the blue, without knowing anything about the enemy. Having checked over half of the rooms, they stopped just the group returned.

"Speak of the devil." Ako pointed towards the entrance, where a very tired looking Lemonade just walked past Aqua. Honoka noticed right away that Marine and Blossom were missing from the lineup. "You took your sweet time Urara. Did you-" Unable to talk with the yellow Cure's lips sealing her own, Ako blushed ferociously from being kissed in public, right under the noses of half a dozen others. Breaking away from the kiss, Ako tried to start complaining but the only thing she managed to get out was unintelligible stuttering.

Grabbing the black Cure's hand, Urara pulled her away, slightly swaying while walking. As Ako gave her a closer look she noticed that she was unnaturally pale and had a lot of scratches all over, even her costume torn in places. "Sleep..."

"What happened to her?" Honoka was slightly impressed but also weirded out by Lemonade.

"She created a few miles of permanent chain. We marked an alternative path to the enemy camp to avoid getting ambushed or seen. Right now, they don't know we're aware of their position. What happened here, by the way? The area just outside is completely destroyed." Rin looked around but couldn't spot Kanade. It surprised her that she cared enough to look for her when she just got back.

"Rose's reflection attacked. We drove her off, but Peach was knocked out, without any real damage, and Rose got her legs cut a bit. What about you? That you found the enemy camp can't be all. Where are Marine and Blossom?"

"Blossom is doing the first shift as lookout. That's why we marked the alternative route. Marine... well, that's a longer story." Looking to Michiru, who still seemed to be perfectly fine and not in a hurry to go anywhere, Rin nodded to her. "Bright and Windy are gonna explain it. I'm going to my room."

Rin witnessed Urara pull Muse into her room. But even given that kiss, there was no way Urara could get together the energy to seduce anyone, much less actually have sex. Opening her own door, Rin found Kanade sound asleep on the bed, hugging her pillow like it was a treasure.

"Hey. Wake up. Give back my pillow." Talking to Kanade didn't do anything so Rin proceeded to shake her. But that didn't bore any more fruit than talking. Trying to scare her a little, the soccer player leaned down, poking her cheek. The girl was still fast asleep. On a closer look, she was kinda cute when she kept her mouth shut.

Not like she was going to fall for her. There were over two years between them, and more issues than either of them could count. Not to mention, she had already slept with her once. It hadn't been great and while she wouldn't mind doing it again, she feared the strings that came attached with that. Getting friendly with Kanade and then sleeping with her again would inevitably make the girl think that she was in love.

Letting her sleep, Rin went out of her room and knocked on Urara's door, getting no answer. Muse had to be still awake. Eavesdropping, she couldn't hear anything. So at least they weren't having sex. Opening the door and taking a look, Rin found her old friend fast asleep in her bed, while Muse sat next to her, reading a novel. "Did you need something from Urara?" She didn't look disturbed in the least that Urara's naked legs and shoulder were shoving from under the blanket.

"No. Just wanted to tell her good job, despite everything that went wrong." Backing off, Rin shook her head. Just how used was that woman to Urara's antics? Stretching just outside Urara's room, she did feel a little jealous. Going to sleep with a beautiful girl watching over you had to be pretty nice.

Walking over to the bathroom, Rin sighed. Maybe she should just go with the flow and stop thinking so much about whether this or that was going to have consequences. "Kanade is pretty cute... not Muse's level, though. Dammit, she's hoarding up the pretty girls."

=== Dissonance ===

Even though the earlier attack by Azalea, so the name of Rose's reflection it turned out, had disturbed the atmosphere and mood of the team, everyone had mostly recovered. The garden had become a crowded place, likely due to the calming effect it had. It was easy to forget about all worries in there.

"I heard Michiru and Kaoru saw our reflections. They didn't interact with them, though." Mai was sitting on one of the many wooden benches, lined along the length of the right path. Holding a block with paper in her hand, resting it on her legs, she was drawing part of the scenery. It was particularly tranquil in the garden around this time.

The brightness from the emulated sky gave them a good idea of what time it was. It had to be near dusk now, as the light became more reddish and orange. Saki was keeping her partner company, doing a bit of training on her own. Sit-ups, push-ups and the likes. She had trained very long and hard for her athletic body and figure, so she didn't want to lose it.

"I heard Marine and Blossom went with them but didn't come back. They're telling everyone that those two are fine and I believe them, but what could stop them from coming back?" Taking a short break, Saki grabbed a small metal can she had taken from the kitchen and filled with water before going to the garden.

"They could be monitoring the reflections and their activities for one. The way others talk about them, I believe they're a couple, so it's not that unusual for both of them to stay behind." It had been a while since she worked with just a pencil.

"I still think it's odd... hm, maybe I should run a bit. I think I'm not getting enough exercise for my legs." Saki was, by all accounts, much more athletic than even Nagisa or Itsuki, who both regularly did martial arts training. She could have substituted for someone that participated in the Olympics.

"Not training with Nagisa today?" Mai asked completely casually not intending to rekindle their earlier teasing battle.

"We agreed to train later tonight." The answer came so quickly and without thought that Mai broke the tip of her pencil on the paper.

"Ah, Is that so?" Looking back to her lover, Mai tried to get that wild image of Nagisa and Saki kissing out of her head. That was exactly what they were aiming for. She had to keep her cool now. If Saki wanted to play games, so could she! "I was worried about leaving you all alone tonight. Honoka asked me if I could draw a portrait of her. I hope you don't mind."

"Why should I... are you going to draw her nude?" Saki realized quickly that Mai was teasing her again. She wasn't quite as gullible as Nagisa after all.

"Is that a problem? You know what she looks like nude anyway, so there's no harm in that, right?" Mai was lying out her teeth and not quite sure how exactly things ended up like that. She couldn't just say the whole thing was canceled after this. Her dignity was on the line!

"No, I don't mind. At least I won't have to worry about you going without company tonight then." Saki couldn't believe what she was saying.

"**I see. Well, enjoy your training.**" Getting up and turning around, Mai had something that could only be described as ferocious smile on her face. Walking off, the uppermost page of her drawing block had several large and uncouth black lines going from one end to another.

Leaving Saki behind, Mai stomped right past Nagisa, who had separated from Honoka to do some running of her own. Finding a sweating, and that definitely not from exercise, Saki near the bench and judging by the deadly glare Mai had thrown her, even Nagisa could put together what had happened.

After getting the full story, Nagisa felt a little worried. "Could you not make up stuff like that without asking me beforehand? Honoka is gonna be really angry..."

"Say... don't you think they'd look kind of hot together?" Saki was just letting her fantasy run a bit wild.

"Saki!" Nagisa shouted, not knowing what else to do.

Nagisa could be heard all the way over to the other side of the garden, were Itsuki and Hibiki were having a friendly sparing. And for the fifth time in a row, Hibiki lost. Landing face up in the lush grass, the shadows of the trees providing the perfect place to get a little hot and sweaty, Hibiki couldn't even get a single word out, both out of frustration and due to lack of breath.

Sitting down next to her new lover, Itsuki looked at her face and smiled. "You're always rushing ahead too much. And you almost had me this time, too. But you're too easy to read Hibiki."

Punching Itsuki's arm really gently, Hibiki rolled over and groaned, her entire body a world of hurt. Not the really bad kind but she would definitely be sore all over the place tomorrow. Her hair, soaked with sweat, stuck to her back. Even though they were both in cure form, she still couldn't beat Itsuki. She had more raw power, too! It was really annoying.

Feeling some fresh air suddenly hit her back, Hibiki almost rolled over again, but was stopped by Itsuki, putting her free hand against Hibiki's shoulder. Lifting her long pink hair up and moving it away from her back, Hibiki blushed a little. It was little things like this that made Itsuki such a great partner.

"I'm never gonna beat you." Hibiki groaned again and exhaled deeply. She was pretty beat. Itsuki had started to use a small branch with some leaves on it as a miniature fan and help her cool down. She was sweating pretty hard.

"You have the strength but you lack technique. And a bit of a longer temper." Itsuki leaned over the heavy breathing girl and kissed her cheek, pulling a face. "You need to shower. You should probably save your legs, too. I'm sure I felt something prick my legs last night."

"Didn't ask you to kiss me when I'm sweating rivers... and hey! You're not any better! And it's not just the legs for you!" Hibiki tried to get up, but the yellow Cure quickly pushed her back down.

"What, did you think I would let you shower alone?" A seductive smile played across her lips and she leaned down for a second kiss. Meeting Hibiki's lips, both of them pulled a grimace this time. "Shower first... making out second."

"Sex third?" Trying to look all innocent, it failed spectacularly.

"We'll see if you can manage that much, miss _I'm so beat I will just lie here_." That was enough to finally get Hibiki to get up and even push Itsuki away. "Oh, it's a miracle! She moves yet!"

"Shut up." Starting to laugh at how silly Itsuki was acting, Hibiki stood up and pulled Itsuki up as well. "Uh... I smell. I think I don't have any shampoo left. Shoot. I don't want to go back to my room like this."

"I'll share mine with you." Taking the lead, both of them walked rather slowly. "I think **I'm** gonna be sore tomorrow too..."

"Serves you right." Continuing their little banter all the way to the entrance, the two of them were happily laughing when they left.

=== Dissonance ===

With Kurumi still out of commission, Urara impossible to wake, Erika missing and Kaoru on lookout, the dinner party was quite the show this time. Inori, Miki, Hikari and Setsuna had come together to make some healthy and refreshing food, according to Berry that was, for everyone.

A lot of grilled fish, cabbage, tomato and potato salad, some oils for dressing and fresh bread made quite the exceptional dinner. Everyone seemed quite pleased, except a few well known gluttons.

Love had recovered in time and much to the relief of Setsuna and Ellen, she didn't have any issues. She did almost choke both of the aforementioned to death by hugging them too much, but that was hardly unnatural for her.

The only event worthy of notice was that Honoka and Mai sat, together, at one table while Saki and Nagisa sat together at the other, both parties not even looking at each other.

Similarly, they left the room in that exact combination as well. Michiru asked both of her friends about it, but neither would give her an answer. The logical conclusion was that they were fighting over some nonsense. They rarely argued but it wasn't like they never got into fights. Most of the time it was about food or Saki's lack of presence at their shared home. It didn't worry her too much. They loved each other so much, nothing in the world could truly separate them.

The garden was quite lively after dinner. Instead of retreating to their rooms, almost everyone sought some peace among the plants. Due to the sheer numbers, peace was still an option whereas quiet was quite impossible. Ellen was playing some music on her guitar near the flower hill, Karen and Komachi were brainstorming ideas for Komachi's novel together with Inori and Miki. Rin successfully managed to drag Kanade out of her room and had her listen to some of Ellen's music. Sitting in the grass near the hill, a little offside from the others, Rin was leaned against a large and thick tree, with Kanade leaned against her side.

"Feel better? You looked pretty depressed all the way through dinner."

"It's nice to hear Ellen play. I always liked her music, even though her first impression was horrible back then." Kanade looked up and into the tree, letting out a heavy sigh. While she was fine when with Rin, as soon as she talked to someone else, her faults came through right away. Arguing and nagging just for the sake of doing so, in a way, she was even worse than before.

"You should have woken me up when you came back. I was really worried." Kanade pouted a little, expecting Rin to have enough common sense to realize that she wasn't a stranger to her.

"I tried everything short of kissing you, throwing you off the bed or right up molesting. Next time I won't be so nice then."

"I... guess I can do without the throwing off and the molesting."

It didn't escape Rin that Kanade didn't rule out all three. "What, you're fine with kissing me? Now, look, I think I need to make this clear before you get the wrong idea. I'm not a replacement for Melody. No matter how lonely or depressed you are, I'm not going to be just some rebound so you feel better."

"I can't be okay with it just because you're nice to me?"

"Sheesh, you're really making this hard for me. I want to say yes, but I have the feeling it's going to come back and haunt me. And most of all, you shouldn't let someone kiss you just because they're nice to you when you're feeling vulnerable."

"You say a lot of how you don't want me to be interested in you... but you don't mind sleeping next to me or having me lean against you like this."

"Because I know it's doing you **some** good. You're lonely, I'm lonely. I don't like telling people that, so you better keep that to yourself. We're just using each other. That's all."

"I don't believe you. If I kissed you now, it wouldn't be as cold as it was when I slept with you to get back at Hibiki."

"No comment. You can try if you want. I'm not responsible if you disappoint yourself with unnatural expectations."

Getting up, kneeling next to the red Cure and kissing her swiftly, Rin tried her best to not react in any way. A few seconds later, despite her best efforts, she couldn't hide that her cheeks had gained some slight color. Putting on a tough face, Rin smiled. "See? Same as before."

"Yes, I see." Kanade was smiling herself, sat back down and leaned against the older girl. She was right.

=== Dissonance ===

As it got darker, more and more Cures went back to their room. In the end, it was only Tsubomi who remained in the garden, knowing full well that she wouldn't be able to sleep without Erika being by her side.

Other couples had similar issues. Honoka was laying on her bed and reading a novel. Or more accurately, pretending to read a novel. She wasn't making any progress. Not for the full last hour. Maybe it was due to the fact that for some reason or another, Mai had actually ended up spending the night in her room. "Don't you think we've taken this far enough? I know Nagisa is the type to have a little fun with this, but they'd never actually do anything. They know we're the same."

"I wish I knew why I got so fired up and said all that stuff. Maybe it's being in this place. It's making me a little crazy." Mai buried her face in the pillow she had brought over. She was still in cure form, although she had taken off boots and gloves.

Honoka though, was in civilian form and subsequently naked, no longer remembering where exactly she had left her clothes. They were likely so smelly and dirty that she wouldn't have worn them anyway, but she wasn't that comfortable being naked with Mai so close to her. They had agreed that she would keep her eyes focused somewhere else.

"I had a few fights and arguments with Nagisa before, but this is kind of ridiculous. All four of us know that we're all taking this a little too far."

"That's just it. I don't want to give in and admit I can't yet one-up her." Sighing, Mai couldn't help herself but ask. "If you had the chance, and there would be no repercussions from me or Nagisa, would you sleep with Saki again?"

Honoka hesitated a few seconds, a few unpleasant memories showing up because of what Mai said, before she answered. "No. I love Nagisa. No matter how similar they may look or act, it's not the same, not by a long stretch."

"What about me?"

"Why do you keep-" Honoka quickly covered herself with a blanket when Mai suddenly looked at her. "Mai!"

"I blame Saki for this but ever since they pretended to be okay with us making out, I can't help but be curious what it would be like."

"You're not expecting me to just say **yes, of course, let's try**, do you?"

"Of course not. Your face is quite flushed though." Mai turned back into her civilian form, just before she got up and grabbed Honoka by her right arm. Just as she moved in closer, the door opened and Saki stepped in.

Trying to keep her composure at the obviously extremely explosive situation, Saki, walked over to the small night table Honoka had and slammed down Mai's drawing block. "_You forgot this_." The girl was obviously pissed off.

Walking away and slamming the door shut behind her, Saki couldn't believe that Mai would go that far to put one over her.

"Mai, look what you did! Go after her and-" Instead of reacting properly, Mai moved in the last few centimeters and kissed the blue haired girl. Honoka's reaction was delayed by only a second, shoving the girl away. "I could taste the alcohol from just that! How much did you drink?"

Jumping on Honoka, Mai tried to continue where she had left off. Turning into White and overwhelming Mai easily, Honoka jumped up and left her room, first checking Nagisa's room, which was empty, and then Saki's, where she found both of them. To her surprise, they were not in any kind of compromising situation but doing exactly what Saki had said they would be doing. Training.

"Honoka. Are you okay? You look pale." Getting up, walking over to her partner and feeling her forehead, Nagisa was promptly ignored.

"Mai's drunk. I don't know when or how much she drank, but she's definitely drunk. And I want all four of us to stop acting like stubborn teenagers, this instant. Fun's over.

But Honoka underestimated just how stubborn those two could be. They were so close to finally getting their partners back for all the teasing until now, they couldn't back off. Even if it did get a little weird. "I don't mind. If it were anyone else, I'd drag her right out of the room, but I guess as long as it's just you, I know Mai is just doing it for fun, not because she's no longer interested in me." Saki felt a little sick saying those things.

"Nagisa, are you gonna continue acting like a teenager as well?" Honoka's glare could have pierced steel. Backing away a step, looking to Saki and meeting her glare as well, she decided to not say anything. No matter what, answering would trigger a landmine. "**Fine.**"

Shaking her head and walking off, Honoka returned to her room to find Mai sound asleep in her bed. Shoving her to the side, turning back into civilian form, Honoka went straight to bed, unwilling to deal with this circus. She'd get them to drop the stupid act tomorrow. She was too tired and annoyed to deal with it now.

"Saki... I think this went a little too far. Honoka was **really** angry. I don't want to have a real fight with her just because we want to get back at them a bit."

"They... looked kinda sexy together."

"Saki! Don't tell me..." Kneeling down and sniffing the girls breath, Nagisa sighed hard. "Great. **Both** of them are drunk."

=== Dissonance ===

Hymn was thirsty and hungry, not having eaten ever since she emerged from her mirror. She wanted a shower, sleep in a bed and eat a decent meal. Things that were natural to have over in the originals camp. Watching the current guard, she had witnessed the fight between Azalea and the originals a while ago.

Berry and Pine stood guard and they were highly unlikely to even give her a chance to talk. If only that stupid bitch Azalea hadn't shown up! She should have approached the trio right away, even if her own original was there. In the worst case... she could have asked for a quick demise.

But once one had escaped death, it was a lot harder to give up again. Her stomach growling again, she really wished she could just go back to her own side and try to steal some food from the kitchen. But the guards on that side would attack her as well. In a way, she was a complete outsider, not belonging to either faction now.

Leaning against a wall and closing her eyes, she tried to ignore her hunger and thirst, hoping that Peach and Passion would take guard duty again soon. Hopefully before she died of thirst. That was a very real horror for her now. Before that happened, she would surrender herself and just let herself be killed by one of them. Being imprisoned in the mirror and vanishing couldn't be any worse than slowly starving to death.

And she wasn't the only one. Deep in the labyrinth, walking around in total darkness, stumbling and cursing, Nightmare had mostly recovered but couldn't risk being found. Malice and likely most of the other reflections were going to kill her. The originals, all of them, would attack and kill her on sight. She had to single them out, lure one of them away at a time... yes.. that's what she had to do. It was only about one more day until Dream was finally gone and she didn't have to worry about that crappy mirror system anymore.

The situation back in the reflection camp wasn't exactly rosy either. Finding out that both Misery and Hymn were gone was enough to send Malice into a fit of rage. The garden was mostly devastated and still served as prison for the few that were labeled as liability and garbage.

Rage was laying next to her in bed, naked and worn out, Malice being quite demanding. Biting her nails, she wouldn't let Nightmare or any of the others get away with making a fool out of her. That was not how she had planned things to go. And she wouldn't let things end like that.

Agony was unconsciously laying in the garden, picking on the wrong people. Trying to have a little fun with Umbra and Breeze, they had almost killed her. While they were very carefree usually, provoked, they could be rage incarnate.

Poison had retreated to her room and spent the evening tormenting Freeze. The blue reflection had several small wounds all over the place but was peacefully asleep on the cold ground, right below her mistress's bed. "Now, how do I get Malice and Nightmare to take each other out? Oh I know... yes, that would be fun. Truly exceptional fun."

There was no sign of Dusk, Dawn, Blaze or Flare whatsoever. They had retreated deep into the labyrinth behind the base, beyond the reaches of Malice and Poison. Wither and Vulture were back in their room, both trying to dominate the other one in bed.

Erika's stamina had run out long before Ember's. The blue Cure was sound asleep next to the pink reflection, unable to leave her new prison. Even now, Ember still didn't realize that it was Marine and not Maelstrom she had spent the last few hours with.

Maybe it was due to her exhaustion or plain luck, but that night, Erika didn't speak a single word in her sleep.

=== Dissonance ===

A large, white wooden door right in front of her. The door to the house she had lived in since she had been a little girl. She was finally home. Grabbing the handle and opening the door, she went inside. The first sight was disturbing. Furniture was buried under a layer of dust, other pieces slowly rotting away from age. The house had been deserted for ages.

Looking around, she could find no sign of anyone living there. Going up to her room, her breathing stopped. The walls were smeared with blood, big red letters all over the place. **Father. Mother. Cologne. Momoka. **The same words over and over. The bed was cut with a knife, the ground was covered in a crust of blood.

Looking up, right on the ceiling, there was only one actual, real sentence. "**I'll see you soon.**"

Running outside, she needed to get away from there. Tripping over something, she fell, hearing the voices of several women all around her.

"Did you hear? They want to tear the old Tsukikage house down now."

"I've heard a rumor about why nobody ever wants to buy it. Can you keep it to yourself? I don't want the rumor to spread."

"Of course. Do tell, do tell."

"Apparently, twenty or so years ago, a small family lived here. A couple, a small girl. The man just vanished one day, leaving behind his wife and daughter. Now, there are rumors the girl wasn't quite right in the head. Kept babbling about saving her father and something about deserts. And this is where it gets scary. When the daughter was seventeen, one day, she came back home with a large white bag in her hand, an empty and dull expression on her face. Their former neighbors said they saw what was in the bag,"

"Don't tell me..."

"Yes. The head of a man with gray hair! They say the girl walked into the kitchen, put the bag on the table and she said..."

"I've found dad." Yuri's own voice whispered in her ear. "I found dad and I brought him back."

Trying to get up, Yuri was stuck in sand. Desperately clawing into the sand, she only sunk deeper and deeper until the sand started to ran into her mouth and nose. And she could still see. Below the sand. Everything as clear as the sky.

She was looking right at the skeleton of another girl, a large skeletal wing attached to her back. "You stole my life." The voice boomed in her head. "You stole my father." "You stole my mother." "You took everything away."

She kept falling, the wind so sharp that it cut into her face. Looking below her, there was the house. The house she wanted to escape from. The house in which she had killed her family, her lover and finally herself, unable to bear the pain. Around it was sand. Only sand. For thousands and tens of thousands of meters, only sand.

She could see herself kneel in her room, crying and laughing, her hands shaking and somehow still managing to hold a large kitchen knife. A lot of blue hair was sticking to the knife, along with blood. Stepping closer, she couldn't run. No matter what she wanted, she took another step. Yuri saw herself kneeling over Momoka, who she had just killed. "You'll be safe... you'll be safe. I'll see you soon."

Standing up and walking downstairs, she slid her hand over the wall, leaving a thick, red trail. Her face completely distorted in insanity, Yuri stepped into the kitchen. Her mother was pinned to the wall with several large knives, an expression of surprise and disappointment on her face.

"Mom... I saved Momoka... now it's only me. Only I need to be saved now... I'll save myself now." Giggling while she continued to shed tears, Yuri pulled the largest knife right out of her mother's stomach. A small stream of blood started running from the hole, the body not bled out completely yet.

Putting the knife to her temple, Yuri's whole body was shaking. "Momoka... dad... mom... cologne... ha... ha ha... you didn't win Dune. I was stronger. I saved them all. I'm still the strongest Cure." Ramming the knife deep into her temple, her legs gave in and she fell to the ground, her arms and legs twitching wildly.

Blood running from her mouth, nose and eyes, Yuri spit out one last message before everything went dark."**I'll see you soon**."

=== End of Event XVIII ===


	19. Mirrors – Tria

**Dissonance**

_Event XIX_

**Mirrors-Tria**

"Any sign of reflections?" Honoka, unable to sleep in her own room due to a drunken Mai being passed out there, had spent a little time in the garden to cool her temper. Nagisa at least should have taken her side!

A good two hours should have passed since Mai made a move on her, and she felt comfortable dealing with it now. Her mind calm, it didn't take much to realize that this was just an argument that had gotten a little out of hand. Not something they couldn't fix by talking for a bit.

The guards at the time were Rhythm and Berry. Both had volunteered. Turning around to face the other white Cure, Kanade quickly reported. "It's been really quiet. Not a sign of anyone."

"Good to hear. Don't fall asleep." Smiling and turning around, Honoka thought she smelled something weird. She couldn't quite put a name to the smell, but it reminded her of work. Like a mixture of chemicals had gone wrong. The smell vanished as quickly as it had come. Slowly looking over her shoulder, she figured that one of the guards had to be the source of it. Healthy food wasn't really everyone's thing.

"I'm going to the bathroom. Be right back." Kanade stood up and walked down the hallway. It wasn't the food that was making problems, but stress. Getting a little too close to Rin, she realized quickly that she was just looking for someone else that would stay with her in case Hibiki would turn her down if she ever asked her out again. Nothing more than... second choice. Feeling horrible and brooding all night over it, she had volunteered for guard duty to get away from the red Cure for a while. And all that brooding had upset her stomach.

Left behind alone, Miki felt a lot more tired than usual. Being worried sick about Yuri was surely part of the reason why she was mentally worn out, but starting a fight with Marine and acting like a child didn't make it any better. In front of everyone too boot. That wasn't perfect at all.

Leaning against the wall, Miki sighed. She couldn't go back on what she said easily, but fighting with Erika was not going to impress Yuri or make things any easier for her. Not to mention that the situation was all but fitting for a fight like that. And the biggest problem was that Marine was nowhere to be found.

A sudden gust of wind alerted Miki to maximum caution. Focusing energy into her fists and legs, she was ready to pummel anything that came closer. But there was nothing. No noise, no sign of any impact, no enemy. Having been absorbed in her thoughts too much, she couldn't tell where the wind had come from. There were three possibilities. From the tunnel, the garden or the hallway.

Looking into the tunnel, it was still pitch black. No sign of any movement. Looking towards the garden, there was nothing there either. "What's wrong?" Kanade had just returned from the bathroom.

"There was a sudden gust of wind for a moment... did you see anything unusual in the hallway?" If there was even the smallest oddity, they had to alert everyone and search.

But Kanade's answer was negative. "I couldn't feel any wind in the hallway. There was nobody there but me. Should we wake the others?"

"No. If you haven't noticed anything, it must have been from the garden. I'll talk to Blossom about it tomorrow." Still cautious, Miki returned to guard duty with Kanade. She hoped nothing odd would happen.

=== Dissonance ===

Honoka had problems keeping Mai in place. The sleep drunk continued to flail around, making it difficult to even carry her. Finally fed up with being gentle, Honoka simply grabbed her by her arm and pulled her away, the passed out Cure dragged over the ground like a heavy sack.

Opening the door to Mai's room, she smelt something vaguely similar. Saki. It woke some uncomfortable memories of her night with the athlete. Mai and her probably spent quite a few nights in this room. **Wild** nights, it smelled like.

Dragging her into the room and heaving her on the bed, Honoka was friend enough to cover her with a blanket. Looking at the purple haired girl, another sigh escaped her lips. This place really was getting to people. Stress was building up and being released like this. Shaking her head slightly, Honoka froze.

A sharp, piercing pain. Her vision going red. She had experienced something like this before. Where? Why couldn't she remember? And why couldn't she move. Something covered her mouth. It was warm and quite wet. She could feel the texture of skin. A hand. Trying to get a grip on the situation, Honoka tried to breathe in. Nothing happened. Trying to open her mouth, she felt blood drip from her lips.

Finally able to move her head enough to look down, a thin but still solid, blue blade was coming right out of her throat, together with a thick stream of blood. A hand covered in thick armor was stopping her from speaking. The room turned to pitch black when the blade was slowly removed from her throat, going all the way back, pulling out of her neck. The pain was overwhelming.

A second sting. This time, in her chest. It was a clean hit on her heart, she could feel it. There was little mystery about what was happening at this point. Staring down at the sleeping Mai, Honoka prayed that she would wake up in time.

"Goodbye, Trash." Mai's voice whispered into her ear just before her mind turned into a complete blank, her body lost all control and fell to the ground. A white boot was placed on her head, the lifeless eyes staring at no one in particular. "Black Mirror."

Freeze had to kneel down, her energy reserve completely used up. That move wasn't intended to cover up three people. But it was her mistress orders. She couldn't disobey Poison. She didn't want to either. A reward would be waiting for her. A gift from her believed mistress. Just thinking about it made her become impatient with lust.

"Don't be a wimp." Turning around to the blue reflection, Vulture glared at her. The days of them working for Malice had never been a reality. Poison was the strongest among them by far, her power absolutely deadly without a moral limiter to stop her from using it on people.

"Stop chatting Vulture and get going. We don't have time." Wither was exerting some pressure Poison had provided a sure-fire plan that would let them replace their originals. If they blew it, it would end with their death.

Freeze cast a spell and vanished from sight, opening the door, leaving, closing the door and vanishing into the far reaches of the complex without a trace. Wither and Vulture knew well that they were on their own from there. "Don't rush me. I'll kill her right now."

Staring and stepping aside, Wither let the white reflection do whatever she wanted. Watching her as she created a mass of energy in her right hand, a murderous grin on her face, she was again disgusted to have been stuck with someone like that as her partner. Where Egret was kind and gentle, Vulture was rough, impatient and obnoxious.

"I wish I could keep the head as trophy." Vulture grinned and lifted her hand, not noticing the sinister smile of her partner behind her.

=== Dissonance ===

Erika woke up in the middle of the night, not knowing what time it was or what was happening on the other side. Ember was laying next to her, naked and fast asleep. The thought raced through her head. **Kill her.** But that was something she wouldn't even try. Not because Ember had spent the last few hours driving her from one orgasm to another but because she absolutely couldn't lay a hand on someone that looked just like Tsubomi.

And that was another problem. Deep down in her mind, barriers that shouldn't be broken were falling apart. In the heat of their act, Erika had started multiple times to think of her as Tsubomi, not a reflection. The same look and voice were really starting to put too much stress on her psyche. Even now, when she looked at the peacefully sleeping pink haired girl, there were split seconds where her mind failed to register that she was looking at a copy.

Getting up as slowly as she could and jumping out of bed, Erika didn't dare to turn back into civilian form. Picking up just the absolute necessities of her costume, skirt and top, she snuck to the door, opened it and went outside. Her heart was beating so hard, she feared that someone might hear it and question her. Maelstrom was back in her mirror on the other side, but they must have had a way to identify which one the real one was.

Passing a few rooms, a lot of the doors were half open or completely open, with nobody inside. She had heard Ember mentioned _Garbage_ several times. If she was already doing the spy act, she had to get valuable intelligence at the very least. Their numbers, their defenses, their weaknesses, and everything they knew.

Walking past one particular room, Erika froze. She could see someone inside a mirror. A pink Cure. "Dream..." Quickly covering her own mouth, Erika slowly turned around and pretended to be lost in thought, faking a slow witted and sleepy expression.

There was nobody watching her. "Do they really look like us?" Talking to herself in a voice just loud enough to let anyone nearby hear her in case someone was hiding while observing, Erika took a few steps forward and stopped. The act had to be perfect. "Maybe I shouldn't... Nightmare will be mad. Ember too."

Turning around and staring at the ground, Erika turned once more, her eyes fixated on the mirror. The Cure inside looked completely normal if unconscious. Was there a way to get her out? Even so, would she be able to get her past the guards? What had Ember said? Malice ordered everyone to attack Nightmare on sight... so they would attack Dream even if she pretended to be her reflection.

Was there another way out of the base, just like Tsubomi first pretended? Stepping inside and closing the door, Erika tried to calm down. Walking around half naked in the enemy base wasn't something she counted among her favorite activities.

Stepping close to the large mirror in the back, she could read two names. At the top, Dream, mirrored, and at the bottom, Nightmare, written normally. One thing struck her as odd almost immediately. Even though it was incredibly dark inside the room, she could still see Dream fine. The inside of the mirror itself seemed to be slightly light, but there was no visible light source.

Putting her hand on the surface, Marine almost instantly pulled away. The tips of her fingers had sunk right through the glass, into a cold void. Small signs of frostbite on her fingertips made clear that it wasn't just an illusion of sensations.

Getting as closer as she could without touching the mirror, she just had to do it now. From what she had heard, Dream had been killed quite violently, so she couldn't risk her making a fuss. Preparing herself, Erika breathed in and out slowly, trying to become as calm as possible. Lunging her arms into the mirror, right through the surface, she managed to grab Dream by both her wrist and her upper arm, pulling her back out. The pink Cure opened her eyes the instant she left the mirror, and just as quickly, Marine covered her mouth. "Not a sound Dream. They will hear you."

Nozomi was shivering for a few seconds before the full effect of the pain she had felt just before her death kicked in. Her pupils rolling up, her body convulsing, the would be teacher dropped to the ground, unable to make a sound even if she had wanted to. She didn't feel any pain at the time, but her body remembered the feeling of having horrendous pain inflicted on it technically just seconds ago. A weird state of where she should feel the pain but as there was no wound, all that remained was her body thinking there was one.

Erika grabbed the Cure by her shoulders and shook her harshly a few times, trying to get to to stop freaking out. Not knowing what was wrong with her, the designer wasn't in top condition either. There was frost on her arms from reaching into the mirror and she felt cold. On the other hand, Dream was quite warm, not showing any sign of having been in the void at all.

Seeing no visible sign of change, Erika decided to apply shock treatment. Grabbing Dream and covering both her mouth and nose, she prevented her from breathing. It only took about ten seconds until her body reacted with panic. Gasping for air, Nozomi cowered on the ground, pulling up her chest piece and checking for any injuries. Her face was like that of a ghost.

Grabbing Nozomi by her shoulder, Erika put her hand over Dream's mouth yet again, making absolutely sure she would not scream or yell."Be quiet. I'll explain things to you." Waiting until Nozomi had calmed down just a little and given an understanding nod, Erika started explaining.

=== Dissonance ===

She had to tell her eventually. The alternative pretty much guaranteed that she was going to be rejected harshly. Someone else telling Urara she had been lying to her for this long would be enough to torpedo any chance of working out a solution. But even knowing that, she couldn't get herself to do it.

Her eyes only half open, Ako was lying right next Urara. Watching her sleeping face, she recalled just how many times someone had almost revealed her dirty little secret now. She couldn't count it on one hand anymore. It was just a matter of time until someone screwed up or deliberately told her.

She was inexperienced and unsure of how to act, but the pain in her chest when she thought about Urara hating her for lying and being still a kid was easy to understand. She was horribly afraid of no longer being able to be with her. If that meant anything, then that any doubts she had about being with Urara were based on the fact that she was still pretending to be someone else, still lying.

The realization hadn't come with any kind of great impact or shock. Maybe because she already knew, deep down, somewhere in her heart and mind. Urara was, out of everyone there, one of the few that had even a remote chance of treating her like an adult, even if she learned the truth. And narrowing it further down, she was likely the only one that would ever consider a romantic relationship with her.

And she wanted that. All the time she spent with the yellow Cure, she felt happy, even if at times she was annoyed by her antics. People aren't made entirely of likable traits after all. The realization of what she wanted had been the last big fragment in a puzzle she wasn't able to complete.

Seeing her go off and be in real, life-threatening danger, Ako had only twice before felt similarly relieved. Both of these times had been related to Noise, her father and her kingdom. That the cynical, direct and somewhat bossy girl now meant so much to her helped Ako understand her feelings a lot.

Love was complicated but she could now tell for sure. She liked Urara. Beyond the shadow of a doubt did she want to be with her for as long as she could. Even if their lives would separate them when they left this place, she wanted to be with her, spent time with her...

And that led her to the one other thing she was afraid of. Being intimate with Urara. Getting kissed and being touched, despite the long initial period of awkwardness, had turned into something comfortable and normal. She didn't want to miss those things anymore. In a way, she had become addicted to Urara's caring and loving side. Buried beyond all the cynicism, sarcasm and bossy behavior, there were leftovers of a once truly caring girl.

Beyond those simple things was a world Ako knew very little about. Sleeping with Urara, Sex, was something she couldn't really imagine, good or bad regardless. Her heart beat faster when she tried, and it became hard to breathe and think. But that was what it must mean to become excited on the thought. She knew her adult body fairly well, but not to the degree Urara must have known her own.

Even knowing all of this, it didn't make it any easier to work up the courage to tell her. Even if she picked a good time and told her, there was no guarantee whatsoever that Urara wouldn't reject her based on the grounds of her being a child. But it was a chance she had to take.

The only remaining question for her was whether she should take the next step in being intimate with Urara before she revealed herself. If she slept with her before that, would that raise her chances? Or would it appear as her trying to guilt trip Urara into something?

"What's bothering you?"

Ako almost jumped up when she saw Urara open her eyes and stare at her. That girl really had the worst possible timing to be exceptionally sharp.

"It's been bothering you for a while. At least the last couple days." Urara paused for a second and twirled a lock of Ako's hair around her index finger. "It's got something to do with you. A few of the others are giving me weird looks lately. I thought I'd get an explanation from you instead of just sniffing around." Turning over, getting on her knees and getting in position over Ako, Urara leaned down and kissed her neck. "I don't like it when people keep secrets from me."

"Even if it's something you're not going to like?" Ako couldn't see herself getting out of this one. Urara knew that _something_ was up, but she didn't know what it was exactly yet. "I'm not going to ask you anything silly like to promise me you won't get angry. But at least hear me out all the way."

Not liking the seriousness of the conversation, Urara got up and left the nearly naked black Cure on the bed. Grabbing the large bottle she kept behind her bed and one of the two glasses she kept around, Urara poured herself a drink. Only wearing her torso piece, Urara had not bothered to undress before going to bed. Ako must have done it for her. "I suppose I can do that."

Not seeing what Ako was doing, Urara both felt and saw two arms go over her shoulders and wrap themselves around her neck. "Before I tell you... I need to ask you something really important." She had seen scenes like this countless times in books and movies, but none of them did justice to just how nervous and frightened she felt. "Would you say... you love me?"

"I kept wondering if you would ask me that." Taking a sip from her glass, Urara lifted her head slightly and moving back just enough to enjoy the sensation of Ako's breasts pushing softly against her back, the vocalist sighed. "Truth is, I don't really know. I haven't been in love for so long... I barely remember what it felt like." Taking another sip, Urara felt she wasn't being fair in giving an incomplete answer. "But I would say, yes, I love you. Not just randomly, but because of what I feel. There is nobody else in this god-forsaken place I'd like to spend my time with more than you. You can actually stand up to me and even though I manage to boss you around a lot, it's always a challenge. There's the obvious things, like being sexy and having a nice voice, too. There's probably many little things I can't think of right now because your boobs are pressing against my back and it's making me horny as hell."

Ako didn't answer for several seconds. Pulling Urara a little closer, she thought her heart would explode any second now. Being told that **that** Urara was in love with her... that was really something. No matter how prepared she had been for either case, it still caught her by surprise. "I hope what I'm about to tell you doesn't change that. Because I love you too. I thought about it a lot. So much that I kept going in circles over and over. But what I feel... I'm sure that I'm in love with you."

"You're thinking pretty lowly of me if you assume that I'd just change my mind. I'm not that shallow." Urara felt a little annoyed by Ako's words and emptied her glass. The taller girl backed off a little, and just as Urara had finished refilling her glass, waiting for Ako to spit out whatever she was hiding, two much smaller and shorter arms went over her arms.

"Don't look. I don't want you of all people to see me like this." Ako's voice had changed considerably.

Emptying her whole glass in one go, Urara just kept staring at the wall, ignoring the short arms that held on to her. She could feel that someone was behind her, but the weight on the bed was different than before. Refilling her glass again, her expression changed from somewhat pleased to pissed. "Explanation. Go."

"I told you I'm the princess of Major Land. I'm... a young princess in fact. Even before I became Cure Muse, I had a strong affinity for magic. Because I was always studying to eventually become the queen, I wasn't really a normal girl. Always around people much older than me, learning proper etiquette of nobles and how to run a kingdom made quite the impact on my personality. I was always too mature for my... real age." Ako felt hurt just telling her about it. The tense atmosphere scared her and she already wished she had already slept with Urara. "So, to avoid people treating me like a child all the time, I learned how to change my appearance. It was too hard to do a real shapeshift, so I learned how to make myself older. Five years seemed to be the most stable and I got quickly used to it. My mother and father wouldn't approve of me doing this, so I always used it in secret, just being among the commoners in the kingdom. Nobody treated me like a kid, even though I didn't act any different than before. Adults only look at you and see a little girl with no chest and a small body. They don't care about your personality. That's what I thought all this time. And that's why I was afraid to tell you."

"So, how old are you? You looked like seventeen to twenty." Emptying the third glass, Urara was happy that she didn't actually see the small girl that Ako apparently seemed to be. She would have had a much harder time listening and not getting seriously angry then.

"I just entered my second year of middle school. I turned thirteen not even two weeks before we got all transported here." The following silence was so awkward that Ako tried to back away from the girl she had just admitted she loved. The yellow Cure forcefully grabbed her right arm and kept her in place without saying anything. When Ako didn't put up any resistance, Urara let go and refilled her glass for the fourth time. She was starting to feel the alcohol a little. Not enough to impact her judgment but enough to drown her upwelling anger.

Over ten minutes passed in silence. Ako tried her best not to cry from being afraid of being rejected and she managed to keep back her tears. She didn't dare to turn back into her adult form either, not without hearing some kind of answer from Urara.

"I just said I hate being lied to, so I'll tell you truthfully what I think. I don't want to be a hypocrite after all." Putting her glass down, Lemonade stood up, turned around and got a good look at the thirteen year old Ako. Her face was mostly the same, her hair quite a bit shorter, her chest almost flat, her whole body much, much smaller. No matter how she looked at her, she couldn't shake off the feeling of looking at a child. "I can understand why you kept it a secret."

Ako's expression lightened up significantly for a second before Urara's right hand hit her so hard that she fell on the bed. "That was for lying to me. And let me just say this. The girl I'm looking at right now is not the Ako **I **know." Turning around again and picking up her bottle and getting a good shot, she sighed. When she looked over her shoulder, the Ako she was in love with was back. The grown-up Black Muse, fully addressed in her costume.

"How many of the others know?" She really felt like getting drunk hard now.

"With all that's happened, I'm not sure. Melody, Rhythm and Beat know. A few of the original dark team know as well, as I wasn't in this form when we all got here." Ako rubbed her cheek, a little angry that she had been hit so hard, but also relieved that Urara seemed to be done punishing her for lying with that.

"Explains the stares. Here, drink up." Handing Ako a glass filled with a pretty hard vodka, Urara completely disregarded that she had already gotten a minor drunk several times.

"That's a lot worse than I was expecting. Not **the** worst by far, but pretty bad. Since I'm pretty pissed, what do **you** want me to do? What do you want, Ako?"

Half expecting her to burst out laughing, Ako lowered her head and tried to avoid the eyes of the blonde. "Keep things as they were before... maybe take them one step further. I have no more secrets to tell you, if you're worried about that." Sniffing the alcohol, Ako already knew she wouldn't like the taste. She still managed to empty about half of the glass, feeling the effects right away.

"Is that really what you want? Aren't you worried I'll be crept out by you still going to middle school?"

"You just said that's not the girl you love. If this makes any sense to you... when I'm near you, in this form, I feel more at **home** than anytime else."

Putting the bottle down, moving over to the bed and pushing Ako down, Urara forcefully kissed the girl, the contact between their lips only lasting a few seconds before she pulled away just enough to talk. "Thirteen, huh?" Shaking her head, Urara sighed. "My reason tells me to stop this. To just leave you, go my own way." Seeing Ako's sad face, the blonde moved her hand right between the legs of the black Cure, slowly rubbing over her intimate spot, the act changing the girls expression instantly to embarrassed and surprised. "But with a body and personality like this, reason can go fuck itself. But you're going to have to compensate me for this."

"I was an idiot to even think you'd have something sensible to say." Trying to get back to her usual self, Ako could barely think straight, so happy that Urara was not treating her like all the other adults.

"There is actually a fairy sensible reason behind this. I was burned, scammed and thrown away when I used to work as an idol. The adults cut me off like I was nothing. I'm not like that. I can tell that the personality I've grown to like is your real one, not something you put up as an act to look mature."

"I'm happy to hear that... can... can you stop rubbing me... there?" Ako tried to cross her legs but Urara wouldn't let her. The blonde put a little more force behind her movement, making the younger girl below her moan in surprise.

"When you said compensation... you meant sex?" Ako wasn't blushing as heavily as she had thought she would.

Instead of answering, Urara moved down and started kissing her new partner's neck again, driving up the excitement of the girl. Stopping after a few seconds, Ako was confused as to what Urara was doing. All her movement had stopped. Slowly lifting her up, she found the blonde to be peacefully passed out.

Ako had completely forgotten how extremely tired Urara had been when she came back from the her mission outside. The alcohol had done it's job and made her fall asleep. Ako secretly regretted it a little, as she had started to feel really good from what her... partner had been doing.

Waking her up again would be the epitome of being selfish, so she slowly rolled the girl to the side. Switching to civilian mode, Ako figured that she should get used to being completely naked around Urara. Covering both herself and her partner with the big blanket, she was unbelievably thankful that everything had worked out like this. If it had been anyone but Urara, things would have been really bad.

=== Dissonance ===

Nozomi was following Marine as quietly as she could. She hadn't mentioned yet that the whole affair was her fault, and she wasn't keen on killing her only chance to get away in unscathed. They passed several empty rooms, both of them barefoot, before Erika signaled her to stop. Pressing themselves against the wall, Erika crouched and slowly snuck forward, trying her best to discern what the sounds from the next room were.

She was close enough to be able to touch the wooden frame if she had wanted to, less than a meter away from the door's handle, when she was finally able to make out the noise. That was Aqua's voice, moaning in pleasure, with an occasional loud thud, the source of which she couldn't quite place.

The moaning got significantly quieter just as Erika was ready to move back and signal Nozomi to move to the other side of the hallway. Staying in place, lifting her hand and signaling Nozomi to not move even a single centimeter, Erika tried to calm down, her heart beating hard enough to make it difficult to determine what was going on inside.

"Well done for **a pet**." Poison's voice was rich with contempt for Freeze. Lifting her left foot and kicking Freeze's face, the blue reflection immediately started to lick her toes. "Did you finish **all** of your tasks?"

"Yes, my mistress." Cowering on the ground, Freeze had a set of deep, bloody scratches on her cheek, punishment for being too slow.

"You're **almost useful, **I'm surprised. I might keep you around for longer yet." Laughing sadistically, Poison kicked the blue reflections face again. How delightful it would be when her plan bore fruit. Getting Wither and Vulture into the originals camp was only one step of many.

Erika moved away from the door cautiously, afraid that even the smallest sound would alert the two reflections. Not even whispering, she grabbed Nozomi's hand and pointed at the other side of the hallway. Sneaking over, they successfully managed to get close to the end. Marine spied around the corner finding only Pine's reflection, whatever her name, on guard.

Erika took another step forward, while showing Dream to stay behind with a hand sign. Getting up and trying to check where the enemy was looking at, Erika's luck ran out. "Maelstrom?!" Ember was calling for her. If she found Dream, it would turn into a bloody chaos. Looking at Dream and signaling her to hide in the closest room, Erika walked a few steps ahead to check out Pine's reflection.

The yellow copy was fast asleep, a grim expression on her face even when she wasn't threatening anyone. Ember must have spotted her, the white and blue parts of her costume still clearly visible in the dim hallway. "What are you doing?" Ember had caught up with her quickly and grabbed her arm. Swaying from left to right, Erika tied to bluff her way out of it. "Toilet... where is..." Almost drooling a little, faking droopy eyes and looking more asleep than awake, Ember seemed to buy the lie right away.

"You're really helpless." Her eyes wandered over to the guard. "And Agony is asleep on the job. Well, not my problem." Grabbing Erika by her hand, Ember slowly dragged her away. Pretending to be half asleep, Marine well couldn't resist. But at the very least, she could give a sign. Letting herself fall just a few centimeters behind Ember, the blue Cure used her free hand to first form a fist, then point towards the entrance and quickly open and close her hand twice.

Nozomi realized that trying to save Marine would only end up killing her. Ideals or not, if Marine herself didn't show any sign of wanting to be saved, Dream wouldn't force it on her. Not anymore. Experiencing death-like pain, the trauma of Nightmare destroying her heart sat deep in her mind.

Waiting until both of them were out of sight, Nozomi went as quietly as she could, making it past Agony and into the large tunnel. Marine had told her to just follow the long hallway. Too scared to run and accidentally alert anyone, Nozomi just kept sneaking, paranoid of the dangers around her.

She had dealt with a lot of grief, sadness and pain in her life, but nothing compared to when Nightmare took her place and murdered her. She remembered all of it clearly. For her, nearly no time at all had passed since then. The feeling of her fingers, hand, arm, piercing her chest, Nozomi felt sick just thinking about it.

In a state of high alert, Nozomi hid behind a large set of crumbled pillars when she thought she saw someone move not too far in the distance. And her instinct proved to be right. Rose was slowly staggering towards her, dragging a body over the ground, pulling on one arm, not hiding her complete indifference about the well being of the body.

She couldn't make out what the purple Cure was muttering, and right now, she was highly wary of anything and anyone. Being killed once was more than enough. She could still be saved once she made it back to where everyone else was.

It was too dark to see well, but Nozomi was able to make out the color of the body's hair before Rose passed her. Blond. That didn't narrow it down very much. There were half a dozen Cures with blond hair.

Waiting until she was well out of sight, Dream left her cover, feeling horrid for just abandoning an ally like that. But the trauma and shock of Nightmare attacking her ran very deep. Her chest still ached when she as much as thought about fighting her copy, or anyone else for that matter.

=== Dissonance ===

"Tired?" After hitting the ground right next to her bed, and subsequently the toilet just because she was already awake anyway, Rin checked in on the guards, Kanade and Berry. They still had an hour to go before it was time for a change, but it really was a mind numbingly boring duty most of the time.

"What are you talking about? I'm as fit as- **that hurt!**" While she got herself under control when Rin was present, Kanade now fell from one extreme into another, acting on occasions even more stubborn and high strung than ever before. Rin rewarded her with a hit to the back of her head every time she acted stupid.

"You know you deserved it. Who's next on the list Berry?" Rin ignored Kanade, who had started and continued to pout, and turned to Miki, a yawn escaping the model.

"Bright and Windy are next. Can't wait to go and get some sleep. It's good that nobody attacks us, but it sure is boring." Yawning again, Miki shook her head. "This is bad. Talking about sleeping is making me even more tired."

"I'll take over your part until Bright and Windy show up. Sound good?" It was difficult for Rin to go back to bed, and sleep, when she woke up in the middle of the night.

"I owe you one. See you tomorrow. Night." One yawn after another, Miki dragged herself down the hallway, towards her room. She stopped briefly when she saw Black's door open but didn't think anything of it. Rin wasn't the only one who went to the toilet at night.

"What was that about? It's written all over your face that you're sleepy, so why pretend you're not? It only makes you look like a stubborn idiot." Not one minute had passed since they were left alone before Rin went into lecture mode.

"You don't have to put it like that!" Kanade knew Rin was right but she couldn't admit it.

"**Oh really?**" Giving the aspiring baker a knowing look, Rin almost burst out in laughter. "You have a long road ahead of you before you can ask me again to be subtle about things."

"What about you then? You keep saying you don't like me that way, but you sure do go out of your way to spent time with me. I can't be that bad."

"I've started questioning if I'm a masochist. That would explain why I always let Nozomi rope me into things, though."

"You're horrible. How could I ever think you're cute?"

"Maybe because I keep putting up with your stubborn behavior even though I know I shouldn't. You're kinda cute when you don't talk or act normal, but that's rare occasions only."

Kanade looked down, feeling a little depressed. She was grateful to Rin, but the girl didn't make it easy for others to get along with her. She had quite the fiery temperament. "You really think I'm cute?"

"When you're not being a stubborn donkey, yes. You're quite cute. I'm no expert through. I just happen to like blondes so I'm biased."

Walking over to the red Cure, Kanade sat down next to her and looked up at the ceiling. "If you weren't so blunt, I think you'd get along with everyone else better."

"It's not me who blasted a hole into the kitchen wall, you know. I have my emotions under control."

"Maybe a little too much under control. When I kissed you earlier, you didn't resist. You liked it, didn't you?"

"How many times do we need to go over this? We're only feeling attracted to each other because we're both lonely."

"So what? Does that mean we don't really like each other?"

"Not anymore than I like Karen or you like Beat. And why do you keep talking about this? Don't you want to get back together with Melody?"

"She... looks a lot happier now than when I was with her."

"Is that really so? You're not exactly the most objective judge, remember?"

"I can tell because I really love her. She enjoys being with Sunshine."

"So what, you're just giving up? Sorry but I don't enjoy being second choice."

"Goddamn, will you get off your high seat for a moment?" Kanade couldn't take it anymore.

Rin knew she had laid on too thick with it. Sighing, she patted Kanade's head. "My bad. Side effect of hanging out with Urara for so long."

"You told me... that Hibiki might not give me another chance. Don't tell me you already forgot about that."

"No, I remember. So what about it? I don't know her. It's just one possibility. Don't hang yourself up on that."

"I just... I love her but I'm not sure I can ever change enough for it to work out the way it needs to."

"So, you're giving up."

"No, I'm..." Kanade didn't quite know herself what she wanted or even doing.

"Fine, fine. Maybe it's time I stop. My head is telling me I'm setting myself up for great disappointment in the long run if I actually get interested in you. But I guess that's just part of the whole experience. Better enjoy it while it lasts than to never have had it. I guess."

"Can you put that in words that actually make sense?" Kanade was getting a headache. What had they been talking about again?

Grabbing Kanade by her arm, pulling her over hard enough to make her fall down in her lap, Rin leaned down and kissed her. "Date me. Go back to Melody if you can, but for the time being, it would be pretty neat if we could be partners."

"That's completely different from what you were saying before! And the whole time!" She was only a little flustered, thinking Rin was just messing with her.

"Do I have to justify myself? Can't I just change my mind?" Letting the white Cure go, Rin just couldn't be bothered to think about stuff. Not anymore. Being with Kanade wasn't bad. And everyone had some disappointment in their life. Kurumi didn't turn for the worse after Karen left her, so maybe this would do her some good as well.

"Do whatever you want..." Sitting down next to her, Kanade started to yawn. She really **was** tired after all.

"How much longer is our shift?"

"Not sure. Berry and I were here for a while, but my internal clock is totally messed up lately."

Just sitting next to each other and being quiet, Kanade was surprised by how well she dealt with Rin now. Even though the girl had suddenly kissed her, it didn't bother her at all. Granted, she had slept with her once already and cried rivers over Hibiki right in front of her, but that still didn't mean she shouldn't be weirded out by being intimate with another girl that wasn't Hibiki.

Trying to think of a topic for conversation seemed awfully difficult and became even worse the more she actually thought about it. "Tell me a little about yourself. When I think about it, I don't really know anything about you."

"There's not that much to tell, honestly. I've been friends with Nozomi ever since I was little. Urara, Komachi and Karen were added to the friends pool when we became Cures. I always liked sports but I actually thought about trying to make it a jeweler. Didn't work out, so I'm back to sports."

"No hobbies?"

"My job keeps me pretty busy. Soccer used to be my hobby, way before it became my job, and I helped out the other sports clubs every now and then. Other than that, I liked helping out in my parent's flower shop when I was younger. Not anymore though. And... well, I wouldn't say it's my hobby, but what consumes most of my free time is watching out for Nozomi. Your turn."

"My hobby and my job are practically the same. I work part-time in my parent's bakery and do new cakes and stuff in my time off. I can't imagine not taking over the shop one day. I don't really have that many hobbies. I played the Piano with Hibiki when we were fighting noise, but high school is a lot more stressful than middle school, so that sort of stopped."

"In what year of high-school are you?" Rin had already graduated.

"Second year. Come to think of it... you're not that much older than me Rin. Nor are the others... how are they all already so successful in their jobs?"

"Everyone is doing what they can. Urara got burned hard in the idol business and started singing shortly thereafter. Komachi has been writing for at least five years now. Karen... well, I guess it's talent that got her this far so quickly."

"Everyone is amazing..."

"And you think you're not? Working in a bakery while going to high school and being a Cure on top of all that sounds pretty stressful."

"Being a Cure hardly means much if there's no real danger. I used it a few dozen times to help people out, but it was never anything like fighting Noise. It's the same for you, right?"

"Just judging by the fights we had until now, everyone must have kept training hard. Though, I noticed that I got stronger by myself, without doing anything, as I got older. I had more power, and things like..." Lifting her right hand and creating her signature fire claw on it, Rin grinned. "..this became easier and easier. I have to admit though that I abused my power occasionally."

"Abused them? To gain an advantage in your career?"

"No. To cook. The gas was out and I was really hungry. So... I sorta boiled the water with my Cure powers."

Kanade broke out in laughter immediately, with Rin following her, knowing that it really was hilarious when she thought about it again. After calming down a little, Kanade smiled. "I once caught Ako using her powers to, well, I guess you could call it plug her ears. We were camping, and Hibiki started to snore, so Ako confined herself into a zone of silence."

"Ako being? Beat or Muse?" Rin wasn't exactly a prime example of good memory concerning names.

"Muse. Well, you've only seen her adult form walking around I guess." Kanade realized a little too late that Ako probably didn't want people to know.

"What do you mean, _adult form_?" Rin looked far too interested to just drop the topic. Kanade had no choice but to explain things to her.

"She's the princess of a fairy world called Major Land. She never really explained to me how it works, but she can switch between her real body and whatever she looks like five years from there."

"If that is what she looks like her age plus five, how **young** is that girl? You realize we're talking about the girl Urara, **that Urara**, has been making moves on for like a week now, yes?" Rin was highly disturbed by this. She didn't believe Urara would knowingly do what she did if she knew.

"She's pretty independent and I don't think we should butt into her business."

"Stop tiptoeing around the issue. How old is she? Also, if she keeps this a secret from Urara, that's pretty damn stupid of her. Because she'll get her ass dumped instantly if Urara gets wind of this."

"She's thirteen. Just turned thirteen actually. Rin, I know I'm not the right person to say this, but you really shouldn't bother... Ako usually knows what she is doing, and don't you think it's kind of unfair to just judge Ako by her age?"

"I'm more concerned for her than Urara. You don't know what she's like. At least as far as I know, she hasn't bothered to be with anyone for this long ever since she switched from the idol industry to music. If the one girl she actually cares about, at least I think so, turns out to be an underage middle school girl, I have no idea what she's gonna do."

"What, you mean she'll react violently?" Kanade turned a little pale. Was Lemonade really that bad?

"No, but... well, she might hit her really hard once for lying. She doesn't like being lied to. But it'll definitely not turn out rosy."

"I still think we should stay away from their relationship. If Ako wants to keep her real age a secret and she just stays as adult permanently while we're here, wheres the harm?"

"It doesn't feel right. I'm Urara's friend, so I feel I should tell her."

"And ruin the one relationship she actually cares about right now, according to you."

"Thanks, now I'll feel horrible whether I tell her or not."

"Just don't then. Doing the right thing sometimes isn't the **best** thing."

"Getting lectured by you of all people is the worst." Laughing, Rin shook her head, resigning herself to just let the fiasco play out.

After silence returned and brought boredom along with it, Kanade kept falling into second sleep, too tired to be reliable as a lookout or guard. After spending a few seconds with her eyes closed, something woke her up quite effectively.

"What are you doing?!" Jumping up and covering her breasts with her hands, her face was slightly red. That really wasn't the time to make out. A short kiss was one thing, but to be groped and have her breasts fondled quite something else!

"Curses, I'm jealous. What size **are** those? C, D?"

"**Pervert!**" Kanade almost yelled in response and turned around, still protecting her chest with her arms and hands.

Getting up and catching Kanade, Rin tickled her until she let her guard down. Instead of groping her again, Rin simply laid her arms around the white Cure's waist. "It is pretty fun with you if you're not caught up in your stubborn act."

"You're still a pervert. Groping me in public like that. Don't you have- **stop it!**" Just as she lapsed back into her old behavior, Rin groped her again, the effect's showing on Kanade's face.

"That's even more effective than hitting you. A lot more fun too." Letting the girl go, Rin contemplated making that her general response to everything stupid Kanade did.

"Is the lovers quarrel..." "...done yet?" Michiru and Kaoru were both leaning against the wall, both of them not exactly well hidden despite the the dim lighting of the location.

"We're not lovers!" Knowing that her shift was over, Kanade stomped off, only looking back once. "I'm going to my own room!"

"Did we interrupt something?" Kaoru was interested in everything related to people and their relationships.

"Just her usual antics. Have fun being bored. There's no activity whatsoever here." Waving the sisters and walking away, Rin knew that it wouldn't take even five minutes until Kanade would cool down and regret running off.

Returning to her room by herself, Rin didn't bother to undress and simply changed forms, crawling back into the now cold bed. She purposely slept on the side, giving any potentially stubborn girls the chance to sneak in and lay down.

She had been much too generous with her estimation of five minutes. After what felt like two, Rin heard her door open just a little bit. Pretending to be sound asleep, Rin kicked the blanket. "Nozomi... stop eating..."

Seeing that as guarantee that Rin was already asleep, Kanade slipped quietly into the room, covered by just her own blanket, already in civilian form. Dropping the cloth and sneaking into Rin's bed, the soccer player quickly grabbed her wrist and pulled her down. "Knew it."

=== Dissonance ===

The news of Nozomi's return during the night spread like a wildfire the following morning. Bright was standing guard in front of her room, to avoid people bombarding her with questions. She wasn't an expert on it, but even an amateur could see the signs of shock and trauma written all over Dream's face.

Rin was still arguing with Bright, who seemed to consider using force to have the fiery girl finally back off. But that was not the only piece of hot news that morning. After realizing that with the current situation, no favor could be gained, the existing pool was all they had for food and drink. Thus, the breakfast was, while not overly so, more down to earth than usual.

The problems didn't stop there. Saki, who seemed to have gotten over her hangover already, and Mai, who was still suffering from a headache, were both reporting alarming news. Not only had Vulture, Egret's counterpart, been killed, but both Black and White's names were showing up mirrored on their respective mirrors. A sign that they had been killed. None of the killed reflections, Aurum, Misery, Aurora or Maelstrom had escaped though.

Nobody said it out loud but the suspicion that there was a reflection posing as original among them was great and shared by many. Throwing out wild accusations would get them nowhere. They knew too little about the reflections to find a good way to determine who was an original and who wasn't.

"It's fine... let her in." Nozomi was looking incredibly weak and worn out, her face so pale it was almost white.

Rin was both overjoyed to have Nozomi back and boiling with anger because she just knew that it had to be something she did that caused this mess. "I want to hit you but I actually think not hitting you and staying angry is going to teach you a more valuable lesson." The red Cure remained completely still, leaning against the wall across the bed on which Nozomi sat.

"How much time passed since I...?" Nozomi still had difficulty saying it out loud. A shock that magnitude didn't wear off within a few hours.

"A day and a half, roughly. We would have needed to make a push into their base today, to save you, if you didn't get out. Because in about ten hours or so, I guess, you'd have been a goner for good."

"From my point of view, no time passed at all between seeing you beyond the blazing fire and being pulled out of that mirror."

"People are going through hell here. Mind explaining to me what exactly you did to create this mess? I **know** it's something you did. It only makes sense, since Nightmare was the first to show up on this side."

"I wished for us to be able to stop fighting each other."

Rin shook her head in disbelief. "You're the only one who was really all that unhappy with the situation before. Compared to this, I think it's save to say it was actually a fairly good time."

"Rin, I-"

"Don't come up with any stupid excuses. I told you to think before you mess up again. Just so you know, White and Black have been killed. We don't know when. It's possible they have been impostors for the full previous day. Nobody really checked their mirrors until they were missing completely this morning. **This is your fault Nozomi**." Rin could see that her words hurt the girl in front of her. That was completely intentional. "Why can't you understand Nozomi? Why are you trying to force a change on people that have already accepted the situation?"

"Because it's not right!"

"So who are you to determine what is right and wrong? What are you going to do if someone permanently dies after being imprisoned into a mirror? What if their partner survives and is left behind alone? Are you just going to tell them you caused this because you had to pursue your idea of right?"

Nozomi couldn't answer that. She wanted to apologize, but anything she said now would just be empty words. What Rin was saying had been something she had realized on her long walk back. Ideals helped people. They usually did. But in this case, her stubbornness and ideals had caused people to get hurt badly repeatedly. Even someone as stubborn and morally fixated as her couldn't ignore the effects her actions had and move on like nothing happened.

"I thought threatening you by saying we're though if you screw up again would work. But apparently you just can't go against your own nature."

"No... This time is different Rin." Nozomi looked down on the ground, fully knowing that she couldn't sit this one out and wait for it to fix itself. It had taken a monumental mess to make her put ideals and morals aside, but it had finally happened. "I'm going to help fix this. I created this mess. If I have to get my hands dirty by fighting... then that's what I have to do."

"That's not good enough Nozomi." Grabbing Nozomi's right hand and forcing her to look at it, Rin continued. "You remember Nightmare? And Eternal? I never wanted to bring this up again but I've just about had enough of you causing problems. **We** **killed them. All of them. And yet you keep rattling on about how us fighting each other is wrong. So let me ask you this. You didn't seem hesitant about killing them, so what is stopping you from killing the reflections?**" Rin was trembling and almost hissing her words at the end. There was only so much she could take. If this was what it took to _fix_ Nozomi, then that was that.

"It's not the same!" Nozomi wouldn't just sit there and let someone effectively call her a hypocrite. "Fighting them was jus-"

"Justified? For them, fighting us was justified in their own way. Everyone has their own idea of justice. I can't believe you're still believing in some greater way of good. Those reflections want to live. We want to live. And only one of each can actually survive."

"We don't know that!"

Pushing Nozomi back, Rin towered over her. "And we never will know. The way you're talking now, it sounds like you would stop and try to argue with Kawarino until he either kills you or gives up. Wake up Nozomi! Those aren't people you can reason with. Nightmare brutally killed you without second thought. **I saw her laughing at your corpse, covered head to toe in your blood**!"

Looking down, Nozomi could feel how what she had thought was courage to step over her ideals, had just been make believe for herself. Something to help her feel better about herself. About what she was doing even now.

"...Give me some time." Looking away and facing the wall, Nozomi needed time to think. If she really was wrong... she had to stop acting like a good Samaritan. If killing those things was the only way her friends and she would survive...

"Our hands have been bloodstained for years now, Nozomi. Stop being afraid of what you could and might do." Opening the door, pushing Bright out of the way and slamming the door shut, Rin walked off, quite pissed at herself for trash talking Nozomi like that. That was no way to talk to someone that was still in shock.

=== Dissonance ===

"None of our reflections are likely to be capable to keep up an act for this long. Especially not mine. If they're direct opposites of us, it is safe to say that none of us is a reflection right now." Kaoru, leaning against the solid wall that was the back end of the massive room, established that they were all originals.

"If I didn't know you for being meticulously rational, I wouldn't agree and suspect you of being a reflection. That's how much paranoia this strikes in our heads. My reflection shouldn't be capable of acting in the first place." Inori stood next to a thick tree, her right hand touching it's bark.

"At this rate, it won't be long until we have people accusing each other left and right. So, what do we do?" Karen didn't like this at all. Not only that people would become distrusting of others, but also that that very atmosphere was poison to some of the more kind minded people, like Komachi.

"I expected this to happen at some point. So, I have a solution. It's not without risk, but it will at least give us all the info on the system we will need. Capture a reflection." Kaoru didn't like the plan all that much, but they had only limited options available to them.

"You'll have to get lucky to find one that actually talks. Reflections like Nightmare would just go berserk until they are killed or destroyed everyone around them." Karen knew well that Dream was almost absurdly strong, and so was Nightmare.

"It doesn't matter who we capture. We just need **any** reflection to break a mirror. And whose reflection is the most likely to talk? The one that has the least self-esteem." Michiru took advantage of the fact that every reflection had the exact opposite personality to their original. Or at least that was what she believed.

"Misery. You want to make her talk about everything and get her out of the mirror for that? I don't think Miki is going to like this, even if we get rid of her right after she told us everything we need to know." Inori wasn't thrilled by the idea of having any reflection freed. Logically, it was a sound plan. Capture one, use her to break Miki's mirror and then kill her. Question Misery and once done, kill her too.

"I'll take care of the elimination of both after they've done their job." Making a fist, the other two knew that she wasn't joking. She'd kill them without hesitation.

"How are you going to use the captured reflection to break the mirror? We don't really know how it works, yet." Karen wasn't so sure this plan was structurally sound. If the reflection killed someone before she was captured, it would all backfire.

"Dream said she was pulled out. It's simple. Your special ability allows you to dominate the mind of someone, right?" Looking at Inori, Michiru had taken even this into account.

"I never tested it on a reflection. In theory, it should work, but it'll be difficult to dominate one that has a strong will." To use her ability like that had passed her mind before, but she didn't think to use it to free a supposedly harmless reflection by using it.

"When do you want to execute this plan?" Karen hadn't come up with anything better herself, so she just went with it.

"As soon as possible. Preferably within the next six hours." Looking at Inori, the redhead waited for an response from her.

"I'll be ready when we find one. Domination has a limited duration so I can't take just take them from somewhere deep within the labyrinth to our base. Even if it was my own reflection and I moved at maximum speed, it would still take a while."

All three of them turned around when Miki came running, looking quite serious. "Hymn just got captured. She's being held by Lemonade and Muse, chained and under observation." Surprised by the lack of surprise in the faces of the three others, Miki turned halfway around. "I only looked at her for a moment but she didn't seem well."

"Seems like you're up, Pine." Michiru was suspicious of this awfully convenient turn of events. Hymn just stumbling around the border of their base? And letting herself get captured that easily?`Too suspicious.

Hymn was covered in chains, unable to even stand or sit up, like a tied up package forgotten in a corner. Ako was standing watch right next to her, ready to use her power to seal up any other Hymnos she might try. Oddly enough, Hymn didn't seem to have any intent of harming them.

I took only a few minutes for almost the entire base to assemble, excluding those who were either missing, presumed dead, as well as Saki and Mai, who were nowhere to be found.

Ellen was slightly horrified by looking at her exact copy. The tone of their skin was different, Hymn being significantly paler and having big black bags under her eyes. She had a lot of scratches as well, part of her costume was torn and her hair wasn't exactly what Ellen's looked like.

Nobody talked to her, Urara and Ako keeping them away just far enough in case the blue reflection had some kind of trick up her sleeve. It wasn't until Miki and the other three returned that someone approached her. Michiru left the negotiating to her sister, their past proving that Kaoru had more success in in human interaction than she did.

"Why did you let yourself get captured? You know fairly well that we have enough smart people here to figure out that it is highly suspicious for you to just get caught this easily. Especially after your failed attempt with Purger."

"It was either singing Purger or getting killed by Malice. That's Peach's copy by the way." She had to appear helpful if she wanted to make a deal. Lemonade had attacked her right away but taken her alive. That alone was already very useful.

"So Malice is the leader of things over there?"

"It's not as easy as that. There are, in essence, four groups. Malice and her underlings, those working for Poison, a few that seem to work together outside the above and garbage." As she said the last word, murmuring started among the Cures. What kind of term was that to give to their allies?

"Garbage are those reflections based on us originals that are either capable of fighting you on a moral stance or very powerful."

"Mostly. Those unsuited to fighting are called garbage. Malice has them imprisoned into the garden that Blossom over there created. I'm not sure who works for Poison and who for Malice at this point. Trust is rarer than gold on our side."

"So, what kind of deal are you hoping to strike? It's obvious that you're intent on cooperating with us, for whatever reason. I can already tell you that letting you kill Beat and replacing her is out of the question. We have other ways to get all the information we need if it comes to that."

"So just let me and the other killed _garbage_ live until we're the last few. You can think of something else then."

"How much more information do you have?"

"A lot."

Walking away from her, the usual suspects quickly gathered around her. Michiru, Karen, Inori and Miki. "We're by no way bound to hold up our part of any deal we strike after we have all the information."

Karen was instantly objecting to this. "I'm not going to make a deal and immediately go back on my word. I'm not a villain."

"I see this the same way." Miki wasn't going to go back on her word that easily. Not even in a situation like this. If they had to do this, then without their approval.

Inori remained silent for now and Kaoru knew that Michiru was supporting her cause. "Even if we let them live, there is no guarantee that they won't try to murder their originals. The risk is too high. Unless we force the information out of them with torture or something similar, this is our only choice." The redhead of the two sisters followed up with an opinion of her own.

An awkward silence broke out between the five for a couple of minutes.

"They won't be able to do anything if they're guarded by someone that is not their counterpart. We can let them live until we have taken care of the significantly more dangerous ones. If we include a non-aggression article in this deal, they can't attack anyone without them breaking the agreement first. That way, we won't have to go back on our word. We will also include the fact that the deal only lasts until either every other reflection has been killed or defected, at which point we will either become hostile parties again or look for another solution." Even Inori couldn't think of a backup plan for letting the reflections live. In the end, only one of the two could exist. And an original permanently dying wasn't something she could wager.

"I have no objections to this." Kaoru looked at Michiru, who saw herself beat. It wasn't the more logical choice, but given the circumstances and the personality of everyone around her, it was impossible to convince them of this.

"I'm fine with that as well. It's a temporary truce. They get to live, we get information. They could even be useful as fighters, as they seem perfectly capable of killing other reflections." Karen wasn't evil but she wasn't very sympathetic to the enemy either.

"Same here." Miki didn't have anything to add to what Karen said. The idea of letting reflections, even guarded, walk around here wasn't sitting well with her.

"Then that's decided. Windy, do you want to continue negotiations with Hymn?" Inori spied on Lemonade from the corner of her eye and she didn't look very pleased to have the blue reflection sitting there.

"Just wait a second!" Love burst into the conversation, pushing Miki aside. "Aren't any of you going to ask how Ellen feels about this? It's **her **reflection, so she should be the one to decide if she gets to live or not."

"I understand what you're getting at Love, but this isn't just about how Ellen feels. We could learn a lot of important things about the enemies and we could even make others defect if they see Hymn isn't being tortured." Inori tried to deal with her old friend as good as she could, but knowing how stubborn she was, it wouldn't be easy.

Luckily for Pine, both Passion and Beat showed up, the red Cure slowly pulling Love away before she could protest anymore than this, and the blue Cure taking her place. "I'm not happy I wasn't asked about this but I understand what Inori just said. If this makes it possible to prevent any more deaths on our side, I'm fine. Just... keep an eye on her."

"She won't be free to roam around, but we won't treat her badly or torture her. If you ever heard of such a thing, she's like a prisoner of war. They do have rights, too." Karen explained it carefully to Beat, who did seem pretty distraught over the whole affair. "Windy, go talk to Hymn. The way Urara is staring at her, she'll be turned into something ugly soon."

Leaving the group without even one word said in response, Kaoru passed by Lemonade and glared at her, a sign that she should keep herself in check. Muse saw it too, and while Windy's look did nothing, Ako's glare did have some kind of impact. Clicking her tongue, Lemonade lessened the strain on Hymn, leaving her enough room to breathe at ease and even sit up.

"We're willing to make a deal. You, and others you label as garbage, will be given rooms, however, you will be under constant under surveillance. You will be fed, permitted to use the showers and depending on your behavior, also able to visit the garden when the guard in question allows you to. You will not be able to freely mingle with us originals, eat with everyone else, albeit you can be permitted to eat with the others from your side, nor will you be able to leave the room without a guard accompanying you. You're a prisoner. We won't torture you and the guards will all be instructed to treat you fairly regardless of prior hostile engagements. Of course, you are by no means permitted to act in a hostile manner towards us. If that happens, this truce is immediately off and you will be attacked and killed on sight."

"In exchange, I will supply all the information I have. Those I want to free are highly unlikely to attack anyone, as all they want is to be left in peace. If those are your conditions, we have a deal. One last thing though. You didn't mention what happens to us when we become the last of our kind."

"We haven't decided yet. This is war, so I would hold off being overly optimistic, us being Cures or not. Being defenders of good does not mean we're unable to make difficult choices. Keep that in mind." Turning around and looking at the yellow Cure, who was visibly displeased with this turn of events, Windy ordered the release of Hymn. "You won't be restrained for now. That might change if there are any signs of hostility of betrayal whatsoever."

The golden chains dissolved and Muse had to pacify Urara, the two of them walking off together. The large crowd kept their distance of a few meters, until Windy created a small whirlwind that lifted her up in the air and kept her floating. "Hymn, the reflection of Cure Beat, has agreed to the terms decided upon by a small collective of us. She is not to be harmed and treated as a proper prisoner of war. We will distribute all learned intelligence within the next few hours."

"What do we do about rooms?" Miki looked at Inori, who surely had another plan for this. She had several minutes to think about it after all.

"A lot of them are free because we have a lot of couples here. White and Black are gone. As far as I know, Setsuna's and Love's room are empty too, as they stay with Beat. There might be other rooms that are empty, such as either Karen's or Komachi's. We'll have her stay in one of those. It'll become a moving effort if there are a lot more reflections that are going to be taken in."

"Let's move her to Setsuna's room for now. Her room is close to Love's, which will make guarding significantly more safe." Miki waited for an approving nod from Inori before she crossed the short distance between the crowd and Windy. "Come. I'll show you your room. I'll be your first guard." Miki had questions. Hymn had been staring at her for a while. It wasn't that unlikely that she was infatuated with her, but she had to stop that quickly.

The crowd parted sideways as Hymn walked towards them. She expected a sudden assault, booing and other harassment but none of the above happened to her. It was almost like the crowd seemed relieved that she was taken in alive and not publicly executed.

The crowd's attention was, again, directed to Windy, away from the new arrival. "We will be dealing with the removal if imprisonment of other specific reflections. Not all will be freed, only those deemed completely harmless. There is one additional matter that needs to be taken care of."

Miki couldn't hear what Windy was saying anymore just as she closed the door. Love's room smelled almost sterile, as if she hadn't used it recently at all. "Why do you keep staring at me?"

"I'm the one that killed Misery." Hymn didn't beat around the bush. She wanted Miki to know what a horrible fate her reflection had suffered from on the other side. "Malice, Agony and Rage, the reflections of your teammates, disfigured her, ripped her clothes to pieces, scarred and beat her. She was a crying mess when I found her. I'm not trying to make it look like I'm a kind person. I'm far from that in reality. But there is a limit to everything, even how much you can abuse your own allies before you go just too far."

"Why tell me this? Do you want me to release Misery?" Miki liked the apparent honesty, but she was still cautious. It might all be a very well thought out ploy, even though it was unlikely there were that many smart strategists on the other side.

"Misery is what her names implies. She's your exact opposite. If any one of us is no threat to you originals, then it's her. I killed her to spare her further harassment and abuse by Malice."

"So you killed her out of pity and now want us to release her so she can avoid being treated like garbage?" Miki saw where the conversation was going, and if it was the truth, she was already feeling how the words of Beat's lookalike swayed her.

"Misery, Aurum, Umbra, Breeze, Eclipse and myself. Those are the ones that are treated like liabilities, dangers to the superiority of our numbers. Do you want me to explain everything to you?" Hymn wanted to cooperate simply because it meant she would be able to live a decent life even if it was only for a short time. It was better than nothing at all.

=== Dissonance ===

"So, why exactly are we out here?" Hibiki groaned and promptly got hit on the back of her head by Urara.

"Stop whining already, you're goddamn annoying! Sunshine, keep your lover in check before I keep her in chains instead." Urara's outburst did not go without consequence. Ako glared at her again and while their _relationship_ was still really unstable and somewhat of an iffy thing to both sides, Urara could feel the pressure. After Ako had no more secrets to hide, she had turned a lot more vicious... or rather, bold. It wasn't as easy to push her around anymore. But she liked herself a good challenge.

"Stop being an idiot Lemonade. We're looking for a needle in a haystack. I'm not exactly enthusiastic about it either. Nor are you." Grabbing Hibiki and shoving her up front, having her walk next to Rose, Itsuki put herself in-between the two, preventing the chain user from inflicting any additional pain on her girl.

"We're looking for Bloom and Egret. You're all so immature." Kurumi wasn't exactly sitting on a high horse but rather taking the search seriously. Finding out that Vulture had been killed and that the couple had vanished without telling anyone was very suspicious.

Karen, as the lead of the group, was checking on the mental condition of everyone. They looked worn out. It wasn't a surprise. They had been at this for over two hours now. Systematically checking the area was not only cumbersome but also extremely tiring. They had to be on guard from enemy attacks, especially since Hymn's give-up could very well be a trap.

Just as they reached a large room, they could all feel it. A foul taste in their mouth, a horrible stench making their eyes tear up, their noses burning from the same smell. Just as they were about to retreat, they saw **her**.

Of course they all knew fear and despair. They knew what it meant to be shaken to the core by something that threatened their very lives and all they held dear. But nothing in the world could have prepared them for what they saw when the space around them warped, turned red and black.

Standing high among colossal mountains of corpses, the flesh, the maggots, the death was more than overwhelming. The liquid of decay soaked their clothes, the stench rapidly nested into their hair and on their skin. **Crawling. It was all crawling. Nails of the dead burying into their flesh, scratching until they could taste blood that was not already hard and dried up.**

**The voices of innumerable copies of Moonlight, a black clad woman and a man in a coat cried out in a bizarre and ear piercing way. They could clog their ears with their fingers and the voices only grew louder, resonating in their heads. "It's your fault. You did this. Our blood sticks to your hands. Pay for it! Pay for it! Pay for our deaths!"**

The space around them warped again. Kurumi was the first to throw up, quickly followed by Hibiki and Ako, both unable to stomach the intense gore and destruction. Further inside the room was a woman. A Cure. A silver one. Laughing manically. "Haha... hahaha... walking... I keep walking... they're still here. It's your fault! Leave me alone! You did this to me! I didn't do anything! You betrayed me! I only wanted a normal life! You killed me! Just go away! I only did what was right! You murdered your own father and sister! I did my duty as Cure! At the cost of our lives!"

The insane monologue chilled Karen to the bone. Getting closer, she could see numerous self inflicted wounds on arms and legs, deep scratches, blisters and swollen parts. Only after three steps warped the space again, a different scene in the same place. Moonlight wading through a bloody moor, several served limbs nailed into her flesh. Turning away in repulsion, Karen found that there were countless other Moonlights suffering the same fate in the distance. They were all walking randomly, subject to the uttered curses of the heads.

Checking on the others, there was no sight of Melody and Sunshine. Kurumi was sacked knee deep into a corpse pile, countless broken and disfigured limbs trying to drag her down. Just from the look of her eyes, she was screaming like crazy on the inside, but not a single sound was escaping her lips. Trying to shout and tell her to snap out of it, Karen noticed only now that she was mute herself.

Space returned to normal while she was still facing away from Moonlight. Melody was on the ground, not moving a muscle, with Sunshine protectively covering most of her body, muttering unrecognizable gibberish. Kurumi was scratching her legs like crazy. Urara and Muse were further behind, trying to back away from the abomination that this room was. Karen figured that she was the only one that realized that they had walked right into Moonlight's exile. And that they were experiencing and seeing what the silver Cure had been going through for over a day already. Karen feared that even if she somehow saved her, there wouldn't be anything left of her mind or personality.

Facing Moonlight, she was close enough to see that she was drooling blood and her pupils were completely gone, only leaving the white of her eyes. The crazy monologue continued for the full two seconds before the space warped again. This time, Karen got to **feel **what she felt. A single second was enough to have her go crazy inside her head, the pain, regret, despair, fear, hatred, rage, depression and agony driving her mad. Someone was injecting liquid madness right into her veins, right into her heart and mind. Thankfully, the warp only kept up for a few seconds, enough to make Karen vomit just as she regained control over her body. Ignoring all the warning signals of her body that were like sirens telling her to go away, Karen somehow made the last few meters to Moonlight. Even without the space warp, touching her made the blue Cure experience everything her senior did.

Even if she would have had a choice to begin with, given the circumstances, Karen did what everyone else would have done. Concentrate as much energy in her fist as she could, as quickly as she could, and ram it all into Moonlight's stomach.

The atrocity ended when the consciousness of the silver Cure escaped to the realms of knockout. Karen couldn't keep standing and fell to her knees, using her hands to stop her face from hitting hard, stone ground. Rolling over, her whole body was still shaking. That wasn't something that could come from a human's subconsciousness. At least nobody that had any resemblance of a normal life. Feeling like she was about to puke again, Karen tried to get up and regain a little composure, that act proving to be a lot more difficult than she imagined.

Kurumi was down on the ground as she looked back, moving about as much as Melody and Sunshine did. Urara was much further back, rolling over the ground, breathing and groaning like mad. Muse was nowhere to be seen for a few seconds before she slowly walked back into the room, heavily shaking as she knelt down next to the yellow Cure.

"What... the hell... was that?" Urara could barely use her voice. She might be tough and cynical, but seeing what Moonlight went through was too much even for her. Avoiding to spill her guts all over the place, she had kept her mind somewhat chained to reality, literally. Using self-inflicted pain to override the madness, she managed to tie up Ako and throw her out just in-between warps.

"Ex...Exile." Karen covered her mouth. That sickness would stick with her for a while. And so would the nightmares about the images she saw, feelings she felt and sensations she experienced.

"For crying out loud... Does this crap never end?" Cursing out loud, the vocalist managed to get up with the help of the black Cure, her partner. "Grab her... and let us get out of here. Rose, Melody, Sunshine, **get up!**" Screaming to the best of what her lungs and throat managed, she really did succeed in pulling them back to reality.

"What... what happened?" Kurumi was still shaking but able to slowly get up and stand. Seeing the unconscious Moonlight next to Karen seemed like a good sign at the time. "Was that... her doing?"

"Not her own but her exile. I heard from the others but this is just... was it that bad for you Kurumi?" Karen was significantly worried about her Ex. If she had gone through something like that, she would've tried to be a little more considerate of her situation back then.

"It was hell, but this... I feel sick just being here. If this happened to me for so long, I'd rather die than keep going through that." Shivering and taking a few steps back, the purple Cure wanted to get out of the room as soon as possible.

"Help me pick her up." Urara had somehow pulled herself over to Karen, the two of them slowly picking up Moonlight, who was as light as a feather, as if she was just an empty shell. "Let's hope she doesn't go crazy when she wakes up. If she wakes up."

Leaving the room and on their way back, Hibiki felt embarrassed to succumb to the situation. "Great leader am I, fainting and puking all over the place."

"Don't be ridiculous Hibiki. You can't expect any kind of person to go through that unaffected. Look, I'm still shaking. So are the others."

"Aqua and Lemonade didn't faint, did they?"

"I didn't faint because I've seen some crazy stuff in my life. I envy you. I'd rather not live with the memory of the second and third flash. This stuff is gonna haunt me in my dreams." Urara was walking a few steps ahead but could still listen to the conversation.

"But-" Hibiki was silence by her partner, a single finger laid on her lips, the two of them stopping for a moment.

"No buts. You fainted. So did I. So did Rose. And like Lemonade said, she wishes she could have. You have nothing to blame yourself for. Now smile." Not leaving it up to Hibiki to follow the order, Itsuki used both her index fingers to lift both corners of her love's mouth. "See, that's better."

Because of how silly it was, Itsuki smiled herself, causing Hibiki to show a real, genuine smile. "What would I do without you?" Grabbing her arm and hanging on to her, Itsuki's smile changed to a gentler form.

"You can be on cloud seven when we get back. And if you have so much energy, carry Moonlight. She's so tall, she's really unwieldy." Complaining again, Urara shot a quick glare at the couple. They still had quite a distance to walk, and if they were attacked now, it would be pretty bad.

Getting back was much harder than getting there. The event had left it's mark on their mind, that much was obvious to everyone. Jumping at fleeting noises, almost imperceptible movement, their paranoia about an enemy attack or Moonlight waking up and the exile resuming it's work grew with every step.

Kurumi was leading the group now. Jumping back without any warning and crashing into Melody that had walked about two meters behind her, Kurumi started to wheeze. "Someone is here. I just saw a flash of _something_ vanish behind that corner."

None of them were calm or composed enough to question the sighting. For all they knew, the enemy had been tracking them for a long time now. Forming a circle, each of them facing outwards and keeping Moonlight in the center, they waited. The silence of the outer labyrinth only disturbed by their haphazard breathing, dust falling from small cracks between the large stones that formed the walls and ceiling. Cold sweat ran down Ako's forehead as she monitored part of the ceiling above them. Each shadow, even though they seemed to change shape every time she blinked, looked like an enemy, holding on to the stone.

"They're not going to show themselves. Let's go. We're all going to end up insane if we hang around here any longer than this. Maybe we already are and we're just imagining we got out of that room." Urara didn't like that prospect, but one way to get someone to stop being paranoid about one thing was to inflict bigger fear of something else. Something that would make them run.

Heeding Lemonade's words, the group swiftly left their position, carrying Moonlight with them. It wasn't until they were well gone that **someone** stepped out of the deepest shadows, having seen their condition. A cold, happy smile danced over her lips. Her thoughts raced at the chances that would soon present themselves. For now, she just had to let things play out like they naturally would. That traitor Hymn giving herself up was unexpected but it wouldn't hinder her.

=== Dissonance ===

Mai and Saki returned after a long, uneventful and ultimately futile hunt for the murderers of their friends. At the time, Komachi and Rin were the guards, suspiciously eying those two. "Where were you?" Rouge was the first to suspect them and even the trusting Komachi couldn't help but be a little paranoid after Hymn showing up.

"Looking for White's and Black's murderers." Saki answered instantly, removing some dust from her shoulders and hair while she was at it. "Can we come in? I really want a shower."

"We know Vulture is dead, but your reflection is still out there. Who tells us you've not been replaced?" It didn't take much to make that connection. Vanishing into the outer labyrinth everything beyond the large tunnel and the immediate rooms it connected to, it was the perfect place to dispose of someone unseen.

"I was with her the whole time. I think I'd notice if some _thing_ replaced my partner. And seeing that Vulture is dead, it guarantee's I'm the original, right? Are you going to tell me that I'm working with the reflections now?" Mai was pissed that the enemy had gotten away and Rouge asking questions did not help to improve her mood.

"Alright. Stay in the base, as soon as the search troop comes back, we'll relay the information Hymn has given us." Rin noticed that Bloom stopped for a moment when she heard Hymn's name. "What is it Bloom?"

"We captured one of them? Whose reflection is it?" Saki's pulse was unnaturally high and it was written all over her face.

"Beat's. Why are you so jittery over this? It's suspicious."

"Those things killed two of my closest friends! **You** of all people should know what that feels like."

"Nozomi is sitting in her room, not well but alive. If we get them out within two days, Black and White won't have any trouble. You would know this if you hadn't run off with Egret to chase after someone that is long gone."

Gritting her teeth, Saki turned around and walked away, cursing under her breath. Why was that redhead so arrogant?

"Suspicious. She should have known that Nozomi came back alive. I trust Egret, but I don't trust her confidence. I don't think that's Bloom."

"Wouldn't she have lashed out at you if she was a reflection? Or attacked us? Why would she pretend to be Bloom? Furthermore, why didn't she kill Egret while they were out there? Someone killed Vulture, so..." Komachi wasn't quite sure about that accusation. If Bloom really wasn't who she was saying she was...

The two were almost run over when the group of now seven returned. They were all pale, gasping for air and drenched in sweat. "What happened?!" The six all nearly collapsed, shaken with fear and paranoia. Urara put herself against the wall behind the barricade and tried to take several deep, calming breaths.

"My guess is as good as yours. We found Moonlight in the exile and brought her back here. Be happy you weren't there. Fighting to the death is a joke compared to what we saw there."

Rin got up and looked after the unconscious Moonlight, who had simply been dropped on the ground as the others tried to calm down, kneeling and laying on the cold ground. She was quite badly injured but it didn't look life threatening. A Cure didn't die that easily.

"Berry is gonna want to know about this. Speaking of her, she should be done getting information from Hymn by now." Komachi knelt next to the unconscious Moonlight and wondered where they should bring her. Taking a look into the hallway, the number of rooms hadn't increased.

Miki was torn in half when she heard about Yuri being found and brought to the camp. She wanted to see her, but the information she had gotten from Hymn was too important to delay. "Get everyone but the guard and have them assemble in the dinner hall. We'll tell the two on duty everything later. Move Yuri to my room for the time being." Talking to Inori, who had been the guard right outside the room, she sighed in exhaustion.

Miki was stressed out by all the things Hymn had told her. It was... extremely unsettling. A few minutes after giving Inori her orders, Miki and everyone else, including Nozomi, had arrived in the dinner hall. The blue Cure stood up ahead near the kitchen wall and window, every single face glued to her lips.

"I'll first explain what the reflections are. They themselves don't know how exactly they came to be, however, they were _born_ with our exact memories up to that point, as well as all of our powers and a warped if not opposite version of our personality. Each of them has their own name as we already assumed and we have a full list now."

Before Miki could any anything more than that, something or someone flooded the entire room with a dark, wavering mist, wrapping all twenty-two Cures into complete darkness. After everything they had gone through, it wasn't surprising that they would panic just a little. As everyone tried to get up and out at once, it turned into a disaster of bumping into others, falling down, getting stepped on and losing all sense of orientation. Nobody bothered to react when someone touched them, regardless of where it was. Wild shouting, chaos and the dark mist prevented them from witnessing what happened.

Miki tried to scream out when she felt a sharp pain in her arm, but her throat was not obeying her. Feeling warm blood trickle down her chest, she realized that the pain in her arm was overriding the one coming from her throat. She didn't get to touch the wound, something wrestled her to the ground inside the total darkness. And then there was just silence.

"Dreamlight Purge!" Nozomi didn't know where she was, but the dark mist rapidly cleared away under the force of her attack. Her right arm raised into the air, a pink sphere was contained in her fist, the rays of light literally cutting the mist and destroying it. The chaos was perfect when everyone realized where they were. It only took them seconds to notice that Berry was gone and a big poodle of blood was where they had seen her last.

Nozomi was the first to get her act together and run out of the room, there were large smears of blood at the right wall, but no sign of enemy or ally. Berry had been killed. Who else was missing? Looking back, it was too turbulent to quickly assess who was missing. They could have run off, too.

Spotting Rin and Komachi, both running down the hallway and towards her, Nozomi didn't notice the door to their right opened. Bright and Windy rushed out of the room, catching both Rouge and Mint by surprise. While Rin suffered a lethal blow to her throat and neck, instantly killing her, from Bright, Komachi tried to pull up a barrier, not fast enough to avoid Windy's energy attack. Numerous wind blades made it inside the barrier, the confined space turning the intended protection into a literal mixer. "Black Mirror." Both of the Cures exclaimed simultaneously.

Both of the killers saw themselves trapped between over a dozen Cures in a state of confusion, and Dream, who looked frighteningly enthusiastic about fighting. "Ah, what a bother. How do we deal with her?" Bright was the first to ask.

"I dunno. Maybe we can just ignore her and she'll go away. I don't feel like doing anymore than what Poison asked us. It's such a bother." Windy shrugged, not a second too early. Bright couldn't even see Dream approach, she was simply suddenly next to her, brutally kicking the side of her sisters neck. Not letting up, Nozomi jumped up, squeezing Bright's neck between both her legs, turning like a screw in mid-air and slamming her into the ground.

Just as her enemy caught up blood from the impact, Dream was already in the air above her. "Crystal Star!" Her voice echoed through the hallway like a message of impending doom. Covering her face with her arms, Bright felt how her entire body quickly became impaled with innumerable pink crystalline fragments. The onslaught didn't end there. "Dreamlight Blast!" Concentrating a large, unshapely mass of energy between her hands, Nozomi stood right above the already lethally wounded Bright before she unleashed her attack. The ground vanished like snow thrown into a fire under the pressure of Dream's power. "White Mirror."

Turning around, she saw Windy escape around the corner. Unable to catch up completely but close the distance enough to have a decent shot, Nozomi took a deep breath and grit her teeth. Who cared if she had to destroy a bit of the area? "Rose Dreamlight..." Nozomi stood still on the same spot even as Windy rapidly increased the distance between the two. With each passing second, another rose appeared on the ground around her, until they numbered four total. Holding out her hand, the four flowers rose into the air and formed a rapier created completely made of rose petals.

"..Explosive Strike!" What emerged from the rapier put the definition of beam to shame. Lighting up the tunnel like dozens of torches or lamps, Windy had no way to escape the approaching mass of death. Swallowed by it, she felt her skin, hair and eyes burn away, the pain so great that her mind shut down the moment she was hit. "White Mirror." Nozomi was breathing hard, the first time she had fought with her full power in years exhausting her quite a bit.

Pine was the first to reach her, trying to ignore the molten stone in the tunnel that dripped from walls and ceilings into more of it's kind on the ground. "Did you see who attacked us?"

"Bright and Windy. Their reflections, I think. They... killed Rouge and Mint." Leaving battle mode, Nozomi could feel tears in her eyes. "The reflections are both dead now, but... that won't bring Rin and Komachi back."

"You returned from being killed. We'll manage the same. Karen is taking charge in the dinning hall. Miki... has been killed, we know that already." Inori didn't notice that Karen was already approaching them from behind.

"That's not all. Sunshine is gone. So are Beat, Hymn and Muse. They hit us really hard. I don't think this was just an attack of two. It happened too fast."

=== Dissonance ===

A lot of the Cures were in shock over the attack and the loss of their loved ones. Lemonade, Aqua, Melody, Rhythm, Passion and Peach were those who went through the worst, emotionally. There were none injured, only a handful of dead.

Checking on Hymn, she really was imprisoned in the mirror now. Bright and Windy, the real ones, found the names of their reflections, Umbra and Breeze, as well as their bodies, peacefully afloat in the void beyond the glass.

But their luck had not ran out yet. Miki had written down all or most of the information that she had gotten from Hymn. Likely because it was difficult, even for her, to keep a cool head and make sense of it otherwise. Despite the hazardous mood and atmosphere, everyone was gathered near the guard posts, with Lemonade completely blocking any way in. Hundreds of chains formed a solid wall, impossible to penetrate. Not a long term solution but enough for now.

Inori started reading out loud the content of the papers she was holding.

"Inherently, personality becomes warped or opposite. Not bound to the original personality they are given. Have all abilities and memories of original. The notion not an urge but conscious desire. Only one of the two, original and reflection, can survive."

"Things that make them different from us: One, they have no civilian form. Second, they know the complete mechanism of the mirror system. Third, original teams mean nothing to them. Grouped into multiple smaller groups. Reflection of Peach, Malice, Reflection of Mint, Poison plus group of liabilities. Includes Aurum, Misery, Eclipse.

Mirror system specifics. Anyone killed put into mirror of the other side. White Mirror and Black Mirror forced onto either side. Mirror displays names if known, name of the dead show mirrored. Either can be removed from mirror by own kind. Time stands still for imprisoned but suffer death after two days. If an original looks into the mirror while... that's all it says. It stops there. The notes are very... abbreviated. I read them as they are written down but I think it's clear enough."

"So when are we going to launch an assault on them?" Urara was the first to say it out loud but she had quite a few supporter. Everyone that had just lost their partner or someone close was quite on edge. There was little question that those who couldn't fight them to the death before were no longer bound by their morals. Nozomi looked gloomy and depressed, and curiously at the same time, enthusiastic. Karen, Kurumi and Urara were afraid that she might have gone crazy but there was nothing odd about her behavior except that she didn't seem to care about morals anymore. It was... a saddening sight. Dream without ideals was just... not Nozomi.

"Now. If we stay on the defensive, they're going to bleed us out. We have lost too many of our friends already." Nozomi spoke up first, a certain fire burning in her eyes. Those were not the eyes of a kind pacifist or someone who loathed fighting and killing.

"I like that you've come to your senses but how come? There better be some kind of explanation for your change in behavior. Because I don't want to go into battle with someone that is going to go berserk." Urara liked her new attitude but she was also worried.

"Rin was right. We already have the blood of Nightmare and Eternal on our hands. This isn't fighting for some cause I don't understand. This is to protect everyone. And if I can help to clean up this mess by fighting, then I won't hold back."

"Now that's the Dream I used to know. Who is with us?!" Urara raised her voice enough to make everyone else hear her. The first replies were from those that had already lost partners. Hibiki, Karen, Love, Setsuna. Others quickly followed suit. In the end, nobody could resist the wave of excitement and anger that rushed through them. How much would they have to suffer at the hands of the reflections before they did something?

"Let's go!" Urara, her eyes narrowed to half their normal size, could only think of one thing. Revenge.

Starting to run, they left behind an empty camp. With Itsuki and Miki dead, Erika gone and Tsubomi finally seeing a chance to save her partner, nobody thought about what would happen if the enemy attacked their base now. Fifteen in total, the ground tremble as they ran towards where the now hated enemy was at. Stress, fear and sadness were all turning into anger and hate for the reflections, the source of the those emotions.

"Listen! Marine has already taken the place of her reflection so do not attack her! If you cannot determine if a fighting party is original or reflection, don't attack until you're sure. In cases of doubt and to prevent infiltration, we will use the phrase "Light is freedom." to prove you're one of us originals." Nozomi was running slightly ahead of everyone else. Pine or Egret could have overtaken her, but they saw no need.

"Corny. Just like back then." Urara jested and earned a few halfhearted laughs. She was right after Nozomi. She had fallen asleep that night, before she could have any **real** fun with Ako. She couldn't accept some cheap knockoff of a Cure stealing away her pleasure.

"I can see the entrance. Prepare for battle!" Nozomi didn't slow down but instead accelerated beyond what any of the others could keep up with. She had caused this mess. She would be the one to put it right. Spotting the single guard, Pine's reflection, in the distance, Nozomi launched the first attack. "Rose Assault!" Wrapping herself in countless red petals, Nozomi sped up even more, resembling a crimson fireball more than a human, hitting the reflection before she had time to react.

Agony bounced off the ground twice before she slammed into the wall. Dream didn't stop to finish her off, the others would have plenty of time to do that. Going down the hallway, she met the next enemy. Passion's reflection. "Rose Explosion!" Creating concentrated orbs of energy in each hand, each resembling a tornado of microscopic rose petals, Nozomi launched her attack, only to miss by a small margin. Rage rushed straight at her, using the ceiling and the walls to avoid Dream's constant bombardment. Finally reaching her, her brutal punch was stopped short, hitting only Nozomi's arms, crossed in front of her face. Unleashing a whole barrage of hits on her, she drove the pink Cure back, meter for meter, until she tried to pause and collect energy for a bigger energy attack. "Bestial..."

The attack never got finished. Grabbing Rage by her arm, jumping over her and using the pulling force to smash the red reflection into the nearby wall so hard that the bricks were shattered to pieces, Nozomi cracked her knuckles and neck. Fighting at her full power, Rage alone was not much of a threat to her. She hadn't been the caretaker of the rose garden for a while for nothing. Not only that but she was now also part of the garden itself.

Trying to get up, Rage felt an iron grip on her leg and a split second later, the world started to spin so fast that everything turned into a blur. Three impacts into the wall per second, she felt her bones and flesh giving in to the repeated punishment.

Whirling Rage around like a human tornado, Nozomi saw that Agony was fighting four versus one against Melody, Rhythm, Bright and Bloom, losing on all fronts. Instead of throwing her normally, Nozomi jumped into the air, not high, just about two meters, and tilted her axis, now vertically spinning with the enemy. Rage felt several bones break instantly as she first hit the ceiling, then the ground and then Dream.

Nozomi's entire back was burned by a massive energy blast from behind, making her tumble over the near corpse of the reflection below her. Malice was already rushing at her, recognizing that costume as the original of the bitch that had given her hell before.

But she never got to Nozomi.. Several golden chains shot past the pink Cure and hit both torso and arms of Malice, stopping her dead in her tracks. Nozomi had barely time to recognize the blue next to her before Karen had already cut off the free hand of Malice, the blood spilling on her skirt.

Jumping aside when she felt a menace right behind her. Kurumi was in mid-air, wielding a large, unshapely metal fragment that looked sharp enough to cut right through stone. Rage couldn't even gasp for air when she was impaled with the large metallic fragment. "White Mirror."

Malice already knew she was beaten but she wouldn't go down without a fight. Chained and without a left hand to call her own, she channeled all her energy into one last attack. "Malicious Ex...plo..." Unable to complete her sentence when a pink energy disk literally cut off her head, Nozomi felt sick to the stomach. Fighting for a cause was one thing, but their onslaught had been a literal execution for these reflections. "Check the rooms! Check everything! Move in teams of four! Kill everyone but Marine!" Nozomi barked her orders and looked at the remainder of her own team, Urara, Karen and Kurumi. "White Mirror."

The four of them moved down towards the living hall where they ran into Melody and Rhythm, or rather, their reflections. They were nailed to each other and on the ceiling, the loss of blood close to killing them both. They were pale and unable to speak or even recognize those below them.

"I'll put them out of their misery. You don't have to force yourself to do it Nozomi." Urara grabbed her leader by her wrist when she started to make attempts to kill those two. Four golden chains wrapped themselves around the necks of the two and instantly broke them. They couldn't resist and likely wouldn't have even if they could. "White Mirror." The puddle of blood on the ground was undisturbed except by the footprints of Nozomi and her team. They couldn't find anyone else.

"I know who did this. The metal fragments used for this are the same I use for attacking. My reflection was the one that pinned them up there. So she's still alive." Kurumi didn't like the aspect of someone abusing **her** powers for something like that. It was just too cruel.

Agony was history. There was no one else to be found. Nobody at all. "We have a problem. Bloom and Egret are gone. Nobody has seem them since we left our base. Bright and Windy are out, searching for them. They refused to stay and wait." Inori reported to Dream, who suddenly seemed like a real leader, a stark contrast to what everyone had thought about her until just an hour ago. "The others are freeing their partners from the mirror."

"I don't like this. Where are the others? Why were there only five reflections here? Where is Nightmare? Or Poison?" Nozomi had a very bad feeling about all of this. It was almost like they had wanted them to come. But that couldn't be. No matter what, freeing all the killed originals surely wasn't within the plans of anyone.

=== Dissonance ===

"Where are we going?" Erika had been following Ember for a while now. And it wasn't just her. The reflections of Mint, Aqua and Rose were there as well, the last of those three carrying Sunshine's other self and walking up ahead, prancing like she was some kind of big deal.

"Keep your mouth until we stop walking." Her voice was merely a whisper, but the warning tone of it was very clear to Erika. Ember was visibly tense. Erika had learned that Poison was a very devious and smart woman who always had several backup plans. Ember didn't talk too much about it since Maelstrom seemed to be the type that babbled. So she didn't ask too many question.

"Those rats are still following us. They must be quite clever. Well, I expected them to notice the death trap. They will be useful later, I suppose." Poison was looking at _something, _somewhere Erika didn't see. Holding hands with Ember, she felt that the situation was getting worse very quickly. She had no idea where they were going, nor why.

Reaching a large hall, the group stopped and spread out. It looked similar to many of the other large rooms, balconies, a high ceiling, smooth ground and walls. "We will stay here for the time being." was Poison's order and everyone that was with her obeyed.

"Dawn and her team aren't too far behind us. They've been following us ever since we left the base." Sitting on the ground, leaning against a wall, Ember waved Erika over, having her lay down and rest her head in her lap. There were noticeable differences in her own behavior since she came alive. Blossom's opposite didn't have much of her opposite personality anymore. Erika had noticed that too. She was gradually becoming less bossy and aggressive. She wasn't becoming more like Tsubomi either but developing her... own personality.

"Poison scares me. It was her who put Umbra and Breeze up to attacking the originals. She wanted to cause a retaliation to get rid of Malice and her goons. It was all a scheme to remove those idiots from the playing field." Ember gently played with Erika's hair, not paying a lot of attention to what she was doing. While she hated her position, Erika found it increasingly difficult to hate Ember. She wasn't really... evil.

"But why?" Being curious was something she couldn't help. Keeping up the act of the slow-witted and dense girl was taxing. She was almost thankful for Ember's high sex drive, as it wasn't really all that difficult to pretend when they slept with each other. And that worried her. A lot. Just going by how she felt in situations like the one right now, she was falling for Ember, fast.

"She wants all the obstacles gone I guess. She's not telling anyone what she is planning but our odds of survival are likely the highest if we stick with her." That was all she cared about. Survival together with Maelstrom.

Erika pretended to fall asleep for a while, trying to think of a way out. Sure, there were no guards here, but she couldn't quite get herself to just leave Ember. She really wished to have Yuri's emotional control, since it came all down to that. She loved Tsubomi, and now she was developing feelings of the same type for her reflection. And that wasn't good at all.

Just running, she still didn't know where she was. Finding the way out of the labyrinth was really difficult. And even if she did, the question was what would happen if Ember came looking for her and found her before she got back to the originals camp and Tsubomi.

But even if she did stay with the reflections, if the originals attacked, she would take their side and have to fight Ember. That outlook was even worse than just running away on the risk of being found. The only other option was to try and get Ember to leave with her, somehow convincing her as Maelstrom that she wasn't safe here and that they should strike a deal with the originals. But how in the world should she do that?

"I loathe whoever caused this situation to happen. Are you awake Mael?" Ember had started to shorten the name a few hours ago, thinking it was cute. "Don't you agree? I just want to spent my time with you, without having to worry about originals and the likes. I couldn't care less about the fighting now."

"Can't we run away?" Erika saw a chance. Even if it resulted in freeing Maelstrom and letting them both escape, if there was no danger...

"We'd die. Essentially, we can't survive forever without taking the place of our original. A few weeks... maybe. If we had water and food. A month or two? Might be stretching it. Longer than that? I don't think so. You feel it too, right? That nagging voice in the back of your head that tells you to kill whoever your original is. I want to live but even if I took Blossom's place, it would be an empty life without you. Not to mention, the other originals likely wouldn't let me live. I'd just end up as exile permanently and die."

"So... you mean...?" Erika knew exactly where this was going and she didn't like it. It explained why some of those reflections were so incredibly fanatic and aggressive.

"Unless we kill almost all the originals and take their place, the survivors would fight us to the death. And even then... we're just copies of them as Cures. You know we can't take on a civilian form. Imagine showing up as replacement of Marine in her home, unable to turn into her human form. It would be really weird."

"So we never had a chance for a real life of our own."

"I don't know what Poison has planned, but she wouldn't be doing all of this if she just wanted to prolong our existence here. The originals would have kept acting defensive, so... who knows how long we'd have lived."

"Can't we just run away together and keep living?." Erika was a little scared by how natural it actually felt to say that. She wasn't really acting. She did actually feel sorry for Ember and didn't want her to die. But after what she said...

"We need to eat and drink, just like them. How would we survive in this wasteland? Sure, we could use your powers for water, but... creating food would be a lot harder." Ember bowed down and kissing Erika on the forehead. "No matter what happens, I'll be with you till the end though."

The two of them didn't realize that they were being spied on. Dawn was quite adept at hiding and she had overheard the whole conversation. Leaving as quietly as she had come, she returned to her partner and group. Flare was gone, for now, but Blaze would remedy that soon.

"It doesn't look like Poison has told anyone about the other way out yet." Dawn stretched, feeling a bit sore after constantly hiding for hours. But trailing poison had been well worth it. The _experiment_ as well.

"How is Silence?" Looking past her partner, Dawn checked on the yellow reflection. "It would be useful if we could get Hymn back. Based on what Silence said, she can lift the effect of whatever Muse used to stop her."

"She's a child." Dusk took a look as well, seeing that the young girl was fast asleep. "I'm surprised you were able to make her follow us."

"Malice couldn't get her to follow orders and Poison didn't bother. She would have died just like Apathy and Fury. Their bad luck and Fury's attitude seriously pissed **her** off and Azalea was more than happy to get rid of her. It's really easy to deal with kids."

"Sounds like something your original would say." Taking her partners hand, Dusk sighed. It would be quite hard to get the originals to accept that third, neutral way of getting out of the situation. The system was not made for it, but it would work. They knew.

"Maybe. She's a nice girl so I don't really mind. That she's liking the same girl I like is a bonus." Pulling Dusk in, Dawn kissed her briefly before she couldn't help but yawn. She hadn't slept in a while. "Can you look out for things? I need to take a nap. If Blaze comes back, wake me up, okay?" She wasn't so much giving orders as she asked for cooperation. While Poison was a despot, she was more like a leader that naturally ended up... leading the group.

"Get some rest. I'll get you when something happens." Dusk wasn't the brightest, unlike her original, but she was still far from stupid or dense. They were well hidden from Poison and her group, at least for now, and Blaze should return from her mission soon. It hadn't been difficult to make her turn on Nightmare after the pink reflection picked a fight with basically everyone.

Right now, they could only wait.

=== Dissonance ===

Softly hitting the right cheek of the black Cure with the back of her hand, Urara accepted that giving up was well an acceptable choice in such a hopeless case. "Knocked out good. How about the others?"

"It's the same for all of them." Karen was kneeling next to Komachi, who was comfortably sleeping on the ground, refusing to wake up even when shaken quite a bit. All those that had been killed were found in that state.

"Hey. Weren't there a lot more rooms here just a few minutes ago?" Nozomi was surprisingly perceptive when she actually put all of her mind to it. Her question answered itself when another door vanished right in front of her, leaving behind only cold stone. But that was not all. The damage created by the fighting was reversing itself as well. "Something is definitely not right here." Picking up Rin and carrying her like a princess, Dream watched others do the same. No matter how much they shouted, talked to them, shook or slapped them, those that had been killed wouldn't wake up.

"Fighting to the death was bad enough, but this is getting ridiculous. Nozomi, you were wide awake when you got out of the mirror, right?" Urara wasn't too happy with the state Ako was in. It was no fun to tease someone unconscious.

"According to everyone else, I was in there for more than a day. I didn't notice any kind of time difference though. But yes, I was wide awake when I got out. Awake, in pain and scared. In a way, it's good that they're all still asleep. Waking up in enemy territory, so many of them at once, we'd have a mass panic at our hands." Her leader qualities shone when she was really needed. And with so many of the others out of order, they did need her.

"What do we do about Egret? Bloom was in one of the mirrors, so... do you think she just got killed recently, or?" Kurumi walked up to Karen, feeling very uncomfortable. The reshaping of the area didn't help to ease her tensity.

"Bloom might have been replaced by her reflection. Since Egret's reflection was on our side, that would mean that the real Egret has been with Wither the whole time." Karen was already carrying Komachi, who was just a little heavier than she expected her to be.

"Black, White, Bloom, Mint, Rouge, Berry, Sunshine, Beat and Muse are all unconscious. None of us are dead or still imprisoned but this is still..." Inori summarized the situation, to bring everyone on one page.

"Let's leave, Dream. There is nothing left to do here and I'm worried that while we were all gone, the killed reflections got freed as well. We're back to where we started if that's the case." Love was constantly keeping an eye on Setsuna, who was still trying to wake up Ellen, who looked even cuter than usual when asleep so soundly.

"You're right." Raising her voice, Nozomi addressed everyone. It didn't matter that only five of them were her real team. For now, they all followed her. "We're going back to our own base! Don't let your guard down in case there's an attack. Protect the sleeping."

The tension reached it's peak just as they themselves reached the halfway point through the tunnel. Making Pine carry Rin, Nozomi spread her arms as a sign to stop, the group coming to an halt seconds later. One of two groups. Looking at the group of seven, only about thirty meters in front of them, Nozomi's mind worked at full capacity to try and find a solution that would not end up in people dying.

It was too dark for each party to properly determine the numbers and faces of the other group. From the shadows, Nozomi estimated them to be around six to ten people. Given that they were completely calm and composed, standing there, waiting, and the direction they had come from, they knew that nobody had stayed behind.

It took a good minute of seemingly silence until Peach and Blossom directly joined Nozomi's sides. "What do we do?" Love was just barely whispering, knowing that the situation could go out of hand with just one wrong word. A massive battle with so many unconscious was a terrible idea and had to be avoided if possible.

"We don't know their numbers, but since they haven't attacked us out of their own volition yet, I don't think any of the really dangerous ones, like Nightmare, are there." Tsubomi was worried about whether Erika was among the other group, but while one of the shadows looked small enough, she couldn't be sure.

"Let's see what they have to say. I'm not hesitating to fight, but if there is an alternative, I'll use it." Taking just one step ahead, both Blossom and Peach stayed put, giving Dream the benefit of a doubt. She hadn't done much for either group before the reflection problem, but if she was finally getting around to helping, they would give her a chance. "We want to talk. Select one representative of your group." A very simple demand, quite normal in the case of negotiations.

Nozomi could see roughly what shapes the shadows had, but still not enough to determine how many of them there are exactly. Two, three, maybe four even, seemed to argue until one of them emerged from the group and came out in front. It was hard to accept that of all people, Rin's reflection was the one that would talk to her. "I'm Blaze. I realize that you're likely to feel emotional pressure over my appearance but I ask you to forget about this." Blaze was significantly more composed without Nightmare, Malice or Poison there to harass and abuse her. She didn't agree much to the personality she had been given, as well.

"I would like to avoid a battle if possible. I can see that you have less than a dozen people, most of those likely rescued from the mirrors in our base. It's not much of a stretch to assume that most of them aren't going to be very helpful in a fight." Nozomi started with a slight threat, establishing that they had the upper hand if it came to a violent confrontation.

"And in the case that one of your side dies, they would be gone. The base has moved and you don't know where it is. Unless you get very lucky, whoever dies will do so permanently as you won't have enough time to rescue them." Blaze responded with a threat of her own, both groups having a lot to lose if they couldn't find a peaceful solution.

"You want to join the others, those that moved and left Malice behind, am I right?"

"No. Things aren't as simple as that. Malice and Poison subdued and abused most of us. Nightmare is just a force of destruction at this stage. We are going to join the independent group that is seeking a permanent non-violent solution. I cannot tell you the details of this as there is still the possibility of there being a spy among you and her reporting back to Poison."

"Hymn supplied us with information and didn't mention anything about a permanent non-violent solution."

"It is an option that was not included by the system. Only Dawn and Dusk know all the details. I was only briefed on it before I left."

"If you have rescued Umbra and Breeze, they just attacked us. What will stop them from attacking us again?"

"They enjoy lazying around without a care in the world. Poison cleverly manipulated them into thinking that fighting originals would be an exceptional fun way to pass the time. Experiencing being killed as immediate consequence of fighting, they have long since realized that they have been used."

"What about others that attacked us? You were involved when Nightmare escaped. Aurora and Hymn attacked us before, what will stop them this time?"

"Fear. If your side is scared of death and vanishing, I and my allies are, too. Dying once is enough to damage the mind severely. Why do you think you have been able to step over your ideals and moral restraints? Because you experienced what it means to be killed."

"So you want us to just let you walk past us and trust you're not going to attack us again, now, in the near future or later?"

"We want the same thing from you. Aurora is unable to even look at Umbra as result of her brutal murder at the hands of Bright. Hymn suffers from similar effects after being killed by Breeze. A lot of us are just as afraid of you as you are afraid of us."

"Where is the guarantee that this is not another trick by you reflections?"

"There is none. However, Hymn agreed to stay behind as hostage, together with Misery, if necessary. In exchange, we will request Milky Rose to come with us. We are now aware that Maelstrom, Marine's reflection, has long since been dead and replaced by Marine herself. While we do not approve of this entirely, it does aid us in our plan."

"Why all the secrecy? There are so many of you, surely you can simply attack whoever opposes you and remedy this all at once."

"Poison has Freeze and Azalea on her side. There is also the threat of Nightmare attacking in the middle of a battle. The risk is too high. As I have said before, we are just as afraid of death as you are. We will replace Azalea, one of Poison's allies, with the real Milky Rose, in an attempt to further diminish her forces and give us a chance to assassinate her. You might think this sounds atrocious, hideous, inhuman, but you do not know Poison. Without the moral and emotional restraint that Mint has, her power becomes a tool for mass murder."

"I can't make this decision for Kurumi. This is up to her. I don't think you're lying to me, though. You wouldn't tell me all these details if you were."

"So we have a deal. We will pass in the shadows. You will do alike."

Holding out her hand, Blaze waited for Nozomi to agree to her terms. The pink Cure delayed her decision for a few seconds, before she reluctantly took the hand of Rin's copy. "I will talk to Kurumi."

As both returned to their respective groups, Nozomi broke out in cold sweat. She had never negotiated with a usually hostile party in such a cold and sober manner. And to top it all off, she could feel that Blaze was right. Experiencing death had changed her. She wasn't acting like her usual self.

"It'll take too long to repeat everything she said. Essentially, they're just as afraid of a battle here as we are. We're both going to go our ways and they will join some kind of renegade faction on their side. She claimed that they're looking for a permanent non-violent solution. They also offered Hymn and Misery as hostages in exchange for Rose."

"What do they want with Rose?" The idea of surrendering one of their own didn't sit well with Love.

"Replace Azalea, her reflection, with the real thing to stage a coup." Nozomi was cutting it short quite a bit and interpreting freely.

"I'll call her." Tsubomi was eager to ask Dream about whether Marine was among the group, but she had the feeling that it wouldn't be good if she just spread the info that Maelstrom was actually her partner in disguise, so to speak.

"What do you think Dream? Are they telling the truth?" Love cautiously eyed the enemy from afar, her guard up in case of a surprise attack.

"I don't think they're lying. As for the truth... hard to say. It sounds a little too good to be true actually. We want a solution that lets us avoid the killing and the fighting. I want to believe them, but after seeing what Nightmare is like... I have a hard time doing so."

"A little too perfect. I want to believe them too, but having Rose go with them is quite dangerous. Are you sure we should even consider this?"

"That's not your decision to make. I'll go with them, Nozomi." Kurumi had heard the gist of it from Blossom and decided that if they thought she could help remove the Damocles sword above their head called Poison, she'd try. "In the worst case, you can track me. As the owner of the blue rose, I know what you've been up to in the rose garden, Nozomi."

Not saying a word, Kurumi advanced a few steps, waiting for Hymn and Misery to show up. She didn't have to wait long. The two blue reflections walked straight past her, the taller one looking depressed and a bit intimidated.

Nozomi watched the scene with unease. They were hiding something, she was sure of it. And she was worried about herself, too. Her thinking, the way she acted, it was so different from before. She couldn't quite put a finger on it, but there was... something in her mind that was actively changing her.

Hymn and Misery were surrounded by Peach, Blossom and Nozomi. Moving to one side of the tunnel and staying there, the reflection group, accompanied by Rose, passed them without as much as a single word being said. Some Cures had problems trying to keep their temper in check, but breaking the agreement wasn't an option.

As they finally made it back to the base, they found several reflections still locked securely into the mirrors. Vulture, Maelstrom, Malice, Agony, Rage, Fury and Apathy were all still there. Letting the unconscious Cures rest in some of the rooms, Hymn and Misery were brought to the dinning hall, surrounded by those that remained awake.

"What is this permanent solution Blaze was talking about?" Dream started the interrogation.

"A way for us to live on without the need for our original to die. I wasn't told the details either. Don't bother asking Misery, she wasn't told any more than me."

"How is that even possible? I'm very curious about how your side found out about this."

"I asked Blaze the same thing and she didn't have an answer either. Dawn and Dusk came up with it. That's Black and White, for you. I know we had a deal before and that is probably no longer valid, but can we still have a room? If we have to share one because there is not enough space, that's still fine."

"You can have my room. I haven't used it in a while. However, I want you to stay away from Ellen and Miki, both of you." Love wanted to trust them, but it was just too risky right now. It had worked out once, with Setsuna, but there were limits to everything. Setsuna had not **succeeded** in killing people.

"What about guarding them Love?" Inori wasn't sure it was a good idea to just let them do whatever they want to.

"I don't think that will be necessary." To everyone's surprise, it was Urara who objected to putting a guard on their trail. "They know damn well that if they do anything suspicious, they're not getting out of here alive. We'll have to keep up the guards in front regardless because of Poison, so they can't run, even if they wanted. They knew all of this when they agreed, isn't that right?"

"You're right. Though if the others feel better if someone watches us, that's okay with me."

"No. I think we'll give you the benefit of a doubt." Nozomi was fighting a steadily stronger getting headache. "It's getting pretty late, too. You can eat with us if you want to."

"Do you really think that's a good idea? A few of you might be okay with having us amidst you, but as for the others, especially those that died recent-"

"Your decision. Take it or leave it. You look like one of us, so if you act like it too, we won't have any problems treating you like everyone else." Nozomi put the fingertips of her left hand against her forehead. "I'm skipping dinner and going to bed. My head hurts."

The room was absolutely silent until Nozomi had left. Slight confusion and disbelief spread among the others after seeing her during the whole operation. "I almost can't believe that's Dream. What happened after Nightmare killed her?" Urara had trouble accepting that someone could change that rapidly.

"Are you sure that is Dream? Nobody has seen Nightmare in a while." Hymn was worried that the worst of them all was pretending to be one of the originals.

"We checked every room and mirror. Dream's was empty, so that has to be the real one. I'll ask her to switch to civilian form later." Urara had no qualms about doing that. It's not like she was going to seduce her leader, anyway.

=== Dissonance ===

Inori and Tsubomi had taken up the duty to stand guard while Hikari and Karen prepped dinner for everyone. Hymn and Misery immediately enjoyed the ability to walk around without having to worry about being killed and strolled through the garden, watching everything in peace.

Kaoru and Michiru were the ones that first sought contact with the could-be enemy. "We want to know..." "...more about the reflections." To the Kiryuus, those things were extremely fascinating.

"There's not that much interesting stuff. But I guess it won't hurt to tell you two everything. That's alright with you, Mise?" Changing how the name was pronounced and shortening it was her way of relieving Misery of her awful name. Many of the reflections didn't have nice sounding names, but without a doubt, Misery was among the worst.

Nodding quickly, and despite her height, trying to hide behind Hymn, Misery really didn't seem like her original in any way or form. The unlikely quartet sat down near the pond, Michiru and Kaoru sitting in the grass right behind the other two, who enjoyed cooling down a bit by letting their feet hang into the water.

"When we gained consciousness, we knew a lot of things. Every single reflection has all of the powers and memories of their original, but was given the exact opposite of what the originals personality was like. It's... hard to explain, but we simply **knew** that this personality was just given to us instead of it being something we developed over time. So what do you do if you know you're the way you are because it was forced on you and not because of your own, free will? Oh right, we do have free will. We know that both our original and we will rot to death if both of us stay alive for too long, but beyond that knowledge, there is no initiative imprinted on us that makes us want to kill anyone. Maybe except for those like Nightmare, Malice and Poison."

"Why don't they change their personality like you did? It is very obvious that you have deviated quite a lot from what Beat's opposite is supposed to be." Kaoru couldn't quite understand.

"Beat, Ellen, isn't as extreme a personality as Dream or Mint. I'm not sure, but with that type of personality, they probably simply wanted to keep being that way. They enjoy it. Where did I stop, uh..." Misery kept playing around with her friends hair, distracting her.

"You were talking about what you do when you have a personality forced on you." Michiru was quite interested in what Hymn had to say.

"You either decide to stick with it, or you try to change. Of course, given that your personality is a significant part of who you are, it's not that easy. Helping Mise here was the catalyst for me that helped to rapidly change. Feeling regret, pity, wanting to protect something. Those feelings weren't present when Malice talked me into using Purger against everyone here."

"I can't imagine what it must feel like to know you're acting in a specific way because of something that was imprinted on you, even though you have free will." Kaoru wondered if it was anything like their own situation.

"Not the nicest feeling. A lot of the others are going through the same thing now. Aurora went as far as trying to be like her original. Unlike you originals, time does not stand still while we're in the mirrors. If the original looks into the mirror, we see a fraction of what the mirror sees. And we're left there to think about ourselves. Aurora, Aurum, Mise here too, they all had plenty of time to think about what they want to do."

"It makes sense then that you're trying to find a solution that doesn't involve either person dying." Michiru was a little impressed by both the dedication and the courage it took to try and go a different path.

"Having the memories of our originals sounds great on paper. Know their weakness, know their strengths and allies. But it also means we know everything about the sad and happy parts of their lives. Especially the latter is depressing. It only hurts if you can remember that your original was happy doing this and that, but you'll never be able to do the same."

"You really don't know what this solution is that Blaze mentioned to Dream? You have to admit that it's sounding too perfect. Too easy. And the timing..." Kaoru couldn't help but be suspicious. Trying to drill for answers with force wasn't going to be any use, so she went the long way around.

"If I knew, I'd happily tell you. Right now, it looks like Poison and her goons have to be gone before we can do anything, though."

"Hey, Bright, Windy and all defectors, time for dinner." Urara was shouting from the entrance of the garden. She didn't trust the reflections, but she wasn't expecting them to pull anything crazy either.

=== Dissonance===

She couldn't feel her legs and her vision had given in a few seconds ago. Hearing the pained breathing of her partner a few meters away, she was at least sure that Saki was still alive somewhere in the room. Their luck was really terrible. Thinking she had seen someone escape during their assault on the enemy base, Saki had led Mai on a wild goose chase.

They hadn't found anything. "Do you remember the way back?" Mai's sense of orientation wasn't bad, but not good enough to find the way out of an elaborate maze just from memory.

"No idea. And I'm tired. The others must have finished a while ago. Let's rest for a bit before we go back. Not like we'll change anything if we hurry."

Sitting down next to Saki, Mai sighed. Her bad luck kept going but at least her partner had stopped acting like an idiot. "What was that thing with Nagisa and Honoka all about?"

"Nothing much."

"Nothing much? You two seemed pretty hellbent on pulling one over us."

"We didn't mean to do anything that hurt you."

Giving her partner a weird look, Mai suspected that they were still plotting something. She fully expected Nagisa to just randomly show up soon to continue the nonsense that had been going on. "I'm sick of you playing games with me." Mai noticed that Saki tensed up a lot as she spoke. "What are you and Nagisa planning? Everything okay? Did you hear something?"

One swift move and Saki covered Mai's mouth with her hand. "Someones there." Her whisper was barely audible even for Mai, who was right there beside her. "Stay here."

Almost ten seconds passed before Mai realized that there was no sound of Saki's footsteps. Standing up and trying to go where Saki had gone, she reached a dead end. A corridor only a few meters long, ending in a solid wall. Was it safe to call for her? Probably not.

But what if she had seen things again? Or heard, in this case. Turning around, Mai noticed that it was getting darker quickly. The light was fading and it was already hard to see smaller openings and exists. In a matter of less than a single minute, she was wrapped in complete darkness, moving through the room relying solely on memory.

"Saki?" Calling out cautiously, Mai felt the pressure and nervousness creep up on her. If something happened to her... if whatever may or may not be out there got her... what then? "Saki?!" If she couldn't see, then nobody else could, either.

Mai felt how one of her rips broke when something hit her from behind. She couldn't even tell if it was a punch or a kick or something else entirely. All that mattered was that the pain made her kneel down for a moment. Which was all that the enemy needed, apparently.

This time, she could tell what exactly was hitting her. A large rock, maybe ripped out of a wall or the ground, or just something that was laying around, hit her right in the face. Luckily, it didn't break her nose, but she could feel blood running from her temple.

Another hit to the back of her head. Too strong, too focused for a rock. Whatever was attacking her, it knew exactly where to hit. Falling over, Mai could barely stop herself from throwing up, the hit on her head making her feel incredibly sick.

The craziest part was that the attacker seemed to deliberately not use any special moves or let out the tiniest sound. Laying there, on the ground, her hands were hit repeatedly by large rocks, wielded by someone. The pain and the confusion of not knowing who she was fighting against disabled Mai.

But finally, Saki came to her rescue. Only able to hear the footsteps she knew so well, something got hit above her and crashed into a wall somewhere. A series of blows being exchanged, each impact making Mai shiver, fearing for Saki. Another crash into a wall or the ground, she couldn't tell. A flash of light behind her. A small explosion... and silence.

"Saki?" The loud breathing a few meters behind her signaled that her love was still alive, but she needed to know her condition. Trying to get up, Mai only noticed now that numerous small rock shards were stuck in her hand. Pulling them out, ignoring the bleeding holes and crawling over to where the breathing came from, she found a familiar mop of hair after feeling around.

"Saki... say something, please."

"I couldn't see who attacked us. She... hid herself. But I scared them away. I think they got my right leg."

"We'll get out of here. We just need to get back to everyone else."

"I have a feeling this was all a trap. The attack, leading us away, maybe even leading others away, so they can finish us off one at a time. We should try and find out if there are any others in this area."

"We'll do that. Can you stand? Use my shoulder." Mai flinched in pain when she felt her broken rib. She still felt sick, but with Saki at her side... she was okay.

"Let's go... Mai."

=== End of Event XIX ===


	20. Mirrors – Quattuor

**Dissonance**

_Event XX_

**Mirrors-Quattuor**

"Do you know what you have to do?" Poison wanted her pawn to reaffirm one more time that she had understood her orders. "You know what the price for failure is. If you think it necessary, take my dog with you."

Ember didn't enjoy serving under Poison, but she didn't have much of a choice. The green reflection was a devious bastard and had no doubt a backup plan for just about anything up her sleeve. "Give the sign, relay orders, retreat."

"Good. Now get out, you've been in my face long enough." Sitting in a large throne, carved out of a large stone block, Poison looked down. Those idiots. Did they really think that it would be that easy? Information was might, and the best way to use that might was deception and betrayal.

"The weak cling to every little hope of salvation, of happiness. The promise of putting an end to the aggression, of peace. Those that want to believe, will, as soon as they're fed even the tiniest scrap of hope. A peaceful solution... what do **you** think, you worthless piece of trash?" The sole of her boot was pushing against Freeze's head, forcing her to lie down on the flower hill, the grass and plants tickling her. Putting a little more force behind it, Freeze's face was tasting the slightly wet earth.

"Oh how exceedingly silly of me. I forgot that dogs don't talk. Now be a good pet and go get me something to eat." Using her other foot to kick Freeze and make her roll over, Poison watched her with a pleasured smile on her face.

Aqua's reflection had left to scurry around and look for something edible when a shadow appeared behind one of the trees close to the hill. Poison didn't bother to look but instead waved her hand, giving a sign that one of her slaves may approach her. "So?"

"They have completely focused on the solution. Dusk and Dawn believe that they have figured out how it works. The group has made a deal with the originals, a non-aggression pact to avoid further suffering. Hymn and Misery were given to them as hostages."

"That trash wasn't useful anyway. Continue."

"Rose has joined the group and they intent to replace Azalea with her. I believe they are aiming for her to assassinate you, our great mistress."

"Laughable. But I like their enthusiasm. Let them continue, I want to see how good an actor the original Rose is. She'll be easier to manipulate than that princess of a reflection. How is that other thing proceeding?"

"The first of the five is nearly done. You shall see the fruit of your genius plan soon, mistress."

"Return at a later time. Don't let anyone see you. Continue to observe." Poison waved her hand again, a sign for her subordinate to leave. She had chosen well. Even before Nightmare had returned, she had already made arrangements with others. They knew that it would be easy for her to kill them all with ease. To be feared was truly enjoyable.

Down in the labyrinth, Dusk and Dawn were going over their own plot. "Do you really think it was wise to tell everyone that there is a peaceful solution?" Dusk was a little worried.

"It was the only way to stabilize things for now. What do you think would have happened if they met the originals on their way here and didn't know about it?"

"A bloodbath."

"On both sides. What worries me is that Flare said the originals had a large amount of unconscious among them. They are supposed to wake up right after they're pulled from the mirror. I hope we're not in more trouble than we think."

"You think Poison or Nightmare have done something to them?"

"Not to them but the system. I don't know how they would go about changing it, but I wouldn't rule it out. When I asked Aurum about Nightmare earlier, she had some very worrying things to say."

"Why would she put them in a coma and not just have them killed outright if she can manipulate the system?"

"I don't know. The list of things we don't know about Poison, Nightmare and their motives is too long. First of all, where is Nightmare? According to the others, she wasn't in Dream's mirror, so she wasn't at the base when the originals launched their attack."

"Speaking of unknown whereabouts, have you seen Flare? She should have been here a while ago."

"I got lost. This place **is** a maze after all." Stepping up to the black and white reflection, Flare seemed out of breath and slightly stressed. "I even ran into Blaze on my way. She's acting a little suspicious if you ask me. She was talking to herself and she only reacted to my presence when I said something."

"That's not surprising. She's been working hard to change her personality and she's probably trying her best to find a way to get rid of Poison. She made the deal with the originals, so it makes sense that she feels responsible." Dawn had little choice but to trust all of those that joined her side at least a little. The chance was high that one of those that returned were a spy. She trusted Blaze, Flare and of course Dusk at least.

"What do we do now?" Flare brought them back on topic. The yellow reflection was showing signs of impatience, a remnant of her initial personality.

"I talked to Rose and she's on standby right now. When we get a chance, we'll take out Azalea, replace her and then have Rose play her role for a while. If she gets a chance, she'll take out Poison. No matter how powerful she is in a fight, a lethal attack from behind, unexpectedly, is going to kill her." Dawn didn't like cowardly tactics like that, but they didn't exactly have a wide range of choices available to them.

"What if that backfires? Poison is much smarter than we thought. I had no idea Mint was that intelligent. Aqua, yes, but her partner?" Dusk felt that something wasn't quite right.

"Does it matter? Poison is a diabolical genius. She's proven that much by what happened so far. What if everything was her plan? What if we're doing exactly what she wants us to do?" Flare stared at Dawn for a while.

"Attacking her won't work. If the assassination fails, I will go to the originals base and request that Muse undoes whatever she did to Hymn. If it comes to that, we'll try to kill her with Purger." To take out Poison was important enough to ignore the moral issues coming with that request, Dawn thought.

"When I asked Blaze about Mint's power, she has Rouge's memory after all, she told me that she was usually only there for defense and support. There was one case where she snapped and literally destroyed part of the landscape. You can assume that if she had no moral limits about using her power, she could do the exact same thing that Poison is doing." Flare could see how someone like that was a massive threat once their personality was reversed. And worse of all, Poison didn't just seem like Mint's opposite but rather even worse than that.

"Other than Poison, Nightmare is still a considerable threat. We don't know where she is and what she is up to. She went up against Malice, Agony and Rage all on her own, nearly wrecked one of them, injured another and I'm pretty sure she's still alive." Dawn looked up just as she had finished talking. Someone else was joining them.

"Blaze. Did you want something?"

"Even if we take out Poison, if Nightmare decides that she'd rather kill everyone, reflection and originals alike, than go down or participate in a peaceful solution, I fear that she might be able to do it. I overheard you talking about her. We've seen the power that Dream has, but that is not all. There is something else." Sitting down on a large stone block, Blaze made a grim expression.

"What do you mean? Does she have some kind of special ability that let's her cause enormous damage?" Dusk

"Her ability is called Utopia. Or more specifically, Dream's ability is called that. It makes you see the happiest place you can think of, robbing you of all will to fight. I don't know if she had enough time to reverse the effect or not, but that isn't what I'm worried about."

"Explain this in detail. If she has some way to oppose all of us at once, we need to plan for that." Dawn hadn't heard about this before.

"To explain this, I have to go back to when Dream and her team first fought their enemies, Nightmare and Eternal. At the time, they protected a place called the Rose Garden. It's similar to the fairy worlds but it's also a major source of energy. I'll cut out all the things that happened during their fight. In the end, it came down to them summoning the guardian of the Rose Garden, a... creature of sorts that was unbelievably powerful. But the energy necessary to summon that thing was so much that the caretaker of the Rose Garden, Flora, turned into a seed. Dream took over as caretaker."

"I don't see where this is going. So, what, did Dream get some sort of power from that place? Surely she can't access that here." Dawn didn't like long winded explanations.

"Rouge heard this from Dream, so I'm not sure how reliable it is as information. Dream said that even though Flora eventually returned and took back the job of caretaker, they struck a deal. Dream was to be the guardian of the Rose Garden. In time of need, she would be able to utilize the full power of the entire Rose Garden by herself. Think of it like giving her, even by Cure standards, superhuman powers. There is no memory in Rouge's head about her ever using this, but if it's anywhere as strong as the original guardian, she would tear even through a hundred of us with relative ease."

"We're in a dimension that is cut off from the rest of the universe. She can't access that ability here then." Dawn blurted that out without even thinking about it. Looking confused, the other two seemed to feel similarly confused. They knew she was right, but they couldn't explain why.

"That is what worries me. The Rose Garden's energy is the life energy of the caretaker and the garden itself. What if she can substitute that kind of energy through some other way?"

"You mean..." Flare didn't like that thought at all.

"What else is around, alive and very powerful?" Blaze said it like it was only barely a question.

The brief silence made it pretty clear that they all knew the answer.

"That's right. **Us.**"

=== Dissonance ===

"So, is it really Dream?"

"Unless Nightmare somehow learned to transform into Nozomi and become a total ditz, that's Nozomi in there." Rin tried as hard as she could to get the image of the naked Nozomi trying to out of bed and promptly falling flat on her face out of her head.

"She is still acting oddly." Inori started to walk towards the garden. Dinner had gone over and everyone had gone to bed, all without any attacks happening or the previously killed waking up. "According to Hymn, the others shouldn't be asleep."

"You talked to her?"

"Bright and Windy did. Based on how much they were told, I don't think this is a trap. Who is standing guard by the way?"

"Melody and Blossom. They should be able to handle any attackers for a while. I worry about Nozomi. She seemed back to normal now, but when we attacked the reflections... I could barely recognize her."

"She isn't always like that on a mission or during a fight?"

"Not that brutal and calculating. It's almost like she swapped out her entire personality for a while. You don't think it's possible that Nightmare is controlling her somehow, do you?"

"My ability is called Domination and I can bend someone's will to mine, but only for a short while and only when I'm right next to them. Unless Dream has a similar ability, I can't imagine Nightmare doing anything to her."

"That's not her style. Karen I could imagine having an ability like that, but not Nozomi. The question becomes, what do we do now? Just sit around and wait for the reflections to get rid of Poison and implement that peaceful solution?"

"Attacking them won't make a lot of sense. Worse, it could ruin whatever plan they have on the other side. On top of that, we don't even know where they are right now. Staying put seems like the most logical choice. Talking about staying put, I'm going to sleep. You should go back too, I'm sure Rhythm is waiting for you already."

Rin just stood there, looking confused at Pine. "Rhythm?"

"Night. See you tomorrow." Slightly lifting her arm in the air, Inori vanished into her room, just wanting to sleep. She was too sleepy to play games of denial with Rouge.

She had just entered her room when someone felt out of place. Rouge? Yes, she had been talking to Rouge... but wasn't it Lemonade who had offered to check on Dream? And didn't Rouge get killed in the attack? Had she... woken up? No, that wasn't likely. So what was going on?

Leaving her room, there was no sign of the red Cure. Running over to her room, she found Rhythm fast asleep, the unconscious Rouge right next to her. The noise of the door being suddenly flung open woke the white Cure, who looked at the perplexed face of Pine and found herself confused. "What's wrong?"

"She was... here the whole time, right? Rouge hasn't woken up?" Was she losing her mind? Was someone playing tricks on her?

"What are you saying? Of course she hasn't woken up. She never will. But why are you naked?"

Looking down on herself, Inori noticed that she wasn't just in civilian form but also wearing no clothes at all. Turning into Pine didn't change the latter problem. "Has Rin woken up?"

Whirling around and looking right in Rhythm's face, the white Cure seemed perfectly calm. "How did you...?" Turning around again, there was nobody in bed next to Rouge.

Once again facing Rhythm, Inori almost fell over. Her whole body and especially her face was covered in festering wounds, her eyes blood red. "Are you alright?"

Closing her eyes and trying to collect her thoughts, Inori needed to get away. At least there didn't seem to be any physical sensations. "It's nothing. Just... stress." Walking past Rhythm and trying to keep her eyes closed as much as possible, Inori almost ran back to her room.

Throwing herself on the bed, Inori tried hard to remain composed. If she was hallucinating, someone or something was doing it to her. But what? Was it the same thing that could have affected Nozomi? What about those that were sleeping?

Slowly calming down, her breathing normalized and she looked down on herself. She was still Cure Pine, still wearing a costume and not horribly wounded. It definitely wasn't just stress. That didn't make you see very lifelike hallucinations. Something very unsettling slowly crawled it's way into her thought process. She was going insane. That alone was already plenty frightening. But what really scared her was what she deduced from there.

Getting up, unable to stand still, slowly swaying from side to side just a little, Inori looked at the mirror. Agony was in there, seemingly peacefully asleep. But there was something... something. What was it? What was different? Shivers ran down her back as she took a step forward, almost mesmerized by the image of the unconscious reflections.

Another step and she noticed the first slight differences. Agony was clearly breathing, her mouth was drawn to a grin, her fingers twitched. Inori felt cold, as if something was sucking all the warmth directly from her body. A third step, and she could _hear_ her. Quiet whispers that seeped into her mind, indistinguishable from gibberish at first, the words became closer with the fourth step.

"...they rely on you... no thanks ever given... take you for granted... ungrateful pack... friends? no... leeches... fake care..." Inori slowly repeated the words resonating in her head, repeating themselves over and over.

There was no next step. Falling down on her knees in front of the mirror, she reached out to the glass, as if she was forced to do so. Each centimeter passed increased the feeling of dread. She wanted to stop, she begged herself to stop and yet her body didn't obey her. Touching the glass, a myriad of images started flowing into her mind. Images she recognized as herself killing, fighting, torturing, a smile of pure sadism on her face.

Shaking her head as hard as she could, everything vanished. The dread, the cold feeling, the images, the voices. Her room was back to normal. Her hand on the mirror still, Inori's face looked like that of a ghost, her skin a pale white, her pupils enlarged, cold sweat on her forehead. "What is happening to me?"

"Not me. You." Looking up, Inori didn't have time to be shocked or scream for help. Half of Agony's body was already out of the mirror, her hands soaring for Inori's throat, a tight grip that didn't let her breathe.

Struggling to breathe, Inori feared for her life. She had been in many dangerous situations before, but never something like this. Her arms and hands didn't obey her, nor did the rest of her body. Just sitting there and letting Agony slowly kill her, the feeling of dread was consuming her now. Rational thought, plans, they were all making way for the pure desire to survive. But without control over her own body, she couldn't do anything.

But not all hope was lost. Just as she was starting to lose sight of Agony's sadistic expression, she heard the door open and someone run into the room. She couldn't see who it was or hear their voice. The grasp on her throat was lifted for just a brief moment. "**Help!**" was all she could get out before she completely lost sight of what was going on.

When she opened her eyes again, she found herself tied to her bed, golden chains keeping her arms and legs restrained. Looking up, she saw both Lemonade and Windy. "Why am I restrained?" She had a bad feeling about hearing the answer, but that didn't change the fact that she simply **had** to know.

"You were choking yourself in front of the mirror. You even fought back against Windy helping you." Urara didn't know what to make of it. She seemed back to normal now, but there was definitely something bad going on. "You said your ability is called Domination, right? Do you think it's possible that Agony is using it on you through the mirror?"

"I... don't know. I have to be relatively close to the target and have a clear view of them. Can you remove the chains? They hurt a bit." Inori wasn't a fan of being tied up.

"Windy, can you get Hymn? I'm sure she'll know if this is possible." Watching the blue Cure leave, Urara sat down on the ground, right next to Inori's bed. "If I hadn't locked you up, you would be dead now. With everything that's happening, I think the reflections are somehow messing with our minds. It would explain Nozomi's odd behavior."

"But how are they doing it? And why would I be one to be affected? Agony hasn't been in the mirror for that long."

"We'll find out soon." Urara stood up and cast a few additional chains, removing any chance Inori might have had to get off the bed. Looking at the door, as if she had known they would arrive momentarily, the vocalist watched Windy return together with Hymn.

"So what do you think is happening?"

The reflection walked over to Inori, touched her hand, her forehead, examining her for a good minute. "It seems Agony implanted something in her. A part of her own body. If we let her keep it, she'll eventually turn into Agony herself." Hymn looked at Windy, completely ignoring Inori now.

"That's crazy! I would have noticed something like that, don't you think? Hey, I'm talking to you-" A chain suddenly covered her mouth, stopping her from saying another word. Something was wrong. She could feel it. Their faces, their expressions, they seemed unusually thrilled and amused. She needed to get out of there.

"Cut it out of her then." Urara looked over her shoulder just once, the keys parting a little just below Inori's breasts. "She's a cute, she can handle a bit of pain."

Windy nodded once, raised her arm and created a small blade completely made of wind energy. "Hold still."

The pain of the cut almost made her faint. It was a hundred times worse than any injury she had. Screaming through the chains, starting to choke on her own spit, Inori could feel blood run down her stomach. That was the last thing before she fainted.

Coming to, the shock and pain were still vivid in her mind. Pulling up her costume, she could feel the wound, closed by some kind of thread. Just touching it caused her excruciating pain, making her bend over in agony. "I need to... get out of here..."

Trying to get up, she couldn't even stand, falling over abruptly and hitting her face on the ground. Pushing herself up, getting on her knees, holding on to the bed and somehow managing to get on her feet, Inori pushed open the door. And she saw face to face with Urara, who seemed surprised over something.

The surprise did not last for long. Using all the strength she could muster and punching Urara in the stomach before she could do anything, the short haired Cure ran for her life. The pain almost made her stumble and fall over again but she knew that it would be all over if they caught her again. She had to escape. They would kill her. They were all being controlled.

Rushing past the guards, they started to follow her. But neither Melody nor Blossom were fast enough to keep up. The wound had already opened again, but the adrenaline pumping through her somehow kept her going, ignoring everything else, just running for her life.

=== Dissonance ===

"So, care to tell me what exactly happened?" Urara had a headache; getting punched by Pine wasn't funny. Thank god it hadn't been someone like Black or Bloom.

"I don't know any more about this than you. You said she just came out of her room, punched you out of the blue and ran away, looking disturbed?" Hymn had been called to explain what exactly was making Pine go crazy. Being a hostage, it was just obvious to confront her about it.

"That wasn't the face of someone who was just disturbed. She looked at me like I was some sort of monster. That was clear fear in her eyes. I... know what that looks like. Something is messing with her mind. We checked Agony, but there doesn't seem to be anything wrong with her." Urara looked to Windy, who didn't have any great theories either.

"There is nothing in the system that does this to an original." Hymn couldn't think of any ability that would drive someone literally crazy either.

"You said you were created with all the knowledge of the system, right?" Michiru joined the discussion with a new idea. "What if the system has been changed in the meantime? Would you automatically know about that, as a reflection?"

"No, I wouldn't. But I can't think of anyone that has enough power or knowledge to change how the system works." The blue reflection remained silent for a good minute, trying to think of anyone strong enough.

"What about Nightmare and Poison? Could they have done this?" Michiru had a really bad feeling about the whole situation.

"I don't think so. How would they even access the system?"

"What about one of the others? We know that our reflections can use all of our abilities. What if one of them changed an ability to make way for this?" Kaoru continued on.

"It's possible. But who, and with what?"

"You're the reflection, you tell us." Urara noticed someone approaching from the back and saw that it was Nozomi. It was late at night, so she must have woken up by the noise they were making. "Can't sleep?"

Nozomi didn't answer or even look at her old friend until she stood right in front of Hymn. It was just for a brief moment, but the three Cures could have sworn that Dream had looked at the prisoner with a hateful glare. "What are you four doing out here in the middle of the hallway this late? Some of us are trying to sleep."

"You've been acting weird." Urara felt every single hair on her body stand up when Nozomi gave her the same hateful glare she had shown Hymn. And again, it only lasted a brief second. "What the hell is wrong with you Nozomi?" She knew it was the real one since she had transformed back earlier. But what in the world was happening with her?

"I'm acting weird because this whole situation is messed up. Go to sleep, it's late." Not even bothering to wait for an answer of her earlier question, Nozomi walked off, leaving the others behind.

"I think that proves that someone is messing with the system. And that, one way or another, the reflections are affecting the personalities of us originals." Assuming the worst and preparing for that was the most sensible thing to do, thought Kaoru.

"Whatever is messing with the system, we have to get rid of it fast. There's no use trying to look for Pine, she's way too fast. And if someone doesn't want to be found out there, they won't be found." Urara wasn't looking forward to facing whatever had drove Pine to escape.

Hymn had a bad vibe about the whole ordeal but it was too vague to put into words. Who had the power to influence something like the very system that governed the mirrors? She had a hunch but needed to talk to Muse before she could be sure. "Do any of those still awake have a dispelling ability?"

"You mean stuff like removing lingering magic effects and the like?" The vocalist was little suspicious of Hymn suddenly asking for that.

"I think something or someone might be keeping the others in that suspended like state. They're not moving, even though few people remain absolutely motionless when asleep."

"I don't know of anyone here who can do that. Bright, Windy, either of you know something?"

Michiru simply shook her head while her sister was oddly focused on her right hand, deep in thought. A few seconds later, she slowly explained what she had been thinking about. "I might be able to do something about it. You know that my ability, Stormflair, overloads the targets brain together with my own. If they're being held by some kind of mental effect, using Stormflair on them would be like a hard reset of their mental state. I don't know if this will have any side effects though. But who would have the means to keep them asleep like that?"

"Muse was capable of shutting down my ability to use Hymnos. I think Silence might have been able to use a Hymnos to put them into a comatose state like this." Hymn was worried that it was something that Silence did that altered the mirror system. To know for sure, she had to ask Muse what kinds of other Hymnos she was capable of.

"But why aren't we affected then?" Urara had heard the explanation before and especially because of that, it didn't make sense that only a few were affected.

"Before you attacked the mostly abandoned base, she could have used it there, just on those inside the mirrors. The mirrors all connect to the same void. Nobody is able to move in there, but sound could travel."

"You're saying she voluntarily went into the mirror? Is that even possible?" Urara wasn't pleased with where the discussion was going.

"I don't know. It wasn't when the system was made. I think we should try to wake Muse with Windy's ability."

"Not gonna happen. She said she doesn't know if there are side effects. You two know Muse isn't just some friend to me. I'm not going to let you do this with her as guinea pig."

"We should try it on someone. My Stormflair has no lasting effect and the worst I've seen people complain about was a headache for a few hours after."

"If you're so sure, try it on Bloom." It didn't escape the yellow Cure that the two sisters were very loyal and caring when it came to Bloom and Egret.

"I trust my sister, so I won't object. If Saki wakes up without any problems, we will wake Muse with it. If she and Hymn are able to put some kind of explanation together, it'll be worth it."

"Fine with me. I want to know what the hell is going on as badly as you two." But she wasn't willing to put Ako in any kind of danger.

The group of four walked quickly to Bloom's room. Just as they expected, the girl was still laying there, unmoving, as if she was frozen in time. Taking position next to the girl that had saved her life once, Kaoru herself didn't know what the effects of Stormflair would be if used on a sleeping target. In theory, it should work fine. In theory...

"Michiru, catch me when I go down." That wasn't so much a request but an order. Her sister obliged regardless.

There was nothing difficult about using her ability. No excessive focus was needed, no ridiculous targeting or prep time. Three reasons why her ability was so dangerous in a fight. It could take out basically anyone at any time. The price was high though.

Her sisters body went limp after a few seconds, but Michiru skillfully caught her and let her down slowly. "It usually takes a while for the target to wake up. I'm going to take Kaoru to our room. If you could stay here until I come back, I'd appreciate it."

"Not like we have anything else to do. While you're out, notify the guard that Rhythm and I will be relieving them in a little bit." Sitting down on the ground, leaned against the wall, Urara sighed heavily. The whole situation was a mess. If they could wake everyone like that, it would be fine, but take quite a while.

"Why would Silence put all of them into a state like this? Isn't she one of those that want the solution?" Talking to Hymn was the only thing to do until Bright returned.

"You just said that Muse isn't just anyone to you. You should know what Silence is like if you know what Ako is-" Hymn shut up the instant Urara glared at her.

"First, don't use her name. You're still the enemy, not to mention, I don't want people like you acting like they know her. Secondly, you said yourself that you are free to change your personality. Isn't that so? So what would stop Silence from doing the same?"

"I haven't seen Silence for a long time. She wasn't lumped in with the other garbage, and I didn't hear Poison or Malice mention anything about her. After Muse shutting me down when I used Purger, they must have realized she has the potential to be very dangerous."

"Ako said she has never used the other two Hymnos before. I also think she said she doesn't even know what they do."

"I'm not going to be much help there. Ellen discovered Hymnos on her own, without knowing anything about it. I don't even know the specifics of how they work. I just... know how to use them."

"At least we know how to wake them up now. I guess I should cut you some slack."

"Can I ask how you and Muse... well..."

"Got together? I pursued her, she resisted, I didn't give up and eventually things worked out. I'm not the type to turn things into great stories. Disappointed?"

"No, that actually fits the image Beat had of you."

The door opened at the same time Hymn showed a smile and Bright returned. "Kaoru is going to be out of it for at least an hour. If Saki is fine, we'll wake Muse next. I hope it won't turn into having to wake every single person with Stormflair. Her ability causes quite a bit of stress on her own mind, so repeatedly using it would be very straining."

"Ako is in my room. I'm escorting Hymn to her room before I go and get Rhythm. Get me when you have news."

"I'm going to wait here and look after Saki." Michiru was a little worried about her friend. Kaoru wouldn't have agreed to do it if she really believed there could be hazardous side effects, but it didn't hurt to be careful.

As the other two left in silence, Bright sat down on the bed, looking a little like a guardian of sorts, protecting the sleeping girl.

"What are the odds of there being traitors in the group that say they want the solution? If Poison is as wicked as you say, she's bound to have backup plans." Urara walked slowly towards Peach's room, Hymn right next to her. She didn't walk fast enough to put the reflection behind her.

"I can't really say. Since I only saw them briefly when we formed a group and left, I have no idea how many of them have changed, for better or worse."

"So we're in the dark. There's your room, get some sleep. I'll come and get you when Muse wakes up." Watching the blue reflection until she had vanished into what had been Love's room, Misery was in there as well, Urara still didn't completely trust her.

She came up with the idea of Silence being responsible too fast. And to ask for a dispelling ability... It did sound suspiciously like she had planned it all along. Well, for now, she could only wait.

Walking over to Rin's room, she was in a way surprised to find the white Cure actually there. By now, she had thought, they would've separated. Did they really develop a thing for each other? If that was the case, good, Rin was still her friend and she preferred her being happy.

"Hey, sleepyhead." Pulling up the sheet, the sleeping Kanade almost fell out of bed, scared half to death. "Time to pull guard duty."

=== Dissonance ===

"Have you found her yet?" Poison was hidden well between the trees and bushes. The dark of the night made her almost indistinguishable from the plant life. And there was someone with her.

"It's proving to be much harder than I thought. I can move unseen and without them noticing as long as I keep up the act. They're so simple. A little bit of acting weak, and they think you're harmless or on their side."

Poison did not even lift her arms and still, half a dozen dreadful barriers appeared all around the girl in front of her. "Your freedom comes at a price. Do what I told you to. Remember who you answer to." Lowering the barriers, Poison cracked a diabolical smile. "And don't even think about betraying me. You know that I only keep those worms alive because they might still be useful. Not because I cannot kill them."

A single click with her fingers and one of the larger trees a few meters away virtually vanished on the spot. The awful sound of wood being smashed to pieces echoed thorough the room for a few seconds. "Understood?"

The girl fell her knees, her voice slightly shaking. There was no doubt that the display of power had left an impression, one of fear. "Yes, Mistress."

"Leave."

Poison remained on the spot, even once the girl was long gone. A second click of her fingers, and a large spherical barrier slowly ascended from a bush a few meters behind her. "Did you really think I didn't notice you, Maelstrom?"

Erika had taken the chance and tried to spy on Poison, who was the ringleader of everything on this side of things. And now she had gotten herself caught. By the worst possible person imaginable. "I... fell asleep and when I woke up... I didn't want to disturb you." She had to save her hide somehow. Ember was fast asleep in her room.

"What an uncreative excuse. I don't care whether you have been there by accident or on purpose. What counts is that **you will forget about it all**." Forming her right hand like she held a sphere, the cruel reflection held her left above the right. Erika was turning as pale as a ghost when several smaller barriers started to surround her body. Four on her legs, two on each. One just above her ankles, one a bit above her knee. Four on her arms, one each around her hands, one each around her elbows. Three more spread over the rest of her body, one around her chest, one at her stomach and one around her throat. "**Now, where should I start... If I remember correctly, your original worked a lot with her hands. Maybe I should start there."**

Silent tears of fright were running down Erika's cheeks. There was no way she could fight Poison all on her own, worse yet, even if she could have, how would she have gotten out? The barriers could literally squash her like a fly, and even if she destroyed a few, the backlash would hurt her badly enough to incapacitate her.

Connecting her ring finger with her thumb, the barrier around Erika's right hand compressed very slowly but adamantly. Skin was pressed against muscle, muscle on bone, continuously increasing the level of pain. What had been just a few tears before were now dozens, the blue Cure wildly screaming out, but the voice only barely penetrating the sphere she was imprisoned in. The barrier finally released it's torturing grasp, her hand looking like someone had stepped on them with steel boots. But she had only been lured into a false sense of relief. Poison put strength behind her two fingers and the barrier started to crush Erika's right hand.

Her head wildly flinging left and right, her throat barely producing a voice, the pain so overwhelming that she couldn't even scream. Her pupils shaking in her wide open eyes, Erika could no longer see, hear or think.

Again, the relief set it but not without lingering pain. All five fingers of her right hand were broken badly, bent in unnatural directions. The sphere extended a little bit and Erika fell flat on her back, her whole body shaking after so much adrenaline had been pumped into it. And then it started all anew.

Poison was standing right in front of the sphere, seemingly intending to hear every single of Erika's wails. Connecting thumb with her index finger, the barrier around Erika's still healthy left hand begun closing in.

"Please... stop... I... can't take any more of this..." Erika had endured a lot of pain in her life, emotionally and physically, but nothing came close to the helplessness she felt now combined with the pain of slowly having your extremities crushed to unusable goo.

"**But we've only just started. You will be playing with me until you have all forgotten about what you heard."** Poison's smile was like a sign of impeding doom for the Cure.

Throwing up right in front of her as the pain set it again, there was but one thought in her mind. This had to be what dying felt like. If only she could have passed out. But as a Cure, it wasn't that easy. They were fine in a fight, but passing out just like that... what if she transformed back? It didn't matter if Poison was convinced she had forgotten all about it then. She really would die for sure.

The fake relief swept over her once again, slowly driving her mad. How long would it take until she broke? How long until she would just ask her to die. The barrier closed again, starting to break her remaining fingers. Screaming until she spit blood, her throat not capable of keeping up with her outbursts, Erika was a pile of pain and fear, cowering on the ground of the sphere, unable to even sit upright.

She had jokingly thought about being able to endure torture before, while she had talked with Ember, but now she knew. She wasn't able to take it. Not the kind that Poison administered on her victims.

"Mistress." Erika could only just barely make out the voice. It was Ember. "We caught Silence sneaking around. Azalea is already there and will most likely kill her. Will you allow it?"

"This is not your doing, is it, Ember? You know that if this is a trick to get me to stop punishing Maelstrom, you will suffer tenfold in her place. Of course, after that, I will resume whatever punishment still awaits her."

"I did not realize that Maelstrom had gotten herself into trouble. If my Mistress believes punishment to be in order, then that is what should happen." Ember had barely finished her sentence when she could feel the sole of Poison's boot hit her face.

"I loathe filthy peasants like you. Your ass kissing attitude disgusts me. Take that piece of garbage and get out. Don't dare to show your face in my presence before I call for you. I need to put a hold to that stupid wannabe princess." Walking off, Poison completely smashed a tree that stood in her way, not even leaving the roots of it intact.

Ember, her nose bleeding from taking the kick, hurried over to Erika, who she still believed to be Maelstrom. "What were you **thinking?!**" Picking up her injured partner, Ember was a cautious as she could be, trying to not inflict any more pain than already done. "You were really lucky that Azalea was right there, ready to be setup to catch Silence. If I hadn't managed to somehow tip her off without revealing it's me, Poison would have killed you... and me."

"I'm... sorry..." Erika's vision was blurred red, her thoughts a total mess. She had been saved... That was the last thing the blue Cure thought before she slipped into unconsciousness.

Poison on the other hand was about to explode. Why did that stupid purple cunt have to go and make things more difficult than they had to be? "Azalea!" The green reflection was shouting from the distance, reaching out with her arm and creating five layered barrier that spanned the full width of the hallway, separating Silence from Azalea.

"What are you doing Poison? She is my prey! I earned the right to-" Azalea stopped when she saw the furious look in what might very well have been the devil herself. But she had stopped too late. The barrier warped itself around, a nearly solid ring of green energy around her throat, slowly lifting her up in the air. Her legs kicked air and she smashed the first barrier with a punch, the skin on her hand rupturing from the backlash. "Let me go! I'm telling you to let me go!"

"I'm so sick of babysitting you. Your goddamn original would be more use than you insolent waste of a slave." Clenching her fist, Poison watched with extreme satisfaction as Azalea smashed another barrier before her arms started to wildly flail around, the barrier depriving her of any and all air. The gagging and choking sounds were like music in Poison's ears. "You arrogant idiot, it's time you realized who is the one holding the real power here." Clenching her fist even more, Azalea could feel her throat being crushed. Blood was running out of her mouth, nose and eyes, her eyes rolled back into her head.

Opening her fist completely and lowering her arm, Poison let the purple reflection down. "One last chance. Kneel, lick my boots and swear absolute loyalty and obedience to me, and I'll let you live."

Azalea was on her knees, coughing and gagging, desperately trying to breathe before Poison would continue her torture. A few seconds passed since the green reflection had made her demand and while she was preparing to follow them, Rose's copy was suddenly kicked violently in the face. Half laying on the ground, Azalea felt her right hand being crushed under Poison's boot. "You're slow."

Ignoring all the pain and humiliation she was suffering, Azalea lowered her head down to Poison's boot. Her own blood was smeared over the tip and incredible disgust at the act almost overwhelmed her. But the fear of being killed on the spot if she didn't do it was enough to force her through it. Kissing and licking the tip of Poison's boot, Azalea's face was distorted in rage and abhorrent hatred for her oppressor.

"**Now get out of my face Aza... you don't even deserve to be called that. You'll be... yes, you'll be Rhododendron from now on. I don't want to see your ugly visage for a while.**" Kicking her again, hard enough to make the humiliated girl fall flat on the ground, Poison finally left her alone. It was efficient to rule people with fear. And Azalea had tasted a fear that would not leave her for a long time.

"Maelstrom..." She hadn't forgotten about her. Well, for now, both she and Ember were kept in check by the prospect of getting killed. Despite the fact that none of them died permanently right away, getting killed always came with the risk of permanent death after two days. And of course the pain.

The sadistic woman didn't even bother to look when she passed Ember's room. The pink reflection had carried her partner in there and laid her down, getting ready to heal her. Blossom rarely used her ability and that with good reason. It was a huge strain on her own body. But she couldn't possibly leave Mael with both of her hands broken. Just the sight of the blue haired girl in pain was enough to make her hate Poison's guts.

But could she ever act against her? To do so would spell instant death for just about anyone. Someone who was able to virtually pulverize whole trees without doing more than moving their hand around a little wasn't also someone you went up against. Maybe.. and just maybe, the real Mint would stand a chance against her, but even that was unlikely.

Putting her hands together like she was ready to pray, Ember stood next to her bed, looking down on the pain distorted face of her partner. The air around her got heavier as she focused more and more energy on a single point. Healing was still painful if the ability had to correct broken bones and such. She hoped Mael wouldn't feel too much of it.

The room shone in a pink, warm and calming light when Ember finally released the focus, activating her ability. "Restoration!" Like a pillar of energy, the light enveloped her partner, her fingers being corrected one at a time, the sound of cracking bone making Ember feel sick. Even though she didn't want anything more than to heal the girl she loved, it was quite painful to exhaust that much energy.

With a final sizzling sound, the energy vanished, leaving Erika peacefully passed out, her hands healed, her body fully restored. Feeling more than just a little dizzy, Ember sat down next to the blue haired girl, caressing the face that was no longer showing signs of pain. All of Embers motions stopped when Erika opened her mouth and said something.

"Tsubomi..."

=== Dissonance ===

The middle of the night seemed colder than usual. Urara was still worried about what happened with Pine. Was she being affected by Agony? But why act all afraid then? From what she could tell, the reflection hadn't hesitated to defend herself with everything she had.

"Lemonade. Isn't that... Pine?" Urara returned from being deep in thought and looked through one of the many openings of the chain wall. The yellow Cure was indeed standing just about a dozen meters outside the base. What now? Had she come to her senses?

"I'm going out. If something happens, alarm everyone." Creating an opening between the chains, Urara stepped out. Pine wasn't looking good. Even in the dark, she could see how pale she was. Not only that, but she was slightly swaying from side to side, as if she was drunk.

"Pine." Calling out to her once, Urara didn't even get a reaction. It was slightly disquieting for her to be like that. "Pine!" Getting a lot louder, she finally made the other Cure realize her presence. "What's wrong with you?"

"I... don't know. Where am I? How did I get here? It's freezing cold."

Cautiously, Urara took a few steps forward, only to get a sudden and powerful reaction. Screaming out, flailing with her arms and taking a few steps back, Pine was suddenly in a panic. "Stay away from me! You're not going to kill me! I know what you are!"

Not hesitating, Urara launched several chains from her arms to tie up Pine, robbing her of any chance she might have had to run away. Instead of getting closer, she pulled the veterinarian slowly in. Screaming on top of her lungs, Pine seemed to lose her mind more the closer she got to Lemonade.

Finally in range, Urara hit Pine's face as hard as she could with her flat hand, trying to knock some sense into her. "What was that for?"

"Stopping you being hysteric. What is **wrong** with you? Acting like I'm out to cut you to pieces or something."

"I... don't know. I'm feeling kind of tired like after a bad hangover. Can you undo the chains? They're making it hard to breathe." Urara didn't know what to think. For now, she would just take the girl back to the base. Hopefully, she didn't have to lock her up.

But the night seemed full of people having hangovers and headaches.

"My head is killing me... I feel like I haven't eaten in days, too..." Saki had finally come to, roughly an hour after Kaoru used Stormflair. "What happened? I don't remember a thing." Michiru was still there with her. Getting Lemonade and Hymn could wait until she finished explaining things to Saki.

"We're kind of in trouble, so I'll give you a summary. You were killed by a reflection, most likely your own, and Mai has been missing for a while. There was an attack on our base and several others were killed. We acted in turn and raided their base, killing Malice, Agony and Rage. Fury and Apathy were there as well but already on the verge of death. When we rescued everyone from the mirrors, they were in some kind of comatose state. Kaoru used her ability to break whatever effect was keeping you asleep."

"Slow down Michiru. So... Mai isn't here?" That was Saki's first and foremost concern.

"We don't know where she is. Her reflection is inside her mirror still. That is something I forgot to mention. A lot of the reflections we killed have been freed. They are looking for some kind of peaceful solution now."

"You'll stop me if I try to go and look for Mai, right?"

"It's too dangerous. I'm as worried about her as you are, but we think Nightmare is still out there. Poison has proven to be a very difficult enemy to deal with, as well. I need to go and get Lemonade now. Hymn, one of the reflections that joined up with us as a deal, thinks that Silence, Muse's reflection, has done something to put all of those that were in the mirrors at the time into the state we got you out of just now."

"I'll go and find me something to eat. I'm starving."

Michiru was about to leave the room when she turned back at her friend. "Don't even think about going off on your own to look for Mai. We'll find her."

"I'm not a little girl anymore. I trust you."

Checking on her sister, Michiru found the blue haired girl sitting on their bed, rubbing her temples. "Headache..." It was the only side effect of using Stormflair. "Go get Lemonade. I'll wake Muse." Slowly getting up, Kaoru groaned quietly a few times before she got a hold of herself.

Michiru found both Lemonade and Rhythm at the guard post, the exit barricaded with countless chains, making it impossible for anyone to get in or out. The incident with Pine hadn't caused any more trouble. The yellow Cure had gone to sleep and not made a sound since then.

"Saki woke up and she's fine. There are no side effects beside a possible headache."

"Ako claims that I'm a walking headache for her, so she'll live. She should be in my room. Rhythm, I'm going to oversee Windy waking Muse, then I'll come back. Bright, you stay here with Rhythm for the time being."

"What are you afraid of? That one of us would do something to Muse?" Michiru was used to people not fully trusting her, but it seemed odd for Lemonade to be that careful.

"Who knows **whats** going on in your heads." The tone of her voice made clear that she knew _something_, but Michiru couldn't tell what exactly.

Staying behind with Rhythm, Michiru was soon approached by Kanade. "If Bloom woke up, we'll be able to get everyone back soon, right?"

"Worried about Rouge?" Michiru was a little curious about just what kind of relationship those two had.

"About everyone. I want this to end... I'm starting to get paranoid of who is really themselves and who isn't." Kanade didn't deal too well with this type of stress. Constantly on guard, no certainty of who was really your ally, and then the whole thing about ending up in some kind of nirvana when someone killed you.

"It's always interesting when you see scenarios like this in a movie. A group of people, fighting for survival, put there by an unknown power. A classic science fiction staple. But you're right, I too could do without being in this myself."

"Was Bloom okay? She must be worried about Egret, right?" Kanade didn't really know what to say to Michiru. She felt a little unapproachable, much more so than even Lemonade.

"Saki is fine. I really can't imagine anything that could keep her down permanently. And my sister and I are just as worried about Mai as Saki is, but going out there and randomly searching is not going to get us anywhere."

There was nothing else to say. Kanade was quite tired, so she appreciated a little silence, almost dozing off due to it. A couple minutes later, Lemonade returned, carrying the unconscious Windy. "I hope Ako knows what is going on. Let your sister get some rest, she looks like she needs it." Handing the unconscious Cure over, Urara switched with Michiru, giving Kanade a slap on the back of her head. "Wake up sleepyhead."

"I'm awake already, stop being so rough..." Complaining halfheartedly, Kanade sat up a little and sighed. If Muse didn't have a way to wake everyone up, it would be quite a while until it was Rin's turn to be treated. If one could even call it that.

"When we get out of here, I'm not going to look into a mirror for a month." Urara was quite annoyed with the situation. After all was said and done, they couldn't just put an end to it with brute force or underhanded tactics. She didn't mind using a little bit of the latter when the situation called for it, but there was only so much she could do without the support of the others.

For now, she could only wait for Ako to wake up.

After Michiru put Kaoru back into bed, she went to look for Saki, who was already gone from her room. Knowing that sneaking out was impossible as long as Lemonade was on guard, her steps quickly lead her to the kitchen, where she found Saki hungrily ravishing just bread with nothing else to it. "That hungry, huh?"

Trying to speak with her mouth full, Saki choked a little on the food and hit her chest a few times, trying to swallow it, Saki coughed a few times before she gulped down a cup of water. "You have no idea."

"What was it like?" Sitting down next to her friend, Michiru watched with slight amazement how fast Saki could eat and still talk in-between bites.

"Dying or being inside the mirror?" Saki didn't care about beating around the bush, especially not with Michiru.

"Both." Refilling Saki's cup from a can, Michiru shoved it to her, foreseeing another choking point.

"I don't remember dying. The last thing I remember is having a little fight with Mai and sleeping at Nagisa's place. Well, her room."

"Wither kills Vulture, Honoka, Nagisa and you and has now vanished, together with Mai... Hymn said that the reflections got opposite and warped versions of our personalities. What happened right before the reflections were created?"

"Nagisa and I tried to pull one over Honoka and Mai for always teasing us. We pretended to just shuffle partners a bit."

"So you acted as if you didn't care if Mai went and dated someone else?"

"It sounds really bad when you say it like that." Scratching her cheek, Saki sighed. "But I guess that's about right."

"Given what Wither has done... she's probably obsessed with possessing Mai and having her all for herself. Because that's the opposite of what you were doing."

"Like a stalker?"

"Worse."

Both of them turned around when they heard the faint echoes of boots hitting the stone. Someone was walking into their direction. Black cloth and long orange hair clarified that it was Muse, who looked like she had just endured torture. She was looking down so much that she didn't even notice the other two until she was almost past them.

"What's wrong?" Michiru was surprised to see her up that quickly. Saki had taken quite a while to come to.

"My neck is killing me. It's never been so tense."

"Umbra and Breeze probably killed you by breaking your neck. You're feeling the aftermath of that."

"Mind explaining what happened? The last thing I remember is looking at Berry, ready to tell us all about the reflections."

"We were attacked just before that. Umbra and Breeze, my sister's and my reflection, killed several of us, including you. We retaliated by attacking their base in full force, Dream surprisingly leading the attack after she killed both of the attackers in our base."

"So, it's all over? We killed them all?" Ako felt very uncomfortable just saying that. She didn't like them, but wishing them death wasn't really her style.

"The opposite. We rescued everyone from our side, but it was all planned. The reflections were saved as well, at least those Dusk and Dawn deemed peaceful. They're Black and White's reflections. They're leading a movement of-"

Putting her hand up in the air and signaling Bright to stop, Ako held her forehead. "Okay, okay. My head hurts too much for all this talk.. I'll just get it later from Urara."

As if she was summoned by her name, Ako felt two arms wrap around her waist, a pair of very familiar feeling breasts pushing against her back and an even more familiar smell from behind her. "Do you have a sixth sense?"

"Little chain at the door so I knew when you'd woken up. And what kind of thank you for saving your ass is that?"

Trying to get away from the yellow Cure, Ako had no such luck or strength left. "Fine, fine." Taking a deep breath, Ako started talking in a very monotone voice, a blank expression on her face. "Oh thank you so much for saving me."

"Since you feel so thankful, you surely won't mind what I have in mind for later."

"Pervert."

"Whose fault do you think that is?"

"What, **mine**?"

"Who else do you think is constantly tempting me?"

"You're the worst!"

"That's also your fault."

Saki couldn't hold it any longer, bursting out in wild laughter at the sight of the usually cool and composed Muse having her buttons pushed like that. That only added to Ako's mood, who now feverishly tried to escape from Urara's clutches. Without any success.

"Shall I carry your royal highness to the kitchen?" Picking up her girlfriend, Lemonade grinned wide at the embarrassed face of the black Cure.

"I'm so going to get you for this later, Urara." Ako's voice was a mere whisper now, her face showing shades of faint red.

"As your royal highness commands." Saki started to laugh even harder, simultaneously holding her head in pain. Michiru was smiling wide as well.

They were just out of earshot when Urara turned more serious. "Hymn figures that your reflection has something to do with the state everyone is in. Do you have some kind of idea?" Despite the seriousness, she was still carrying Ako, who didn't seem as displeased as usual to not have to walk herself.

"I don't even know what _state_ you mean. Bright gave me some explanation but I'll need to hear the rest from you later. And could you not touch my butt while we talk about this?"

"What do you expect? I was too tired to do anything last night and then you temporarily died."

"My neck is killing me and I really don't feel like doing anything of the sort now."

"Already with the excuses. We're not married yet."

"My mother and father would kill me if I brought you back and told them that I'll marry you. What kingdom is ruled by a female king?"

"You know, there is this novel about a female King Arthur that is summoned and-"

"Don't even get me started."

"I'm happy you're okay. Well, apart from your neck killing you." Smiling and kissing her partner, Ako blushed a lot more from that than she usually would have. It wasn't the first time Urara had kissed her without any warning whatsoever, but it was their first kiss right after she had told her who she really was.

"How long was I out?"

"Hard to say. Close to half a day I guess?" Letting her partner down so she could open the kitchen door, Urara grabbed her butt again and immediately regretted it when Ako flung her right boot back and hit her partners shin, making her curse under her breath. "Why you..."

=== Dissonance ===

"So you think my reflection, Silence, used hymnos to put all of those in the mirrors into a comatose state?" Ako was laying flat on her stomach, on her bed, Urara kneeling over her, trying to fix her neck with a bit of a massage.

Hymn stood opposite to the bed leaned against a wall. "I can't imagine anything else having such a widespread and permanent effect. When I used Purger and you shut down my ability to use hymnos, the effect was permanent as well."

"Suspend is the only Hymn I can use. I know two others, but I don't think I could handle even the first part of them. Mother told me that it's used to stop others from using this ability. You think she found a way to divert it from the intended use?"

"It would make sense. Instead of suspending their ability to use hymnos, she suspended their consciousness indefinitely."

"Even if that's right, what do you expect me to do about it? I don't even know how to lift the effect on you. Not that I would to begin with. Letting you go about your way is one thing but giving you the ability back to sing purger? I don't think so."

"I was given the opposite of Ellen's personality. If Silence's Suspend works differently from yours, wouldn't that mean that Ellen's Purger works differently from mine?"

"What are you getting at?" Urara didn't keep quiet on such an important topic.

"Let Ellen try to use her hymnos to purge the malicious effects of Silence's Suspend on everyone."

"Are you crazy? You have her memories, so you should know what happened the last time." Urara knew all about the incident.

"It's **because** I have her memories that I know it will be different. She used it while in exile and out there, the place forces you to go through the worst you can imagine. She never even tried to see if the effect remained the same when she was out."

"Obviously. Who would want to test if one of their abilities sucked away the life of their friends?"

"Urara, she has a point."

"Don't tell me you believe her Ako. This sounds like a trap. It reeks."

"If I'm going to say that you should bring her and me far out so she can test it on just me, you're going to say it's just a trap so I can kill her or knock her out and then pretend to be her, right?"

Urara didn't answer the question and instead looked at Ako.

"We can't have Windy wake up everyone with Stormflair. It takes too long."

"Ellen is in control. She can stop any time. And even if something happens, I can stop her with Suspend. I think I know how to use it better now." If it was her reflection that caused this mess, she had to put things right.

"Whatever you say. Don't tell me I didn't warn you."

=== Dissonance ==

"They've woken Bloom, as a test, and Muse, because Hymn wanted to talk to her about the situation or something." Kanade explained to Inori, the two just having met up by coincidence at the table around the same time. Nobody bothered to get together and have breakfast for now. The situation was too tense.

Her appetite was quite limited as well. "They probably have a plan now though. I saw Windy talk to Luminous earlier." Biting listless into her toast, Kanade just couldn't work up the interest to eat much. With so many of the reflections loose and Rin still unconscious... not to mention that despite the situation, Hibiki still wasn't talking to her, or even showing the slightest bit of worrying.

"I saw Muse talk to Love and Setsuna earlier. They're definitely doing something, but I don't know what."

"They're trying to wake up Ellen and have her use Purger." Love sat down next to Inori, looking tired out and a bit pale. The discussion with Muse had cost her some nerves and she eventually had to leave it to her more levelheaded side, Setsuna. "Muse said that since Ellen was using it under extreme circumstances, it's not what the ability is really supposed to do."

"So it's not a killing song? But we could all feel the effect of it when Hymn herself was using it." Inori had limited herself to just coffee this morning, not feeling like she wanted to bother with anything more.

"According to Muse, Hymn's purger works that way because of who she is. Created as the polar opposite of Ellen, her Purger also works differently. I eventually gave up rejecting the idea when Setsuna asked me to step out for a bit."

"You have to consider the situation we're in Love. If there is the possibility that Ellen can wake everyone, don't you think that would also help her accept that she can use a power like that?" It was always easier to look at problems if they weren't your own.

"Well, that's true but... it just doesn't sit right with me. She was so afraid of it when she first came out of exile, she even lost her voice."

"Setsuna and you helped her get over it, right?"

"So why is Ako trying to make Ellen use Purger?" Kanade wondered if she had the ability to use those songs herself as well. Or was it just those two, since they came from Major Land?

"From what she explained, it looks like her reflection used a song of hers to put everyone to sleep while they were still in the mirror. Ellen is supposed to use Purger to eliminate the lingering effects."

All three of them turned around and watched the entrance when they felt an empowering aura. For Kanade, it was a familiar feeling. "Luminous ability. I wonder why she activated it."

"Windy's ability knocks her out when she uses it, right?" Inori only assumed as much. She didn't know that much about the sisters or their abilities. "If she's under the effect of Luminous aura, maybe she manages to stay conscious."

Further down the hall, Kaoru indeed managed to overcome the effect of losing her own conscious for an extended period of time. Falling over and feeling sick, dizzy and disorientated wasn't staying out though. "Thanks Hikari."

The empowering aura vanished and Kaoru needed her sisters help to stand. The two, Bright and Luminous, had just watched Kaoru wake up Ellen, who had still been unconscious after the night. "They're just buying time with this. They knew we would figure it out somehow and they just stalled. But what for? What is Poison planning?" Setsuna turned to Michiru, who was letting her sister use one of her shoulders to lean onto.

"Nothing good." Hymn was waiting outside, Lemonade guarding her closely, still able to hear the conversation but otherwise out of reach for anything else. Setsuna's demand. "Poison and Nightmare are the only real threats to us. I hope the others are doing okay with taking out Poison."

"Ellen should come to relatively soon. I'll talk to her about this, but I might need some time to convince her. I know Love isn't going to back me up on this. But sometimes, it's hard to make the right decision." Directing her words at Luminous and the Kiryuu sisters, Setsuna stepped out. "You heard, right?"

"Yeah I did. Thanks for agreeing to do this. You see what it does to Windy to just wake someone like that." Slapping Hymn's arm, Urara nudged her in direction of the garden. "Do something else for a while. You'll hear if we get Ellen to agree or not."

Watching Hymn walk off, a slightly sulky expression on her face, Setsuna felt a bit of guilt. "You don't need to treat her that rough. She is helping us and while I don't want her near Ellen, she's still a person."

"You think so? They have their own will, but that's about it. Their memories, their powers, everything about them except their will is just a copy of us. I personally don't believe in this peaceful solution they're trying to achieve. I hope it's true but if it isn't, I'm willing to put an end to them."

"I can't think about them like that. At least not the peaceful ones." Setsuna understood what Urara was saying but she didn't agree with it.

"Hymn wasn't so peaceful when she sang Purger and tried to kill us all. I don't know about Misery, but I'm sure they all have some kind of drive to fight."

"Maybe you should spend some time with one of them and ask."

"I've got better things to do."

"I'm taking Kaoru back to our room." Michiru didn't wait for a reply but trusted that the two had understood her the first time.

"We shouldn't fight amongst ourselves." Luminous was trying to restore the peace between Lemonade and Passion.

"This isn't fighting. We just disagree on something philosophical." Setsuna would fight too, if it really came down to it. But she preferred that not to happen.

"It's not philosophical, never been either. We're in the middle of a war between us and the reflections. It's a very practical thing Passion. But I digress. I'm going to check on Melody and Bloom, they're on guard duty. I hope Bloom hasn't run off to look for her partner."

Walking away from the discussion Urara was left with the sour feeling of actually having lost an argument she didn't have. Was she really too harsh on Hymn? Passion was right in that she was helping and not showing any signs of making plans to attack Beat and replace her. She didn't press the issue of getting her ability released by Ako either.

=== Dissonance ===

Rose flew through the room, catapulting herself off the wall, reaching her reflection in the fraction of a second. Azalea didn't have time to react before the fist of her original met with her nose. Flipping over vertically twice, the purple reflection lay flat on the ground for a few seconds before she managed to get up. Getting out of the base to look for Nightmare and allow her to team up with herself had her walk right into a trap.

Rose was already above her, heel dropping her back into the ground. Not letting up, a second, third, fourth, fifth kick completely destroyed the floor and gravely wounded the reflection. "Adamant Crush!" Focusing enough energy in her hand to destroy a car instantly, Rose slammed her fist against the reflections back.

Azalea had just barely avoided the hit and still suffered damage from the stone fragments that whirled around, some so small that they were barely visible with the naked eye. Holding out her arms and creating a thing layer of metal all around them, Azalea stated her counterattack. A right punch, a left punch, both blocked by Rose who simply crossed her arms in front of her face.. Lowering herself, using her right hand to stabilize, Azalea used a sweeping kick.

"Adamant Press." was the last thing Azalea heard before the sound of breaking bone echoed briefly thorough the large room. Her ankle was split in half, bone and flesh sticking out, the pain so overwhelming that she rolled to the side and screamed out in pain.

Rose's right leg was swollen at the ankle as well, but her left leg was clad in thick metallic layers of a heavy fairy metal. "Allies of Poison will die." Rose knew all about the situation and how many of the reflections had suffered badly under Malice and Poison's treatment. She had no pity for them and felt no guilt by killing them.

Stepping over Azalea and pulling her up by up by her right arm, she didn't even bother to block the regular punch that connected straight with her mouth. Blood ran down from the corners and she could taste the iron in it. Azalea was not someone that was made for fighting. She had the memories but no determination.

Whirling her around once, Rose smashed the copy into a solid wall, leaving a deep imprint of the girl, only letting go when the purple reflection connected with the stone. Stepping closer and ignoring the hammering pain in her ankle and mouth, she used her weakened leg and pressed it against Azalea's stomach. She would make sure that this particular reflection was not coming back to haunt her. Using her right arm to fix Azalea's left hand in place, Rose focused for just long enough to let Azalea spit at her. Ignoring the sticky liquid that slowly ran down her forehead, she executed her next attack. "Orihalcum Hammer!" Three consecutive punches spread out over the full length of the arm and the bone inside was thoroughly shattered. Rose specialized in heavy and extremely damaging attacks.

Reduced to a sniveling mess with not a piece of dignity, Azalea cowered on the ground, her destroyed ankle and arm leaving her unable to even think straight. Jumping backwards onto a pillar, Kurumi took a deep breath. Fighting someone that looked human she had done before, in the battles before, but this would be the first time she killed someone.

"Abbadon!" Her expression spelled pure rage when she remembered the atrocities the other reflections had gone through and she refused to help. The purple clad creation was literally shredded to pieces by the powerful attack, executed without even the slightest amount of pity. Those that oppressed others and believed themselves to be better had no chance of redemption. "Say hello to Fury and Apathy. White Mirror."

Standing there and watching as the spread out leftovers of flesh, bone and organs vanished into the ground, Kurumi suddenly felt sick. The pain in her ankle was suddenly increasing and she realized just how much she had acted like a cold blooded killer.

"I didn't realize you were this violent. Remind me to never cross you." Blaze stepped into the room after everything had settled down. "That wasn't a fight. That was an execution."

"Nobody forced her to keep up the spoiled princess act. It was her own decision. And now she reaped what she had sown." Kurumi covered her face with her hands for a moment, trying to come to terms that she had indeed just killed someone, no matter how evil or ruthless they might have been.

"So what do we do now?" Kurumi didn't feel comfortable, but she was confident that she could pull off killing Poison if she got a chance.

"We will wait, Azalea. Get used to everyone calling you that." Blaze looked upwards, towards Kurumi who sat on the pillar. There was a huge hole in the ground between them. The extent of her power put some well earned respect into her mind. She had been strong back then, but this was very different. Her offensive power was well on par with the other heavy hitters, such as Black.

"Wait for what?" It was weird talking to Rin even though she really wasn't Rin. She was far too calculating and somber for that.

"For Poison. She humiliated Azalea last night. It would be weird for you to act friendly with her. You will _vanish_ for a bit and then come back, trying to put on a tough act after you seemingly failed to find other allies. There is no doubt that there will be some harassment and abuse by Poison but she won't kill you. Then you wait for your chance."

"You and Rin are really different. She's not the type to make plans that elaborate."

"The others won't like if you compare them to their originals too much. To begin with, we've stopped calling them originals. We call you the origins now. We don't like the term originals as it refers to us as copies while we're our own individual existence now."

"Aren't we still linked by the system? Only one of you can exist. If you try to co-exist permanently, both of you die?" In a way, it relieved Kurumi that Azalea was out of the way. At least that prospect of the system wasn't applying to her for now.

"That's why we're looking for a solution. If we manage to become independent of the system, we'll have to see what we do. Most of us will likely try to leave Japan."

"You planned that far ahead already?"

"People are just wishing for this to end and be free. It's the same on your side, isn't it?"

"We're on the same side right now. But yes, us _origins_ think the same way. At least I believe so."

"Let's go back then. We have a makeshift base not too far from the real one."

"Say, what did you do for food? I get that you can get water from the bathroom but surely you haven't been eating nothing all this time?"

"Most of us have been fasting. I know that Poison stole some favor from the origin team pool when she was there and she has been using that ever since. I don't think that her pet, Freeze has been eating though."

"That's..."

"We took some favor from the pool again when we went there to free Aurum and the others. I have no idea how much is left but it should be enough for a while longer."

"Is there no way to generate favor right now?"

"Not that we know of. That's why we're trying to resolve the situation before famine becomes a real problem and fighting starts out over it. You can imagine that all our plans will be for nothing if that happens."

Jumping down the pillar and making her way around the hole, Rose limped a little, her leg still hurting. "I wondered a few times what it'd be like to get hit by one of my attacks. Now I know. It really hurts."

"You broke her ankle in **half**. Of course those attacks hurt. We're protected by magic, but we're not made of steel." Blaze wasn't eager to get on Rose's bad side. She was dangerous both in close and long range. Surprisingly not very sturdy but very heavy hitting.

"I don't pity her. She did absolutely nothing to better the situation for others, like Aurum and Misery."

"Nor did Ember and Maelstrom or any of the others. Speaking of Ember, she saved Maelstrom from getting killed by Poison. Excuse me, I mean Marine. It makes me wonder if Poison has realized she's an imposter and just keeps her as a hostage." She walked a few steps in front of Rose, a little weirded out by having what had been the enemy not even a day ago so close to her. But she didn't seem to ave any bad intentions.

"How is Marine doing?"

"I can't comment on that. Ember and her haven't been seen out of their room. She was hurt pretty badly by Poison last evening, so we're not sure she's even alive."

Kurumi stopped dead in her tracks when she heard that. About to burst out a response, Blaze turned around, looking every bit the hardhearted commander she wanted to be. "Going in there and running into one of Poison's goons or Poison herself would mean death. If she's actually dead, our best bet is to stick to our current plan and have you save her. Ember is an unknown variable right now. If we play our cards right, we might be able to offer her freeing Maelstrom and reuniting them." Kurumi stared in amazement. She didn't know Blossom that well, but from what she had seen, if Ember had even a fraction of her personality, she would take the offer.

But Ember had too much of Tsubomi's personality to take it. The cat was out of the bag already. Erika was alive and well, and she had accidentally blown her cover. If Ember had been of malicious nature, she could have exploited it badly. Instead, she decided to keep the leak a secret and just continue on.

The last chance Maelstrom could have been replaced was already days past. The girl she had slept with, showered with, kissed and caressed, had been Maelstrom's origin all along, not really her. Laying naked in bed next to Erika, Ember wondered how long she could keep the pretense up. Eventually, Erika would want to go back. And then that was it. Even if the peaceful solution was found, she would have to let go. Killing Tsubomi wasn't an option.

And having her memories, she knew that trying to get her to share Erika wasn't going to be any more of a solution than killing her. All that was left was to see if the solution offered a new way. Playing around with Erika's long blue hair, Ember twirled it around her index finger.

"Wake up, stupid. How long are you gonna sleep?" Poking the blue Cure's cheek, Ember saw it as a perfect excuse to get a little morning make out going. Blossom didn't exactly have much of a sex drive, and at least that had remained from the personality she had been given.

"Ember, Maelstrom, Poison is calling you two." Freeze's voice reached the two girls and as if the name of the green reflection woke bad memories, Erika was wide awake in an instant. They could hear Freeze cursing loudly, unable to locate Azalea.

Still over Erika, Ember quickly leaned forward, kissed the blue Cure and got up, picking up her clothes. Erika had gotten very used to seeing Tsubomi's copy naked, much more than she would have liked to admit in front of her partner.

Looking at her hand, Erika wondered for a moment if it had been Ember who healed her. "Did you...?"

"You can thank me later. Preferably with... your tongue I like the way you use it." Half dressed, Ember grabbed Erika's hand and pulled the sheets off her. She liked watching the blue Cure do anything, especially when she was naked. Despite being rather tiny, Erika had great style and a nice figure. Ember was really jealous of Blossom.

They had barely stepped out of the room when someone very unexpected walked past them. Aurora, the first reflection to actually die. "Move it." The yellow reflection had a grim expression on her face. There was a lot of activity in the base for some reason. Ember didn't remember so many being part of Poison's group.

In the distance, she saw Wither, carrying a white Cure or reflection over her shoulder. Something was definitely about to happen. The entrance was sealed tight by multiple layers of green barriers, effectively locking them in. There was only one place Poison would collect them all.

Getting to the garden, Ember saw over half a dozen others waiting, Poison towering over them all, standing on a large sphere of green energy that floated right over the pond, an unpleasant expression on her face. Standing a little in the way, Ember was rudely shoved by Umbra, who walked straight past her, talking happily with Breeze, the two of them giggling. They smelled of blood.

Taking position a bit to the right of the pond, Ember and Marine waited for their leader to speak up. There was little doubt that Poison was the indisputable ruler of the reflections at this point. Her lack of humanity, her calculated schemes and her powers made her a foe that nobody but the craziest wanted to deal with.

Her only enemies, Malice and Nightmare, were both gone without a trace, one of them most assuredly dead.

It was seemingly time to no longer bother with the secrecy and just come out in the open with her plans. Ember noticed that she wasn't the only one that was both impressed and a little terrified how many others there were under the venomous banner.

=== Dissonance ===

Love and Setsuna watched their partner speechlessly. It was completely different from what they had seen when she had used Harmonious. This was her own ability, solely and unique. A vibrant violent aura, stained with a deep blue, wavered through the air, almost seeming to replace the air in the garden.

The garden was serving as her stage, and she herself was songstress, orchestra and conductor of the hymn that passed through Love and Setsuna without even touching them. Dancing, jumping, whirling from the grass to the trees, vanishing in the shadows and emerging from them again, she left a trail of notes and lingering melody, no longer lethal but still overpowering, robbing them of their ability to talk or think of anything but keep their eyes focused on Ellen.

"_Was ki ra exec syec parge tie, gott yor!" "I dance, I dance, The feast of Heaven, Down the road of Salvation, I dance for you, I dance for me, my prayer; your sacrifice."_

A full stop, her legs slightly spread to balance herself, Ellen slammed the ground with her right fist, her long hair swirling through the air, her eyes glittering with power and desire, a wild beast on the hunt. A single hair sparkling in the artificial light, another pitch black, their color changing the more power she exerted. Executing a back-flip from her stance, Ellen flew over the ground, the grass making way for her, evading her step.

"_The time of my birth – My fate in my hands – You shall not consume any – My resent for you – Purging the Darkness from the Mind." A burst of energy accompanied her words, her hymn sphere extending far beyond her own reach, encompassing both Love and Setsuna, reaching through the hallways, penetrating doors and walls as if they didn't exist, touching and wrapping itself around all that were there._

"_I offer the prayer – A prayer – of purification to you – My gift – to cleanse you of the dark – A purge – to cleanse you of all.__" _Repeating her earlier pose, Ellen jumped into the air, both her arms fully extended, her whole body rotating like a corkscrew, her landing leaving the ground undisturbed. The water of the pond threw ripples as if a myriad of stones had hit the surface and sunk, the leaves of the trees rustled as if a storm was shaking them, Love and Setsuna's hair was thrown back as if they were hit by a gust of wind.

Her hands strumming the large score that appeared in pieces all around her, arranging notes and vibrating the notes. "_Purification of the Heavens, purification of the land, purification of the inside and the outside, of the six senses. Be destroyed, perverse things, defiled, sins, I control your execution, I exorcise you._"

It was now that Melody, Rhythm and Muse all came to see Ellen perform. Drawn to this mystical performance, to this ancient art of magic, a song that was beyond a song, a hymn exerting the power of ones self. Only Muse truly understood the grandness of Ellen's performance, for only she knew how tiring and brutal it was to keep singing hymnos.

"_I sing and dance for the gods, in this vestige of a world, be gone and die, evil spirit, dream a dream eternal. I dance as a priestess, dance to my Beat, so hear me. Evil, sin, defilement, you shall be purged by my will."_

A last powerful stance, both her arms reaching out to the artificial sky, standing on her toes, her eyes only mostly closed, she let the melody slowly fade out, her last words still lingering in the area, echoing through the mind of everyone.

Only a handful of seconds passed between the halt of the hymn and Beat's collapse. Muse was the only one with the composure to move quickly enough to catch her. "Didn't you overdo it?"

Love and Setsuna reached the blue Cure a few seconds after Muse caught her. "Ellen, are you alright?" As Ako moved away and let Passion hold her teammate, the princess of Major Land found herself quite impressed. Nobody had ever taught Ellen anything about the hymns so it was quite amazing that she could use them this well. Was it Peach's and Passion's influence?

"I'm fine. But I'm starving. I don't think I'll be fighting anyone or anything today. Or holding anymore concerts." Ellen was more than just satisfied with herself. She had her doubts when Setsuna talked her into trying to sing Purger again, but it had changed a lot from when she was forced to use it in exile. She had no more reason to be afraid of the hymn now.

"Hey! Looks like everyone is waking up! Good job Beat!" Bloom was shouting from the entrance, promptly vanishing again, going around to check on those who had been still unconscious.

"That was amazing. A bit overwhelming but really amazing." Taking Ellen's hand, both of the songstress partners helped her stand, Love grinning really wide. "Not quite as nice as Harmonious."

"I'll go and check on Hymn." Taking a cue, Ako left and pulled both Hibiki and Kanade with her, the two of them still standing where they had first arrived, dumbfounded. "You two have... partners to check on, right? Go."

Hibiki was quick to come back to reality and turned around but stopped. No matter how much she wanted to see Itsuki, there was something she needed to ask Ako first. "That song... it's something special, right? Is it part of her powers as a Cure? If so, then-"

"Ellen is not even supposed to be able to sing these, Hibiki. These songs, Hymnos, are an ancient heritage of the royal family of Major Land. I can use them too, and so do my mother and father. You two are strong Cures but you're not from Major Land. So there is no chance that you'll ever be able to sing them." Ako didn't beat around the bush. Getting their hopes up was not going to do anyone any good. Kanade seemed to have the same question and looked equally disappointed when Ako finished her explanation.

Their depression only lasted a few seconds before they both ran off to check if their partners had come to. Finding Urara waiting near the entrance, Ako smiled at her, only waiting for some kind of condescending comment. "You'd think they're your juniors, not the other way around."

"Well, I was a Cure before them so... And I've been living in Major Land ever since I was born. So I **am** technically their senior."

"That's one way to put it." Waiting a few seconds, the two of them walking together towards the dining hall, Urara tried to word her next question without really offending Ako. "Are you worried about not being able to use your own hymns like that?"

"I don't know all that much about them, at least not compared to my mother, but I know that they're not all equal. Some take considerable magical energy, some less. You can probably optimize them a bit by practicing, but it's not something you could really do more than once a day. Even so it would take a long time."

"Why did I even ask?" Slapping Ako's butt, Urara put her arms behind her head and walked a bit faster. "All we need to do now is to put an end to the reflections. I hope we can go back to normalcy soon."

Not quick enough to dodge, Urara flinched when Ako pinched her cheek. "You're horrible. Can't you walk next to me without gro-" Ako almost shrieked, and let go of Urara, when her partner pinched her butt. "That hurts!"

"So does you deforming my face! You knew full well I wasn't going to pretend to be all modest and hyper sensible when you asked me out. You get what you signed up for."

"I wonder what hit me to ever agree to this." Sighing, the two of them were almost ran over by a yellow and pink flash, the voices belonging to the flash clearly indicating that Sunshine and Melody were a little too happy and excited to be reunited.

"Not what hit you but who hit on you." Met with a cringe from her partner, they ignored Melody and Sunshine dancing through the corridor, quite aware that making an issue out of it was not going to help or stop them.

A few others were already in the dining hall. Urara spotted Karen comforting Komachi, who still seemed to be a little agitated. There was no sight of Berry but that wasn't too surprising. Bloom was in a corner, together with Black and White, the latter two looking rather pale and worn out. Everyone was back on their feet.

Everyone? Throwing a chain and hitting the hyper acting Sunshine, Urara pulled her in like a fish. "Has Moonlight come to?"

Despite Hibiki's annoyed expression, Urara didn't pay her any heed. "She didn't wake up after her exile, but this should have gotten rid of any lingering effects. Have you seen her?" It wasn't that she was too worried about her personally, but after seeing what she had been subject to...

"No. And you know, there are better ways to ask than **this**!" Itsuki pulled off the chain from her arm and glared at Lemonade. She might have gotten a little too carried away due to Hibiki's enthusiasm, but that was no reason to treat her like this.

"Nobody else is acting like a rubber ball."

The mood changed suddenly and heavily when Pine, one of the guards at the time, came running in, out of breath and slightly pale. "Get to the entrance. There's been an attack. We're in really big trouble now." Shouting loud enough to get everyone's attention, the urgency in her voice made clear that this wasn't just some small problem.

Coughing up and spitting out a gush of her own blood, Dusk desperately tried to get the wound on her side closed and under pressure. Having carried Dawn all the way there, she was at her absolute limits. Blossom was kneeling over Dusk, trying to get enough energy and concentration together to heal her, but she had never even tried to heal someone in a such a bad condition. Having lost a lot of blood, there were too many wounds to even begin to count. Deep cuts, bruises and swollen patches of skin, there were surely some broken bones in there.

Komachi was quick to try and assist Blossom together with Luminous, who immediately used her ability to give both of the others a boost. "Restoration!" Creating a large pink sphere right above Dusk, White's reflection, the copy screamed in pain and tried to get away, flailing wildly and in panic as wounds were forcefully closed and broken bones corrected. "Gag her! She'll bite her tongue! Someone hold her down!" Komachi gave some firm orders while she kept barriers up to prevent the still open wounds from bleeding her dry. It was a delicate and painful process.

Nobody even thought about refusing to help them. The way they looked, they hadn't just been in a regular fight or disagreement. They looked like they had escaped the middle of a war zone. Hibiki, Itsuki and Saki jumped in to hold the injured Dusk in place, Urara gagging her with a thick chain, preventing her from biting her tongue.

The healing was ongoing and it was quite evident that Blossom was feeling the exhaustion from using up so much energy. Sweat was running from her forehead, her concentration so immense that her own expression looked painful. Almost a full minute passed while Blossom used her ability to save Dusk.

Just as she finished, Bright, the one standing closest to the unconscious Dawn, was forced to use the imprisonment ability on her. "Hymn." She had spotted the blue reflection watching from behind Pine. "Go and get her out of the mirror. Kaoru, you should go and check if there are any others newly imprisoned. Don't free anyone else for now."

Responding with a quick nod, Hymn ran off, Kaoru following her, for safety measures. They still didn't rule out it all being part of a plan. Chatter broke out when Blossom finally got up, dizzy and unstable on her own legs, having to hold on to Itsuki to not fall over.

They were all waiting for Hymn to return with Dawn, and they didn't have to wait long. Not even two minutes after being ordered to, Hymn returned with the black reflection. "I would lament the way I got here, but there are more pressing issues. Anyone here leading the group as a whole? Preferably someone who has been alive the entire time."

A few Cures stepped up front. Urara, Passion, Bright and Windy. "Poison has realized that we've found the solution and decided to wipe us and all of you off the map because of that. There... were traitors, among all the groups. Those who weren't inherently with Poison and undercover mostly decided to join with the alternative fighting to the death against huge numbers and Poison herself."

"Out of the group that supposedly wanted the solution, only Aurum, Dusk and myself stood to it. That doesn't include Hymn and Misery. Blaze switched sides as soon as the fighting started, and the rest... well, we didn't have much of a chance."

Blossom fought her way through the crowd to ask the reflection some questions. "What about Marine? She is undercover as Maelstrom. What is happening to her?"

"From what I could tell, she was knocked out as collateral damage during one of Aurora's attacks. I don't think they know about her identity yet. Maelstrom is about to vanish forever, so at least then they'll notice."

Blossom hadn't even realized that Maelstrom had been replaced almost two days ago. She had completely forgotten about the time period for the imprisoned to vanish.

"But it won't take that long. They're reorganizing themselves and about to attack this place." As if her words were the trigger for it, a huge explosion covered them all in a thick dust cloud. Komachi and Urara were immediately on it, sealing off the entrance with layers of barriers and chains

Several more attacks crashed into the barriers and chains, more dust flooding the hallway. Those not directly involved into the defense retreated a bit. Mint, Lemonade, Luminous as well as Windy stood their ground, protecting the one and only way in and out.

Dream, showing up without any noticing, immediately took the lead. „Organize in small groups of four. Specialists in long range attacking take position in the hallway to the garden! Close range fighters with me! Specialists, take position behind the defense squad that's protecting the entrance!" Her voice held a certain charisma, giving the feeling she knew exactly what was going on.

Berry finally showed up as a well, alarmed by the noise of the attacks. Heavy impacts on the barriers and the shields sounded like bomb shells impacting only a few dozen meters away. The walls were too thick to be penetrated, so the enemy focused on that spot.

„Berry, grab Dusk and Hymn and have them brief you on the enemy numbers and the solution they discovered. If we can find a way to cut off those not fully convinced of Poison's way, we might have a chance to significantly weaken their fighting force!" Shouting, to make sure she was heard, Nozomi issued more and more orders like a general. And everyone obeyed. „Blossom, stay with the long range squad. Luminous, as soon as I give the sign, you will retreat to the long range squad. You and Blossom will act as our medical facilitiy."

It wasn't just any old attack. Poison had schemed for so long, there had to be a plan. „Melody and Rhythm, you will support all groups from the specialist cover point. Muse, you will be on standby with the long range squad and assist. If the enemy attempts to use Silence, you will counter her. Beat, you're with the long range squad!"

„Black, Bloom, Rouge and Pine, you are directly with me. You move in teams of two. Peach and Passion, you will act as my backup and protect our rear. Windy! If someone breaks through, let them advance far enough for you to get into Luminous boost radius and take them out! Aqua, you will be the vanguard of the defense team! Mint and Lemonade, keep up the blockade!"

„Bright, you're the backup of the two attack teams. Get whoever attacks their rear!"

Without questions and doubt, everyone immediately took their spot and prepapred for combat. They all had known to some degree that this could and likely would eventually happen so it wasn't much of a shock. „On my count, lower the barrier! Long range squad, fire on the same count! The attack team will go out after! Specialists, you can start already!"

Dream waited a few seconds, listening for the rhythm of the impacts. The air was so tense that nobody dared to say a word. „Go!"

Hibiki and Kanade both activated their abilities, powerful songs boosting the abilities of those around them. Standing in place and focusing, they would be easy targets, but was exactly why everyone approaching them had to go through two teams and survive a volley of long ranged attacks.

He barrier fell and the first distanced barrage of attacks started. White beams of energy ravaged the ground, destroying anything they hit. Dense areas of blue notes, exploding with vicious blasts at the slightest stimulation, innumerable counts of piano keys flying from the hallway over the heads of the cures, a rail-gun like rate of fire securing a safety area.

Nozomi rushed out first, meeting a surprised Umbra. Grabbing her right arm, a sweeping kick at her feet and Dream forced the reflection to the ground. Holding her right arm behind her back, she was making sure that the first attack was a successful one. „Rose Damnation!" A short range, powerful energy blast completely cut apart Umbra's right arm, not even leaving bone. Throwing the cut off arm away, Nozomi grabbed Umbra's neck, trying to break it.

Leaving it and jumping out of harms way, Blaze attacked her with her flaming claws, her special ability activated as well. It was so hot, Nozomi felt the hairs on her arms burn away. Sweat immediately started to run down her face.

Avoiding a wide reaching horizontal hit from the red reflection, Nozomi jumped back into the dust cloud near the entrance, trying to ambush her enemy. But she didn't need worry about that. Pine and Rouge rushed straight past her, each of them grabbed one of Blaze's arms and locking them in place, the two of them running so fast that it was hard to follow them with the naked eye. The only way to tell where they were was to follow the path of destruction they left. Pulling Blaze through numerous objects with complete disregard for the enemies life, they instantly gained the advantage.

Noticing a shadow and jumping out of the dust cloud, Nozomi met face to face with Wither. And walked right into a trap. Taking a blow from one of the physically strongest reflections right to the face, Dream felt but one of her teeth get knocked out and her nose break. The impact about to sent her flying, she buried her nails and fingers into Wither's arm, holding on to her.

Peach and Passion caught up to them and hit Wither from both sides, the two of them in complete synchronization, a volley of punches and kicks pummeling the pink and yellow reflection, slowly forcing her back. Not letting go of Dream, Wither retaliated to her attackers by using the pink Cure as a weapon, hitting the other two and forcing them back.

Umbra, losing immense amounts of blood but still standing, joined Wither and attempted to hit Peach with her full power. Her own original, Bright jumped in at the right time, blocking the attack with a punch of her own, the colliding forces making even the air vibrate. A second hit and this time Bright had to go on the defensive.

Dream finally got a solid hold of Wither's wrist and fired short bursts of energy right at it, point blank range. Blasting apart flesh and muscle, Nozomi was finally let go and flew high into the air, right into the line of sight of the enemies long range squad.

A volley of six energy beams hit her full force. The skin of her arms, crossed in front of her face and chest, burned away from the impact, revealing glistering muscle and blood. Ignoring the pain and the injury best she could, she took a shot. Wither was right there below her. „Rose..."

Freeze was suddenly right next to Nozomi, appearing out of thin air, about to stab the pink Cure with her rapier. „Blacklight Devastation!" No such thing was being permitted as long as Black had anything to say about it. Finally getting a hang of the battle, she hit and completely destroyed Freeze's left arm, the bone shattering so badly that fragments burst out through her skin.

Peach and Passion jumped away from Wither, who had not enough time to avoid Nozomi's attack. "...Spiral Passion!" Creating four large roses behind her, each as big as herself, a pink energy beam emerged from each, heading straight for Wither.

The only thing she hit and destroyed was a five layered barrier, completely obliterating them. Bracing for the return of the attack, nothing happening. Deciding to try again without hesitation, Dream took aim again. If long range didn't work, she wasn't afraid to go in close. Rushing towards Wither, the reflection grabbed Nozomi's arm, whirled her around once and smashed her into the ground, sure that her attack had dealt significant damage.

Dream couldn't get up but that didn't mean she couldn't fight. "Rose Refulgence!" Hitting the ground next to her with each hand and shooting numerous energy orbs into it, the whole area around herself and Wither went up in a massive explosion.

Nozomi just barely noticed Black and Bloom jumping through the explosion and seeking cover. A second later, a barrage of golden projectiles hailed down, a few of them nailing Nozomi to the ground. Peach showed up in the next moment, carrying Bright, who had taken severe damage and wasn't moving, Passion stopped at the crater in the ground and grabbed Nozomi, retreating towards the back.

The barrier went down for a brief instant and another volley of long range attacks flew straight into the corridor, seemingly at random. "Illumination Glint!" All of the Cures were retreating with the back towards the barrier, moving with jumps only, never showing their back to the enemy. A white flash that seemed to penetrate even solid stone blinded all incoming foes for a moment, allowing a safe retreat. Pine and Rouge arrived with everyone else, both of them having their arms and legs dyed red in blood, few of it their own.

"They're crazy! And I can't seem to locate either Rose or Marine!" Rin was taking a breather while Nozomi was getting healed, in worse condition than the others and by far the strongest that had went out there.

"I have no idea how many of them there are. Poison keeps butting in so we often can't land a finishing blow. They must be pushing Ember to her limit." Inori felt disgusted by the sticky liquid on her body and tried to get it off as good as possible. Blaze was dead, she had used the imprisonment spell herself. The reflection had been left without arms and legs after she and Rouge almost quartered her.

"Do you think they're using Marine to copy Ember's skill?" Kaoru was looking better than the close range team, but that didn't mean much. She had been hit by a few stray fragments of stone that managed to penetrate whenever the barrier went down.

"Possible." Saki wasn't hurt as badly as Dream but she was breathing very heavily. Fighting like that certainly hadn't been in her training.

"We need to take out Ember and Poison, otherwise this won't end. Aqua, check regularly on the corridor to see if they're trying to break through there. The last thing we need is a pincer attack."

They entire battle seemed to freeze, the impacts on the barrier ceasing, an eerie silence dawning on the Cures. "Muse! Beat!" Nozomi's instinct was correct. Not even five seconds after the pink Cure bellowed her orders, they heard an unfamiliar song. An echoing choir of voices humming, there was no doubt that the enemy was using Muse's reflection to launch an attack.

"I... she shouldn't be able to use this! That's an attack hymn for large scale wars! It requires more than just one singer!" Ako was confused and frightened by the event. How could Silence be able to use it?

"Poison will have her use it even if it consumes her own life. If she's not supposed to be able to use it, this is a trap. Everyone, take shelter in the dining room! They want us to rush out in a panic and try to stop her!" Getting up, not fully healed yet, Dream led the way. "Lemonade, barricade the entrance as good as you can! We're taking a stance down the hallway!"

The first set of lyrics reached the Cure base just as Urara started to plant more and more chains into the walls, creating an impenetrable wall that would last at least a few minutes. The chains were indestructible, but the walls the chains were anchored in, definitely weren't.

"_She sings the song of a crazed heart – of agonizing pain! Her singing covers those pained – in darkness! Frightened and grievous in malicious pain – She becomes the darkness that frightens and grieves eternally!_"

"Ako, what is that hymn doing exactly?" Ellen was running next to the black Cure, a bad and ominous feeling cursing through her mind, one she couldn't shake off.

"That's Major Lands main offensive weapon, Replekia. It takes the power of all the music and the people to boost this hymns attack and unleashes an enormous energy wave that destroyed everything the user sees as enemy." Ako, as future ruler, knew the hymn as her birth right, together with two others, but she never thought she would see anyone use it. Her mother had been too afraid of the destructive power to have used it in the fight against Noise, three years ago.

"Why isn't it in the hymn language?" Ellen, as one of the two people that could actually use the power, showed a genuine interest in it.

"Like Dream said, if she's being forced to sing it, it could be powered by her life force itself. Hymns are not made to work like that." They arrived at the dining hall, Mint and Lemonade setting up layers of defense, Dream and a few others standing in front to welcome any enemies that penetrated the entrance.

"She continues to sing till destruction! – Her singing a reflection of her mad mind – an ugly and evil reflection! Giving birth to terror, giving birth to fear! Her life shrouded in darkness – she continues her song of extreme terror – as she knows nothing but a dark future."

The lyrics abruptly ended and time slowed to a crawl as everyone held their breath. Nobody quite expected the effect to be as devastating as they then saw. The entrance was devoured by a massive energy beam, the likes of it even outclassing White and Dream's abilities. At the same time, a pain filled wail, like a banshee from a fairytale, rung in their ears.

Ako and Ellen were hit the worst, for they heard more than just the wail. They heard the pain, torment and abuse Silence had suffered at the hands of someone else. All of her negative feelings were poured into that hymn, together with the very essence of her life.

"Silence is no doubt dead now..." Ako had trouble standing, the wail still ringing in her ears.

And the battle resumed. Wither and Flare led the enemy forces and everyone was ready to counter attack. Enemy and ally alike were speechless when a pink flash rushed through the middle of the reflections and Wither fell over, not moving. Looking at where Dream was, her left arm was covered in blood and Bloom's reflection no longer had a head. "Annihilate them all! Show no mercy!" Dream's battle cry was the sign for the battle's tide to change.

Changing from defense to offensive, almost everyone rushed forward. Nozomi was so far ahead of everyone and yet the reflections didn't dare to directly approach her, her blood stained figure like a warning to them. Clenching her fist, Dream pushed forward, past the last forces of the enemy, rushing past a purple reflection with complete disregard, heading straight for Poison, who stood at the end of the hallway, certain of victory.

"Rose..." Both of her arms crossed in front of her face, Nozomi was ready to, if necessary, sacrifice her live to destroy Poison. If she died, the morale of the reflections would quickly approach zero. Before she could finish her attack, she was surrounded by barriers, shrinking as fast as she was running. "...Shooting Star!"

Breaking through all the barriers at once, Poison didn't bother to get out of the way in time. Instead, she forced Freeze into the way by creating a barrier around her and moving the barrier. Sploshes of blood hit Poison's face a fraction of a second later. Dream's arm went right through the blue reflections chest, destroying her heart. Pulling out, the corpse dropped to the ground, no longer of value to the leader of the reflections.

The sadistic smile on Poison's face went wide when she created several barriers between her and Dream. Completely ignoring the consequences, Nozomi destroyed all five of them with a single energy loaded kick, finally getting close enough to Poison to execute her pain.

Both of Dream's hands grabbed Poison's throat. Nozomi's pupils were wide from the adrenaline and pain, her determination to clean up her own mess far more powerful than any weapon the enemy could throw at her. "Only an idealistic maniac like you would have pushed on. The backlash will kill you."

Just as Poison said, Dream could feel several rips break the instant the first backlash hit. Not only that but blood burst from her skin at various spots. But her hold on Poison's throat only increased.

Not taking any chances, the green reflection created another barrier around Nozomi's head, trying to crush her brain as quickly as possible. But she didn't count on how prepared her enemy was. "Be gone. Emergence of the Starlight Rose!" She barely finished activating her attack before her conscious was lost due to Poison's barriers crushing her head.

If the impact of Replekia had been stunning, Dream's final attack was no less so. Poison got what she wanted and crushed Nozomi's head and most of her torso, but the attack was already underway. The ground below her burst open and long thorny roots erupted from it, locking Poison in place. Stone vanished beyond an ocean of rose petals that kept appearing from thin air. "My victory." Poison's outcry could be heard everywhere just before the tens of thousands of rose petals started igniting in a furious energy blast. Like a signal beacon that reached the upper levels of the sky, a rising energy beam erupted in place, completely obliterating what was left of Nozomi as well as destroying Poison's body completely.

The blast was so powerful that the ground shook like during a major earthquake, parts of the ceiling came falling down. Unsure what to do now that they leader had been obliterated, the Cures continued their offensive relentlessly.

Flare was locked down by Black and Bloom, the yellow reflection unwilling to surrender. Both of the close combat fighters jumping away, Flare was killed by White's special attack. Not leaving anyone alive that resisted, Umbra was beaten by a series of hits from Peach and Passion.

Nobody paid any attention to who was forced to use the imprisonment spells. The last big attack of the reflections had ended in their demise. They finally found Rose, who had pretended to be on their side, trying to back up and attack Poison. She wasn't hurt badly but had taken some damage during the battle.

There was no sign of Silence. Aurora and Breeze tried to escape but Pine and Rouge far outclassed them in terms of speed. Unwilling to surrender, Breeze used her ability on Pine, both of them hitting the ground like bags. Rin latched onto Aurora, burning away her clothes and hair, over a hundred degree Celsius at point blank range too much for anyone. Luminous reflection was burned to death seconds later. Bright managed to catch up with Rouge and found both Pine and Breeze knocked out. For nobody to see, genuine anger and hatred for the copy that looked just like her sister showed on Michiru's face. A single punch was all it took for the reflection to die, no longer having a head.

Further behind were Ember and Marine. Erika thought that it was finally time to try and appeal to Embers good side. "Ember... we should give up. They won't hesitate to kill us if we don't."

"They won't kill you Marine. What's with the surprised look? You blew your cover last night, after Poison tortured you. I don't really mind, you know? I enjoyed being with you, even if I know now that it was all part of you acting. Despite that, I like to think you liked our time together as much as I did."

"If you knew, why didn't you say something! We could have run away and escaped Poison together!"

"Poison knew, without a doubt. Why do you think she had us assigned right within her grasp the whole time? If we had tried to get away... she would have killed us. They're here for me."

Looking up front, Erika saw several others approach them. Tsubomi, Itsuki and Melody were the quickest and would be first to reach them. Turning to the side, she couldn't see Ember anymore. Feverishly trying to locate her, Erika noticed too late what she was doing. "Stop! Don't kill Ember!" Marine's shout wasn't going through to the others.

The blue Cure watched from the distance, everything seemingly happening in slow motion. Ember rushed towards Blossom, her origin, and halfheartedly attacked her, only to suffer an almost lethal kick to the chest. Flipping over and hitting the ground hard, she didn't resist at all when her original jumped up into the air and unleashed a strong energy blast, killing the girl Erika had come to genuinely like.

Tsubomi, overjoyed to be reunited with Erika, ran towards her with open arms, wanting to embrace her. But the embrace was one sided. Her partner just stood there, a depressed expression on her face.

=== Dissonance ===

"Have we found the enemy base yet?" Honoka and Kaoru were taking charge of the situation. Dream had perished in the battle, and while she had been the only one to die, the whereabouts of Egret were still unknown. Kaoru was talking to Peach, who helped organize everyone.

"Rouge reported that she found the entrance to it, but the base is devastated by fighting. It'll take time to clear the debris. Bloom, Bright and Black will go up there as soon as Blossom finishes treating them."

"Is Blossom okay? She looked oddly distressed after she came back with Marine." Honoka joined the conversation, having just finished talking to Lemonade and Mint about restoring their own base.

"You're asking the wrong person." Love didn't know Blossom that well and right now, she was more concerned with Ellen and especially Setsuna.

"That's... it, isn't it? The reflections are all dead." Honoka turned to Kaoru, trying to figure out what to do after recovering Dream and Egret from the enemy base.

"Nightmare isn't. And that's worrying me. You've seen how ridiculously strong Dream is when she's fighting seriously. She blasted Poison to death. I'm not sure any of us could take Nightmare, even two on one, if she attacked like that."

"No matter how strong she is, she won't be able to beat all of us. And the survivors can just go and get the others from the mirrors."

"I hope it'll be that easy. I have a bad feeling about this. There has to be a reason she is hiding."

The two noticed that the door to Miki's room was opening and she carried out Moonlight. "Has she come to?" Kaoru was a little curious about Moonlight. They could have used her prowess in that last battle. It was interesting that her reflection had not shown up in it.

"Yes and no. This is really, really bad." Distress was clearly visible on Miki's face when she looked at the other two for just a brief moment. Carrying the silver Cure towards the dining hall, she met with Sunshine and Melody halfway there. It only took one look for Sunshine to lose her good mood and follow the blue Cure.

"Something is off." Kaoru didn't even need to look at Honoka to know she was thinking the same. Following the small group into the dining room, they found Moonlights team as well as a few others surrounding her while she sat lifeless on a chair.

"Beat, you used your ability to remove the bad effect of whatever was keeping those rescued from the mirrors asleep, right?" Miki looked at Ellen, hoping for a way to get Yuri back to normal, not for someone to blame.

"It worked like that yes. I purged bad magic and effects from everyone. It shouldn't have affected their mind or personality at all."

"Do you think that is all that was left of her mind after spending so much time in exile? Bad thoughts and exile magic? I... saw what she went through. I wouldn't be surprised." Urara commented on it and it made a lot of sense in the eyes of those who looked at her.

Yuri was like an empty shell, a puppet. Her pupils showed no sign of movement, blank like those of a doll. "If... if that was the case, it could really be my fault that she's like this. If the exile completely overwrote her personality... Purger would completely remove that."

"This is better than a crazed berserker or god knows what else she might have woken up to be!" Peach defended Ellen, knowing what both she and Setsuna had went through after returning from exile.

"So what do we do? We can't leave her like this!" Miki saw her dream of being with Yuri shattered to pieces right in front of her. After waiting for so long, going through a battle with the reflections and having Yuri finally wake up... her personality was gone.

"Is this even Yuri?" Urara brought up a valid point. "If she has no personality, of course she won't be able to transform. Hey, Dawn. Hymn, is there any way to confirm if she's a reflection?"

The white reflection, standing a few meters away and talking to Hymn and Misery about their next course of action, stopped and came closer to the crowd. "Technically, if she's a reflection, she should be able to reach into the mirrors here. If she isn't, well."

"Would it still work if someone leads her hand?" Miki was ready to try just about anything.

"It... should? I'm not sure. Just try it."

"Get Ember out then." Marine didn't even look at Tsubomi, knowing that she was going to be angry regardless.

"Erika, what are you saying?" Tsubomi's reaction was exactly as expected.

"I'll explain it to you, but first I need to whack that stubborn mule and bring her to her senses. Actually, come with me for a moment. Hymn, can you help me out for a moment?" Erika wasn't going to just sit there and leave things with Ember unresolved.

Leaving Miki behind to try and figure out if that was the real Moonlight, Erika her partner and Hymn entered Tsubomi's room. Ember was quietly rotating inside the mirror, unmoving, seemingly asleep. "Get her out. Tsubomi, please take a step back, I'll need some space." Marine clenched her fist and even though Hymn reluctantly followed her orders, she pulled out Ember fine, who didn't even bother to look at Erika.

"Why bother and release me?"

The sound of Erika's hand hitting Ember's cheek made Tsubomi flinch. "Why I bother? You... stubborn... you're just as stubborn as Tsubomi! Every bit!"

Taking a deep breath and turning around, her back towards the pink reflection that was holding her swollen cheek, Erika started her explanation. Hymn had quietly slipped out of the room. "You know I've pretended to be her partner, Maelstrom. You realize what I had to do to keep up my cover, right?"

Tsubomi didn't want to admit it to herself, but of course she knew. It hurt to think about it, especially since the one Erika was with was her own reflection. Not saying anything and slightly averting her eyes, Tsubomi thought her silence was enough.

"I should have known better than to jump in, but it was only through me that Dream got out. I think... I did the right thing. Sleeping with Ember isn't one of the things I'm proud of, but I'm not going to lie to either of you. It wasn't all unpleasant. She looks like you, she sounds and smells like you, and honestly, you're more similar than you might expect."

"Why are you telling me this Erika? Do you have any idea what it feels like to have the girl you love talk about cheating like that?"

"Because I want you to understand that I wasn't with Ember to hurt you. That I didn't grow to accept her because I like her better than you. Ember is your reflection, the other side of your personality. She was forceful, a bit egoistic and selfish. I didn't sleep with her because it was my own choice. But I didn't resist her either."

Turning around to Ember, Erika grabbed Tsubomi's hand, preventing her from just leaving when she wasn't looking. "I love Tsubomi, and you knew that. You love me, not Maelstrom and that is why you went and got yourself killed. You thought that being alive and seeing me with her and not yourself would only hurt you. Isn't that right?"

"So what about it? You're hurting her and now you're rubbing this into my face of how you love her and not me. What is the point of doing this Erika?"

"I'm not really sure of that myself. But I couldn't have gone on without telling you and Tsubomi this."

"That's it? That's your answer? Making her cry and making me angry was your goal? Listen to yourself!" Getting up and pointing at Erika, Ember's swollen cheek didn't manage to degrade her dignity one bit. "I knew full well that you were going to be with Tsubomi. I was okay with that, but don't you ever think it was easy for me to decide that! When I found out you weren't Maelstrom, I didn't feel angry. I only felt sad, because I knew that no matter which side would win, I couldn't be with you anymore."

"I guess we're both hopeless for falling in love with her." Tsubomi found just a little sympathy for her reflection in that they both liked the same girl.

"You're the lucky one Blossom. In the end, it's all her fault. If she hadn't gone and pretended to be Maelstrom, we wouldn't have this conversation."

"Do you regret liking me?" Erika's tone made clear that she wanted a serious answer.

Ember sighed slightly and looked at the ground. "No, I don't. What I regret is not being her."

"So you would want to be with me if you could?"

"I can't, so why bother answering." Averting her face, she felt Erika grab her right wrist. "... Of course I would want that. But I have her memories. I know neither of us would be okay with a relationship like the one Peach has with Passion and Beat."

"You don't need to. Tsubomi, would you still feel betrayed if you and Ember became one person?"

There was confusion written all over the faces of the two pink haired girls. Ember was a little quicker to regain her composure and she wanted an explanation. "How about you get to the real point now? I should have known better than to believe you when you said you don't know what the point of this is. You have some sort of plan, don't you?"

"Want to hear?" A smug grin on her face, Erika was gently hit on the shoulder by Tsubomi, who was looking more than just slightly annoyed. "Okay, okay."

"I asked Hymn about the solution earlier. Dawn explained it to her and Miki, so I got it basically straight from the source. Essentially, the one problem with this situation is that only one of two can live on. If you try to coexist, both will die. But there is a way around that. What the system doesn't like is the physical existence of the reflections."

"So one of them still has to die. There is no way to exist as just a mind."

"Not **as** mind but as part **of** a mind. The solution is for the reflections to return to where they came from originally. If a reflection pulls another from a mirror, they regain their physical shape. The same is true of any original. But if the reflection pulls the original inside the mirror, they can return to being part of them."

"That sounds like bad science fiction." Ember didn't buy it. If that was the solution... "How is that any different from dying for us?"

"It's a little hard to explain. The original won't notice you, but you are there, inside their mind. You experience what they experience, but you have no influence on their thoughts or actions. You're like a silent observer. It's not much of a solution for those who worked with Poison out of their own free will, but... for you..."

"I see where you're going with this. You want me to become part of Blossom, like a ghost that resides in the back of her mind."

"A lot better than dying I'd say. According to Dawn, the way you perceive things isn't any different from the way the original does."

"And now you can explain to me why any of you originals would bother to do that. Because as I see it, there is nothing in it for them. Not only that, but what becomes of **our** memories? Do they just vanish?"

Erika scratched her cheek and wasn't quite so sure of her plan anymore. "They... become the originals memories. I can see why some really wouldn't want that."

"Not much of a solution, is it then. Dawn wasted her time."

"It beats having to live with the knowledge that you let someone that really wanted to live simply die. Someone ready to abandon any chance of ever making their own decisions and just watch. It probably isn't really all that much of a life, but it sure is better than dying and vanishing."

"If Maelstrom had lived longer and would ask you for this, would you agree to it?"

"Yes. If she wasn't a bad person, I would prefer that to just letting her die."

"How about you Blossom? Aren't you repulsed by the idea of letting me become part of you?"

"No. If Erika likes you enough to make me face this... I can't imagine you really being a bad person. You've been honest so far, so tell me... do you want to? Do you want to live on even if it's like that?"

Erika was surprised by how firm Tsubomi was. She had planned to persuade her, thinking she wouldn't agree to it otherwise.

Ember said nothing and let her head hang. Wrestling off Erika's grasp, she leaned against the mirror and sighed. "I... don't know. I thought I was content with dying if I had the happy memories of my time with Erika. But now I'm not so sure anymore..."

"I want you to live on. I don't think of the time I spent with you as a lie. I don't love you like I love Tsubomi, but you're definitely someone I want to survive."

"Because you don't want me on your conscience, or-" Ember grit her teeth and covered her other cheek with her hand. Tsubomi had slapped her hard enough to turn her head slightly.

"You know that she isn't like that! Why even ask that? You just want someone to come out and tell you to die, don't you? You just want to pity yourself!"

"Is that so wrong?! Look at me! I fell in love with a girl that loves my origin! The irony is laughing at me! I feel so stupid!"

"Yes it's wrong and you're not stupid! Don't pity yourself. Instead, be thankful that Erika gave you this chance. She holds you dear enough that she would go as far as hurt me only to give you a chance."

"Tsubomi..." Erika was impressed by how much her partner had figured her out.

"If she hadn't done this, I would have let you die, never knowing you're not really a horrible person. Even if it hurt to hear about this, I still think it was the right thing to do."

Turning to Erika, Ember lowered her head. "You're really... you really can talk people into anything, can't you? After hearing you talk about all of this and seeing you again all my resolve to die has gone to hell."

"I take that as a 'I want to live', you know."

"You're paraphrasing but I guess you're right."

"Tsubomi, are you okay with this?"

As if to make absolutely clear that Erika was **her** partner and only hers, Tsubomi hugged Erika from behind and patted her head. "As long as you're in love with me and not her."

"Was there ever any doubt of that?" Erika tried for a smug grin but the immediate and synchronous response from the two girls made her lose it.

"Damn right there was!" "Of course there was!"

A few rooms down the hall, the mood wasn't quite that good.

"So she's the real Yuri... I don't like even thinking of this, but do you think her mind could be fixed if... she was killed and pulled from a mirror?" Miki turned to Dawn, who seemed the most knowledgeable of the reflections they had running around.

"I don't think so. It restores the physical condition from... like a snapshot of when we were created and split from our origin. It doesn't touch our mental state."

"So what are we supposed to do then?!" Jumping up and grabbed Dawn by her shoulders, Miki shook her a few times before Dusk stopped her. "We can't leave her like this!" Punching the mirror, Miki didn't know what to do. Despair and anger mixed together and stopped her from thinking rationally. Kneeling down next to her bed and looking at Yuri's lifeless face, she could feel a knot in her throat. She didn't want Yuri to suffer anymore but this... this wasn't how it was supposed to be!

"There... should be one way." Dawn wasn't sure how much that would change but it would at least solve the problem of Moonlight being an empty shell. "The solution reunites us with our origin. If we find Eclipse, her reflection and reunite them, she should at least regain her memories. As you know, we have all the memories of our origin."

"What about her personality?" Miki didn't even look up, reluctant to even grasp at any hope, knowing that it would be even more devastating if she failed.

"Some people think that personality is shaped by past experiences. It's worth a shot."

At least a little luck was on her side. Opening the door without knocking, Sunshine came inside and closed the door behind herself. "They found Egret and Eclipse. They're not in good condition, but they're alive. How is Yuri?"

"Unchanged. We plan to use Eclipse as sort of a memory backup for her. Hopefully that will restore her to who she used to be." Dawn felt sorry for Moonlight's team. They had won the war but likely lost Moonlight in the process.

"Bloom is already on her way to get Egret. Rouge is bringing Moonlight back, Pine just returned and told everyone." Sending out two of the quickest if not the quickest Cures to scout the area had been a smart move.

"Dawn. This solution, is there any risk of the reflection influencing the originals personality?"

"In all but Moonlight's case, I'm gonna say no. A few extra memories you will feel as your own but know they really aren't won't change who you are. We will be like ghosts in your mind, unable to do anything but watch. So you don't need to be worried about that."

"A few of us have been acting a little strange. Most of all Dream. Is there any chance that she might have been influenced by Nightmare's personality?" Itsuki really hoped for the answer to that to be no.

"That I don't know. Theoretically it shouldn't be possible, but just as Silence manipulated the state of the origins inside the mirrors, Poison shifted the whole base away. It could be happening but even so, how would you prove it?" Dawn wasn't sure what Sunshine was getting at but it didn't sound good.

"Kill the reflection and see if it keeps happening." Miki sighed and sat down on the bed, caressing Yuri's cheek and keeping a few strands of hair out of her face.

"What if it is the reflection being inside the mirror that is influencing the origin?" Itsuki wasn't as smart as White or Windy, but she noticed some things more quickly than others.

"Why do you ask that?" Dawn was getting seriously worried now.

"When Poison died due to Dream's attack, she said 'My victory'. Don't you think that's really odd?"

"Did anyone else hear her say that? It's easy to misunderstand things when a battle is going on."

"Black and Bloom heard it as well. Do you think... all of this, dying and being put into the mirror, all of them, is part of her plan? She did launch a frontal attack without any great tactics. Considering all the schemes she was up to before that, isn't that odd?"

"Indeed. That **is** odd. But what could she possibly accomplish by... oh god. Quick, tell everyone to stay away from their mirrors if there's a hostile reflection insi-"

The sound of the explosion nearly burst their ear drums, the ground shaking so violently that they were unable to keep their balance, falling to the ground. Immediately, the stench of battle and fire hit their noses. Dusk was the first to run out the door, finding herself in literally hell.

An inferno of fire was ravaging the corridor, familiar to when the first attack with Nightmare had happened. Stone was turning into molten rock, burning everything it touched. The scene was straight out of a horror movie. In the distance, she saw Mint, walking through the fire as if it was not even there, an insane smirk on her face. Her clothes were more red than green, and her right arm was covered completely in blood. At the end of that arm was a massive amount of blue hair, slowly dragging something heavy behind her.

Without even being able to say a single thing, Dusk felt her mouth and nose fill with blood. Looking down, she only had time to notice the large gaping hole where her chest had been before she collapsed. "Dusk!" Running out of the room herself, Dawn ran right into a trap.

Countless azure colored wind blades hit her, cutting apart skin, muscle and bone, cutting off her arms. She didn't even have time to feel the pain.

Miki couldn't believe what was happening. From what Sunshine and Dawn had said, it didn't take much to make the jump to the next best conclusion. The solution worked two ways. The reflection could become the ghost in the mind of the origin. Or it could be reversed.

And that was exactly what Poison's plan had been. It was impossible to determine who enemy and ally in the chaos that unfolded before her. Where were the others?!

Down in the living hall, Black was fighting for her and Honoka's live against Bloom, who had evidently turned insane. "Stop it Saki!"

"Oh shut up and fight you worthless excuse for a fighter." Jumping back, using the distance to gain momentum, Bloom hit Black with her full power. Despite blocking the attack with her arm plating, Nagisa could feel her bone get damaged by the force. She didn't have a choice.

"Blacklight Devastation!" Hitting Saki's right shoulder, Nagisa watched with regret as the Cure was thrown through the hall and slammed into a wall, the force of the attack significantly greater than any normal punch.

"Honoka!"

"I'll go and find out what's happening. You keep Saki from killing anyone." But she didn't get very far. Just trying to step out of the dining hall, several golden energy bursts blocked her path. "Hikari, you too?!"

The hellish flames parted briefly to let Luminous through, a victorious smile playing along her lips. "Don't call me that, you incompetent mud. Twelve stars!"

The situation was completely out of control all over the base. Rin found total chaos when she finally returned with Eclipse. Leaving her outside the base, she went inside, trying to make sense of what was happening. There were skirmishes all over the place, but something wasn't quite right. How did the reflections escape? Had there been a traitor?

About to jump into the on going battle, Rin was stopped by someone unexpected. "Kurumi, what's going on?" The purple Cure was on the ground, badly injured and bleeding, but still able to speak.

"They have... taken over their original. The reflections. Get... Dream. Poison's back." Spitting out blood, Kurumi held Rin's wrist as tight as she could. "**Get. Dream.**" Spitting out more, Kurumi forced herself up, an inane glare in her eyes. "As long as we can take Poison out again..."

Rin was about to oppose the idea when every single hair on her body stood up at the same time. Her instincts were telling her that mortal danger, something unlike any she had ever faced before, was approaching. Looking into the corridor, she felt... something.

It only took a few seconds before she knew what. Massive thorn roots, not unlike those Dream had summoned to hold Poison in line, were rushing towards them, destroying massive pillars and collapsed walls with ease. Creating her fire claws, Rin was ready to protect Kurumi. After that, she had to go and look for Kanade.

To her surprise, the roots didn't target her or Kurumi. They went straight past her, each root easily as thick as an arm, spiked with innumerable thorns, each as thick as a finger. The ominous feeling got even stronger when Rin saw that the first to be targeted was a seemingly crazy Rhythm. The white Cure was wildly jumping through the hallway, screaming, her face completely distorted in her craze. "Apathy?! Where is Apathy?! Where is my precious? Give her to me! She is mine, mine, **mine**!"

The roots not only hit but went right through her. Impaling the blonde, Rin screamed out as if it was her own pain. "That's... Fury..." Kurumi was holding on to Rin, trying to explain what was happening. She didn't need to know what Dawn and Sunshine knew. Their behavior and fighting style were more than enough to make clear that the reflections were loose.

The thorny roots rushed over the walls and the ground, broke through walls and doors with ease, hunting down all the reflections. Despite knowing that only one Cure had a power like this, Rin knew that this wasn't Nozomi's doing. It was too brutal, too relentless, too cruel.

Both Cures witnessed Fury lose both shape and substance, becoming part of the root, that now grew even thicker, even more thorns. "She's... absorbing them?"

An incredibly horrible scenario quickly played through Rin's mind. If that was what she thought it was, then they were in horrid danger. She could only watch in terror as the roots hunted down the other reflections, merciless squeezing them to death or impaling them. It took Kurumi hitting her face to finally make her come to again. "Get Dream. Now."

"I don't know where the base is!" They hadn't found it yet.

"Then find it. You have to find her. It's... up to her to stop this." Kurumi let go of the red Cure and took a step forward. "Abbadon!" Blood squirted from many of her wounds but she executed the attack successfully. The hail of metal fragments cut apart the thorns temporarily, stopping them dead in their tracks. But as fast as she cut them, they regenerated.

"I need to find Kanade! She's somewhere in there!" Rin was still reluctant to abandon everyone.

"If you don't go... there will be nobody anywhere..." Partially collapsing and sinking to her knees, Kurumi was at her limit. She couldn't see very well anymore. "Go! Save your friend!" Losing consciousness right after finishing her sentence, Kurumi would surely die soon and return to the mirror.

Rin grit her teeth and finally started to run. It was all up to Dream. Only she could stop the perpetrator of this attack: Nightmare.

=== End of Event XX ===


	21. Mirrors – Mortalitas

**Dissonance**

_Event XXI_

**Mirrors-Mortalitas**

She was imprisoned again. Inside the cold void that was the mirrors, the very source of what caused all of their troubles. Charging at Poison and attacking her with everything she had, Dream had no doubt succeeded in killing her. She was absolutely certain of that. But there was a big question looming over that battle's aftermath.

Something wasn't right. Or rather than that, multiple things weren't right. For starters, she was still conscious, having thoughts of doubt, even while she was inside the cold void. That question could be ignored for a little while. It would take the others some time to find her anyway. The much more important question, the big one, was why Poison had attacked their base like that.

From what Nozomi had seen and thinking of what a warped version of Komachi would do, it didn't fit together. Why play intrigue, why scheme and lay traps, why slowly decimate them, only to lead them against a pointless attack that would let them get back all of their imprisoned friends and shortly after lead a simple, full frontal attack against the originals?

It didn't make sense. She might not be the brightest out there, but even Nozomi could easily see that something was very weird about how Poison behaved. Her last words were still floating around in her head.

"You really don't know anything. It disgusts me that I'm the other side of you. That your blood flows through my veins makes me sick. That I was created with the same face, the same idiotic visage you wear every day, makes me want to tear off my own face."

"Your game is over, Nightmare."

"Not mine but yours. You're sitting here, in the darkness of the mirror, while Poison and her goons are slowly taking over the bodies of their originals. That cunning snake thought of a grandiose plan to end this farce. Become the originals themselves."

"You're just a pitiful villain that tries to get a little bit of revenge to make yourself feel better. Friendship prevailed. Poison perished, together with all the evil copies that were created. Light will always prevail against darkness. Friendship will always-"

"You still love to give speeches. Light? Friendship? Don't make me laugh! They **shun** you! They wanted you **gone** because you were useless! No matter how hard you try, you don't get anywhere! Light? Your over-reliance on light has brought you to this mess to begin with! You're just a narrow-minded fool that pushes her ideals and desires on everyone around her. Why do you think they failed you for the teaching certificate?"

Nozomi could feel that there was at least some truth to what Nightmare was saying. But to admit that to herself meant she would lose to something that was just an evil and despicable copy of herself. "It doesn't matter what you say to me. I know I did the right thing. I always fix the mess I cause!"

"Or let others fix them for you. You are nothing without those five around you. A powerless wreck that longs for a place to belong. Everyone else has found something of their own, yet you still foolishly pursue a dream that you'll never be able to fulfill. Your name suits you, Dream, because you are nothing more than that."

"Those are great words from someone who is not even real, who is just a copy of everything I am and was, who has no way to ever become more than that."

"And that is where you are wrong. I will kill all your friends, everyone that has even a chance to know who I really am. And then I will take your place, doing what **you** should have done so long ago. I will be the real Yumehara Nozomi, and you will be forever lost in this mirror."

"You won't get away with that. People know me. They will be able to tell a fake from the real thing."

"And yet, your best friend Rouge wasn't able to do that very thing when I pretended to be you. You are no more than living a grand delusion about what you really are."

"Shut up."

"I'm you so I know you won't be able to accept the truth. You know, deep down, in the farthest reaches of your miserable heart that longs oh so dearly for company and friends, that you alone are nothing. When your team fell apart, you fell apart. And your only beacon of support was taken from you for reasons you claimed you understood but never did. Political reasons in a fairy kingdom? Don't make me laugh! That whore just wanted him for herself! That is what you were thinking! I know all of your secrets, you imbecile! You cried for days, wrecked your room and yet he would not come back for you. All your delusions of a fairy tale good ending went up in smoke. Alone as you were, you worked harder than anyone and still, your ignorant and idealistic personality never let you get anywhere. That is who you are Dream. A pitiful wannabe leader that lost the support of everyone she loved. And in the end, look what your ideals have brought you! Everyone went through immense suffering because of you! No matter how much you blame this place, the system or anything else. **It will always be your fault. And it makes me laugh that despite all of this you still see yourself as a force of good! How utterly absurd! You are more of a force of evil than any of the others ever could be! You. Are. Me."**

Nozomi couldn't stop Nightmare from delving deeper and deeper into her psyche, laying bare all her secrets, fears and wishes. And the more she did so, the more Nozomi looked at herself exactly the way Nightmare described her. Evil.

"Even so..." Nozomi's will was more than just her justification of fighting for good. She knew what it meant to make sacrifices. What it meant to suffer and be truly alone. And still, she kept moving, still she kept trying to be true to herself, no matter what anyone else might think. "Even so... that won't stop me. No matter what or who I am, no matter how or what people think of me, I will always do what I think is right!"

"That's a fools way of thinking! Are you a fool, Dream?"

Gritting her teeth and raising her voice, Nozomi shouted at the top of her lungs. "So what if I am? A fool is no more or less than any other person! I'm no more than any other girl! And I make errors just like everyone else! And yet if I need them, they're always there for me!"

"They turn to you because of the power you wield and not because of who you are!"

"That's fine! As long as it helps them, I'll be happy to lend them my power!"

"You are beyond reason and logic."

"Of course. I'm Cure Dream. Those things have no place in a dream."

"What you're saying makes no sense. I should have known that this was a futile endeavor. Let me show you one last thing. A farewell gift to the incompetent original that created me and the others."

A blinding flash of light right in front of her eyes and Nozomi could see what Nightmare was seeing. The front of the mirror, herself floating in it, unmoving and seemingly asleep. She was seeing through Nightmare's eyes.

"Watch."

Plucking the rose brooch from her chest, Nightmare held it tightly in her hand, a dark pink colored energy radiating from her whole body, forming a shell like aura around her.

Nozomi knew exactly what she was doing. And it struck fear in her heart. There was no one even remotely capable of stopping Nightmare should she somehow amass the needed energy to transform into the completed guardian. "Stop it..." The words came out on their own. She was no longer capable of thinking straight.

The aura was slowly being drained by the rose brooch held tightly in Nightmare's hand. Bending over in pain, the process was all but gentle. No human or human-like being was designed to control something like that.

The brooch glowing ever brighter as the energy condensed inside, Nightmare's face distorted in pain, her costume vanishing, leaving but a naked girl in front of the mirror. A brief smile played over her lips when the initial step was practically complete. "Guardian of Nightmares."

Dark and thorny rose roots broke out of the brooch that shattered in such a violence manner that not a single shard remained to fall to the ground. Wrapping themselves around her waist, chest, hips, arms and legs, Nightmare felt unsurpassed power flow through her. "And now... I shall end this little game of playing tag. You may stay here Dream. You may rot in this place, to forever be a monument to the stupidity of idealism and pretentious good."

Nozomi was back in darkness, no longer seeing what Nightmare could see. But she had felt the power that surged through the evil creature. There was nobody that could stop her. All the Cures together were no match for Nightmare once she took the energy of a few of her own.

Even if she escaped, would she be able to stop her? The guardian form relied heavily on the power from the rose garden, and unlike Nightmare, she wasn't willing to sacrifice the lives of others to forgo that requirement. If it would save the lives of the others, she'd sacrifice her own, but that alone wouldn't give her the strength she needed to fight. What was she to do? Give up and wait for her own end?

"No." That wasn't her. That was not what Cure Dream stood for. The urgency and desperate nature of the situation made her remember something very important. If you don't try, you have already lost. What had been an apparently hibernating body before was now glowing brightly with an indomitable aura, the very force of her strength of will. "Let me out." Just barely able to clench her fist, Nozomi felt anger that threatened to devour her whole. She would put a stop to Nightmare and if it was the last thing she did. Nobody would use her powers to hurt her friends! Nobody! "I said..."

"**Let me out!**" A crack in the mirror, the space unable to contain the extremely quickly rising amount of energy. Nozomi finally regaining control of her body, throwing off the shackle that the system had put on her, a penalty for dying in battle. "**Nightmare!**"

=== Dissonance ===

Rin was hastily tying a piece of cloth around her right arm, using her teeth to pull it tight, trying to stop the bleeding. The damn roots were everywhere and she couldn't find any sign of the enemy base where Nozomi had to be. "Where are you Nozomi? I could really use your help right now."

The answer to her question was presented to her by a massive quake that transcended quickly into a shock wave that blew dust and small stone fragments through the air. In the distance, Rin couldn't see but feel her leader and friend. That was undoubtedly the Cure energy that belonged to Dream.

Using her left arm to smash the wall in front of her, Rin headed straight for the origin point of the energy she felt. She got close enough faster than she thought. Wild spikes of raw energy were traveling through the corridor, obliterating everything in their path. Shielding her eyes from the bright light as she got closer, Rouge was completely enveloped by the pink energy, unable to see more than about half a meter ahead of herself.

Taking one careful step after another, she was absolutely sure that at the center of this catastrophe, she would find Nozomi. She wasn't sure about the state her friend would be in though.

As if she had penetrated a shield in form of a dome, Rin could finally see. Floating in mid-air, right in front of her, was a mirror. She was just in time to realize the danger she was in. Throwing herself on the ground and hoping for the best, Rin barely avoided the explosive destruction that burst from the mirror, destroying the vessel or mechanism in the process. The first thing she saw were Dream's heels. The first thing she heard was an howl of anger that spit out the name of the most powerful reflection. "**Nightmare**!"

"You're as thick headed as always. I didn't think anyone could get out of there on their own." Rin flinched when an angered Dream looked down at her, unable to say anything for she had never seen her leader that consumed by rage.

"Rouge. Where is she?" Not using her real name meant that Nozomi was all but in complete fighting mode now. No matter what happened, she wouldn't stop or return to normal before she accomplished what she had in mind. It had only ever happened once before, at least from what Rin knew.

"Are you planning to take her on?"

"Someone has to. And I'm the only one who stands a chance." Helping up Rin, Nozomi realized that there was one way to stand on equal ground with Nightmare, even without forcibly taking the life energy of her friends.

"She is using that thing you got when you became the guardian. At least that's what I think."

"You're right. She was very... talkative about it before she left me in there to rot. She's going to kill all the other reflections and use their life to reach the finished state of the guardian. Not even all of us together would have any chance to stop her then."

"Hate to break the news but she's taken quite a few of them already. There's a lot of stuff I need to tell you but we don't have time."

"Kiss me."

Rin briefly closed her eyes, opened them again and tried to find some kind of rational solution for why Nozomi would say that. "I know you think you're not coming back from fighting Nightmare, but is it really that grim that you want a-"

"I'll borrow some energy from you. I... sort of got sloppy when listening to Flora during this part. I only remember that one of the ways is to kiss a person willing to lend you their power!" Blushing a little, Nozomi cursed her own forgetfulness.

"That's right... you can't use the Rose Garden's power out here. So, if I... kiss you, you'll be able to fight on even ground with Nightmare?"

"It's more on the level of one kiss being equal to one reflection she absorbed. Don't look at me like that, I'm not happy about that either!"

"I'm not sure how accepting the others are going to be of this, but I'd rather give you a kiss than die horribly. It's a no-brainer, really."

Nozomi knew that she didn't have time to explain and argue with every other couple. Taking Rin's hand, Dream knelt down, the red Cure receiving a gentle kiss to the back of her hand. It took effect immediately. Both of them could hear a voice that reminded them very much of Flora in their head. "Temporal Contract complete."

A flash of red light and a flaming red orb emerged from Rin's chest, floating quietly through the air, merging with Nozomi. "That... that was it? I was thinking you'd have to kiss me on the lips or something."

"It was just a hunch. Not everything has to be needlessly complicated or embarrassing." Taking her own brooch from her chest and tightly holding it in her right hand, Nozomi could feel the power she borrowed from her oldest friend.

"Wake up, guardian of dreams." The released energy pushed Rin away so forcefully that she almost toppled over. Nozomi's costume vanished, pink energy appearing in it's stead, said energy being absorbed into her brooch. That Rin could see her naked didn't bother her. The lives of everyone were on the line.

"My pledge to the Rose!" Rin could no longer see when innumerable amounts of rose petals emerged from the brooch, completely shattering it in the process, every single petal floating less than a millimeter above Nozomi's skin, acting like a living armor.

"Watch out!" Not leaving her friend any time to appreciate how grand she looked in her incomplete guardian mode, Rose Dream felt a massive threat rushing towards them. "Palace of Roses!" Leaving herself naked and bare, the petals flew out from her, forming a dome above the two Cures, a shield that shimmered in pink and red, the two powers that served as fuel to the guardian at the time.

The red Cure could not even breathe when the enemy attack hit the shield. The dome was forced down, the ground below getting smashed in like it was no more than wet cardboard. And yet, Nozomi stood proud and strong in face of this danger. When the smoke lifted, the petals returned to Nozomi's body, forming the living armor again. If she was exhausted from protecting Rin, she certainly wasn't showing it. Rin only now noticed that Nozomi was looking quite different. She was taller than before, about a head more, her eyes were glowing in red, right, and blue, left. Her hair was shorter than before, no longer than that of Black or Bloom and, it too, was glowing in a fierce pink.

Rin couldn't see where the attack had come from and she didn't have time to catch her breath either. Nozomi picked her up in a hurry and started running. The speed at which they moved made Rin question just how superhuman that guardian mode would be at full power. Nozomi completely ignored roots and walls, smashing through everything in front of her with continuous energy blasts emerging from her free hand.

"**Dream**!" The roar came from the distance and it still made Rin shudder. Nightmare's voice was like a distorted version of Nozomi's as this point. Darker, deeper, consumed by hatred and the desire to destroy.

Rin couldn't comprehend fully what happened but from one moment to another, they had stopped in a halfway collapsed room, and there was someone else with them, Luminous. "Are you okay?"

"Thank you for saving me... you're... Dream, right?" Hikari was lightly bleeding from her temple and exhausted. She wasn't made or trained for endurance fights

"I'm Dream, in a way. Do you think you could listen to me for a moment, Luminous?" From the look in her eyes, Nozomi could tell that the girl was really desperate for a solution to the mess they were all in. And she was willing to take chances. "One of my abilities is to use an immensely powerful guardian mode. But I can't access the source of power I need from here. So I need to borrow a bit of your energy. I'll just have to kiss the back of your hand and you'll feel a bit more tired than now."

"You're going to do this with everyone and fight Nightmare, aren't you?" Hikari didn't wait for an answer, time being of essence, and simply held out her hand. She felt a little embarrassed when Nozomi really did it. As former Queen of Light, Hikari could tell what she was doing. A contract of borrowing power. Similar to her special ability but different. At a later time, Dream would have to repay what she had taken. Hopefully she didn't have to pay it all at once...

Both the intensity of the glow and the number itself of the petals increased when Rose Dream took in Luminous energy sphere. "You two hide. It's too dangerous and I can't keep pulling everyone with me. Nightmare will have her hands full trying to prevent me from reaching the same level of power as she does, so you'll be safe if you hide." Getting up and about to rush out, Rin quickly grabbed Nozomi's wrist, holding her back. "Rin?"

"Come back to all of us. We still need you."

"I wasn't intending to die. It might happen... this isn't just your average fight Rin. I'll try my best to come back alive." Just as the red Cure let go of her friend, Rose Dream vanished, leaving behind a gust of wind that made both Luminous' and Rouge's hair flutter.

=== Dissonance ===

"Marble Screw... Extreme!" Four massive beams of energy burst through the corridor, breaking through a solid wall of thorns and roots, Black and White leading a small group of three in fighting condition and two wounded. Sunshine was carrying both Beat and Passion, each unable to move quickly enough on their own. Thankfully she had mastered the skill of creating shields without having to use physical movement, so carrying them didn't prevent her from defending herself.

"Sunflower Aegis Helianthus!" Five dual layered circular golden shields protected their back, moving with Sunshine as one. "This is getting really straining. Where are we going?"

"As far away from the base as we can for now! There is too much chaos to look for anyone in this! Whitelight Burst!" An explosion extending from Honoka's right hand, she destroyed a sturdy wall to allow them passage. "Nagisa!"

"Blacklight Crash!" Building up energy in both of her fists instantly, Nagisa rammed them together, multiple nearly invisible shock waves causing the hallway behind them to collapse completely.

Taking a quick look around, the three judged it safe. The room was closed in every direction and there were no signs of roots penetrating the walls, at least for now. Letting Beat and Passion down, Honoka quickly tended to their wounds, using cloth from her own skirt and sleeves to bandage them. Passion was still conscious but couldn't walk or fight. "How is Ellen?"

"She's unconscious but I stopped the bleeding. It's not as bad as I thought, so there shouldn't even be a scar after it heals." Tying a large piece of cloth around Passion's leg, the red Cure flinched in pain. "Sorry but we don't have anything to dull the pain. You'll have to bear it for now."

"This is nothing compared to what I suffered when I went against Moebius." A few seconds passed before Setsuna realized that she was talking to someone from an older generation of Cures. "Right... you don't know who that is. How silly of me..."

"Save your strength. If push comes to shove, you will need every little bit of it."

"Black, White. What do we do now? We got separated from everyone else and fighting against the roots is entirely pointless. We might as well try to swallow an ocean."

"We'll hole up here for a while and hopefully Passion and Beat recover a little. I want to find others as well, but... sending anyone out there would only make things worse."

Sitting down, leaning against a broken pillar fragment, Itsuki lamented that she didn't train her offensive capabilities more. She was a well-balanced fighter with strong one-versus-one skills, but they were all but pointless in a scenario like this. Black and White seemed more capable in having a more varied skill set. "How long have you two been Cures?" Itsuki didn't think it was a rude question and having a little conversation would help to distract from the cruel situation.

Honoka was surprised to her that question now of all times. While checking on Nagisa for any wounds, she nonchalantly explained. "For about six years and some. I think with the exception of Moonlight, we're also the oldest here."

"It's been four years for me and the others on my team. It's obvious that you two trained a lot in these six years. Why? Did you expect another enemy?"

"Cure powers can be used for many things other than fighting evil that threatens the world. Nagisa once saved a little girl from being run over by truck. Another time she helped stop a robbery. I usually use my power to help me out in research that might become dangerous. And again, other times you unexpectedly find a use for them. Like now." Holding out her hand, Honoka created a floating white sphere of light that bathed the room in it's gentle shine. "What about you?"

"Honestly, a lot of my training came from work. I lead a dojo so I need to be strong. Improving my cure powers... well, that decision wasn't actually made by me. Marine came up to us some time after Dune was vanquished and said that there was no way to tell if there isn't something else lurking out there. There were also the incidents with Bottom and Black Hole."

"You're going out with Melody, right? What's that like, being with a Cure from another team?" Nagisa was pinched in the arm by her partner, a sour reminder that the whole event with Saki and Mai was not forgotten after all.

"Not any different than dating someone from my team I'd guess. I don't know, I never really dated before."

"Seriously? You're pretty good looking so I was sure you'd have dated some." Nagisa cracked an awkward smile, realizing that the only person **she** had ever dated was Honoka.

"I know you two are together, but how serious are you?" Itsuki quickly changed the topic, being really uncomfortable with the idea of talking about why she didn't date. It was bizarre to talk about that while all around them was chaos and disaster. But it kept their minds occupied.

"Nagisa proposed to me a few months ago. We can't get married in japan so I've been looking into which countries allow you to get married without being a legal citizen there. Of course, I said yes."

Itsuki fiercely blushed while Honoka talked about **marriage to her partner** as if it was the most normal thing in the world. "Wow... I'm kind of impressed."

"How serious are you about Melody then?" Honoka finished looking after Nagisa and rested her head against the black Cure's shoulder, relieved to have found nothing wrong.

"I... don't know. I really love her and I don't want her to go anywhere, but we live pretty far away from each other in the real world. I don't think I could easily move because of my work and my friends but the same is likely true for Hibiki. I... didn't really think about this before. Makes me kind of depressed."

"If you really love each other, you'll find a way." Nagisa held her thumb up to show her support for Sunshine. "I think you two make a great couple. A little hyper active but still a great couple."

"Thanks. I didn't expect to find someone I like in here of all places. And I think I'm not the only one."

"Isn't it too quiet?" Setsuna was following the conversation but she had paid great attention to her surroundings as well. The noise of roots crashing against walls and breaking through solid stone had completely vanished.

All four of them got caught off guard when an enormous energy blast pierced through one of the walls, obliterating it, sending stone fragments flying everywhere. Nagisa detected something moving through the dust cloud and jumped right at it, not waiting for any surprise attacks from inside the dirty cover. "Blacklight Devastation!"

Shock was written all over Nagisa's face when her fist was stopped instantly and the energy went right through whatever target she had hit, all to no effect. "Stop it, Black. It's me, Dream."

Stepping out of the smoke screen, completely unscathed from stopping Black's special move, Nozomi turned around and sent several bolts of raw energy flying against the wall, collapsing most of it, closing the hole she had made. "Five, including Aqua, six." The others only noticed now that a blue Cure was being carried by the pink one.

"What happened to you?" Honoka was the first to notice just how different from usual she looked.

"I'm using an ability that turns me into the world guardian of the Rose Garden, a sacred fairy place. I'm far from using it at full power right now. That's why I was looking for you, for others." Laying the unconscious Karen down, she had already borrowed energy from her friend, Nozomi turned to the other four.

"Nightmare is still much stronger than me so I will need to borrow some of your strength. All it takes is your approval and a hand kiss from me for that. You'll feel tired but there won't be any long term side effects for you."

"Have you been doing this with everyone you met?" Nagisa was a little iffy on the whole deal but she didn't see how anyone else could possibly fight off the roots and then still muster the strength to beat Nightmare.

"Rouge, Luminous, Pine, Berry and Aqua have already lent me some of their power. Please let me borrow yours as well."

"We don't have much of a choice, do we?" It was terrifyingly obvious to Itsuki that both Nightmare and Dream were monsters comparable to the infinite silhouette. Her best, their best and only bet, was to support Dream as much as she could.

"If Hikari trusted you, so will we. Isn't that right Honoka?" Nagisa practically made the decision for her partner but there was no objection at all.

Setsuna was the last to speak up. "I'm sure Ellen won't mind. Neither do I. Just stop Nightmare before it's too late."

"I have no intention of letting that monstrosity run free." Going around and forming the contract with everyone, Nozomi finally reached the next level of power. With the tenth contract complete, borrowing power from the unconscious Beat, Nozomi's appearance changed again. The petals had increased so much that they formed a long cape on her back now.

"Rose Rosary!" Holding out her hand, Nozomi created a single edged sword like object, appearing to be solid but still constantly shifting. It fell to pieces, the petals returning to her body, after a few seconds. "Still not enough... but being capable of flight should really help." Not moving her feet at all, Rose Dream slowly ascended into the air.

Honoka was hard to frighten but she couldn't help but be a little scared of Dream as she witnessed her amass energy in her right hand and shoot it at the ground, the energy dispersing on impact and sticking to all four walls, the ground and the ceiling. "Cage of Roses. This will protect you from the roots. Stay here. No matter what happens, don't leave this room."

"You sound like this whole place is going to be demolished." The yellow Cure wasn't pleased by that potential prospect.

"Possibly,yes. A fight between two guardians... I can't even imagine what will happen." Nozomi didn't even bother to use an energy attack and instead simply punched a hole into the wall as if it was the most ordinary thing in the world.

"Wait!" Honoka still had something to say to the girl that was their only hope of beating that monster, Nightmare.

Turning around, floating in mid-air, Nozomi was in a hurry to find the others, completing the needed contracts and becoming able to fight eye to eye with her copy.

"Good luck."

=== Dissonance ===

"Where the hell are we? I can't see a thing. Whose ass is this?" Fumbling around in the dark, Urara lamented that the wild escape had ended in some pitch black hole in the middle of nowhere.

"Stop groping." Kurumi slapped Urara's hand away and started to feel her surroundings as well. "It looks like we got trapped by a cave in. I can't hear the noise of the attack anymore."

"Who else is down here with us?"

"Me, Peach." The voice came from Urara's right.

"I got dust in my eye." This one from behind Kurumi.

"Is that Marine?" Trying to move her legs, Urara noticed that it was impossible. She was stuck, half buried in stone.

"Yeah. And unless I'm groping one of you guys, there is someone else that isn't saying anything." Erika wasn't embarrassed in the least to say that.

"Someone make some light." Love could feel stinging pain from her right arm and her memory was highly fuzzy.

Marine was the quickest to oblige, creating a small floating sphere of blue energy, just enough to bathe their small prison in a warm light. "It's Mint. She's out cold. And really pale."

"Check her pulse." Urara was instantly worried about her teammate. They weren't really good friends anymore, but she still cared about her.

"How do I... right, here." Closing her eyes and counting for a few seconds, Erika sighed. "It's pretty weak. She must be injured. Her right arm is buried beneath rocks so that could be it."

"Looking at my legs, I'm not gonna be able to go anywhere, even if I get free. What about you three?" Taking charge of the situation, the yellow Cure had to make an assessment of the situation first.

"Not stuck but... if I move, the whole thing could cave in." Kurumi realized that her body was just enough to prevent a literal avalanche of rocks, crushing them all.

"We don't have trouble breathing, so there has to be enough space for air to get through. My right arm is completely stuck under rocks. I can't even get up." Love had felt the pressure on her limb for a while now but she hadn't been sure what exactly it was.

"I'm fine." Erika turned around and faced Kurumi, who went as pale as a ghost the instant she saw Erika's face.

"You're not fine. Your entire face is covered in blood. Do you feel lightheaded?"

"Huh? What are you saying? I didn't get-" From one moment to another, Erika simply fell flat on her face, not moving a muscle.

Urara was close enough to get a hold of Marine's boot, pulling her closer, feeling her pulse. "Probably a concussion and shock because her pulse is pretty normal. She's not dying."

The energy sphere that Marine had created died out a second after Urara finished checking on the blue Cure. Creating a few chains, she tried to stabilize the room they had. The chains giving off light did help out a lot.

"Kurumi, can you move? You need to get Peach out. If her arm isn't broken, she'll be able to help you get us out of here."

"I can feel my fingers, so I don't think it's broken." Love tried to move up a little but her arm was buried right up to her shoulder below all the rubble.

"Watch out!" Urara ignored the burning pain in her legs as she forced herself up, increasing her range. The collapsed ceiling above Kurumi was coming down due to an error in how she had placed her chains. "Iron Maiden!" Expending most of her remaining energy, Urara created a small dome above everyone. She wouldn't be able to keep it up for long, considering that the she was preventing tons of stone from crashing down on them.

"Lemonade! Are you okay?" Love couldn't see her face very well but she could feel dust and smaller rocks passing through the otherwise impenetrable net of golden chains.

"I'm not. Dammit, I won't be able to keep this up for long. Milk! Get Peach free, take the others and get ready to **blast** our fucking way out of here!" Barking her orders, Urara flinched again, the pain in her legs getting almost too much for her to handle.

Jumping up, noticing a burning sensation all over her back, Rose created a small energy shield above Peach and in front of herself. "Titanium Shatter!" A dozen silvery spikes shot out from the purple Cure's right hand, piercing the rocks and shattering them from the inside. "Titanium Shatter!" Not designed to remove rubble, she needed to use her ability a third and fourth time before Peach managed to pull her arm out.

Not wasting a moment, Love grabbed Erika, throwing the girl over her shoulder so she had her right arm free, and picking up Mint as well. "Hurry the hell up Kurumi! This shit is going to come down any second now!"

"I can only get us out of here by using Abaddon, but at this range... it won't go through fast enough before the backlash of the fragments tears **us** to pieces!"

"Think of something dammit! I'm hitting my limit here!" Urara ached under the burden of keeping the room from breaking in. "Looks... like I'm seriously at my limit. This isn't funny!" One after another, chains started to vanish, letting rocks fall in.

Out of Kurumi's control, her body moved on it's own, the blue rose brooch on her chest glowing brightly. Tackling Peach, all five of them landed in one spot. "Adamantine Wall!"

The several meter thick, nearly indestructible shield was created not a moment too slow. Love could feel an enormous, inexplicably powerful energy rush closer. One second, chills went down her spine. The next, the heat from the energy mass passing through the tons of stone and completely vanquishing it almost made her faint. Her skin was hurting from the sheer hotness and looking up, parts of Rose's Adamantine Shield were melting.

"Are you alright down there?! Kurumi, you're there, aren't you?"

"Dream?!" The purple Cure couldn't believe her eyes. She was the sole bearer of the blue Rose and pretty powerful, but the form and power Dream was visibly wielding was beyond anything she had imagined, especially after she had to share the red rose with all the others. "What happened to... you're using the guardian mode?!"

"I only found you because I felt the blue rose that gives you your Cure powers. I used that same connection to make you put up as strong a barrier as you could." Slowly floating down the massive hole she had just blasted open, Nozomi saw the chain fragment flying towards her head and caught it with her hands. "That's quite the way to say thanks, Urara."

"You almost roasted us. You started to **melt** Kurumi's shield. Do you know the melting point of this stuff you crazy woman?"

"You can lecture me all you want later. But first, I need to ask all of you something."

=== Dissonance ===

"You're using something that is not related to us being Cures, isn't that so, Cure Dream?" Kaoru literally just finished patching up her sister and Saki, going straight to the point. "You want something from us other than just our safety. That's why you're here and not off fighting Nightmare."

"You're right. I need to borrow some of your strength."

"I refuse." Michiru didn't like the idea of making possibly shady deals with someone she didn't know.

"Don't be hasty, Michiru. Let's hear what she has to say." Calming down her sister, the blue Cure stared at the abnormal girl that had shown up in front of them. Dream was so far removed from human by now that she didn't feel like one at all. If anything, being in her presence was a painful remainder of what it had felt like to stand against Dark Fall. She was in the process of becoming something of equal or even superior power.

Her whole outfit resembled medieval knight armor more than anything else she knew. Petals formed sturdy knight boots and short greaves, thick gauntlets, a protective chest piece that covered everything from waist to shoulders as well as some sort of crown in her hair and a cape on her back. There was a difficult to see constant whirl of petals around her hands and ankles.

"It's a simple process of loaning power from Cures. Originally, it was likely only intended to be used with Cures that received their power directly from the Rose Garden and it was used to summon a guardian entity. I merged the Guardian entity of the Rose Garden with my Cure powers when I was the caretaker of the Rose Garden." With those obstinate sisters, there was no way she would be able to cut the explanation short. And she needed every bit of power she could get while Nightmare was just trashing the place.

"So you're... not human anymore? You're kind of like the Infinite Silhouette now!" Tsubomi was there as well, helping Kaoru with first aid. She didn't have enough energy reserves to constantly heal people, but she could dull or remove the pain of wounds.

"I... never thought about that. And I don't know what the Infinite Silhouette is." Dream was a little confused by Tsubomi's sudden mention of some kind of entity.

"The Infinite Silhouette is-" Tsubomi was glared at by Kaoru, who wanted to hear the details of Dream's loan.

"Continue with your explanation."

"I will be taking part of your power as Cure for now and that fuels my strength as the Rose Guardian. When I return to just being Dream, I will have to repay the energy that I loaned. Usually, the Rose Garden does this, but since we're cut off from it, I will have to do it."

"You've loaned from multiple people already, haven't you. No matter how strong you are, Dream, you will die if you have to repay them all at once."

"Do you see another option? This is the only way someone can fight on equal footing with Nightmare. You know that-" Nozomi was cut off mid sentence by Saki, who was just coming to.

"Don't be... ridiculous. You're gonna die? What... way of doing things... is that?"

Saying nothing, Nozomi just stood there, unable to reject Saki's argument. It was true, she didn't want to die if possible. But without the Rose Garden and unwilling to fully absorb the others like Nightmare did, this was the only way.

"What if the person who lent you the power does not exist at the time of repayment?" Kaoru was good with technicalities and especially with finding loopholes in contracts.

"I... don't know. If there is no recipient, the contract would just stall."

"So we just have to turn into civilians before you stop being the guardian. And one by one, you can repay everyone over time." Kaoru was satisfied with this kind of explanation. She wouldn't have approved of anything that permanently diminished Saki's power or her own, but a temporal loan was fine. Even if it took time for her power to return. "How do we establish this loan? This ability belongs to a fairy entity, so it should be quite silly."

"The contract is established by a kiss. However, a hand kiss or on the cheek should suffice. I went with a chivalrous hand kiss so far."

"Then that is fine. Does anyone have objections?"

"Why don't you try to knock out Nightmare with Stormflair, Kaoru?" Michiru still wasn't eager to try this out.

"Are you looking at Dream? Nightmare is even more powerful than that. She'd mincemeat us all long before I get close enough. Even then... that would be equal to trying to take out Dark Fall."

"Dark Fall? You can't be serious, sis. She looks strong, but we're talking about a whole dimension here."

"Does it really matter? Michiru, trust her." Grabbing her friends hand, Saki needed no more than that to make the redhead give in.

"Don't blame me for what happens later." Michiru sighed but agreed.

=== Dissonance ===

Everything was in pieces, shredded by the innumerable roots that had wrecked the construct in the void. Everyone was hiding in fear of the monster that was sitting somewhere deep in the guts of this fortress they were now spending their days in.

The roots no longer moved, laying dormant or dead, Nozomi couldn't tell which one it was. Her posture was more grand than ever, the petals cladding her in the full body armor of the guardian, a knight of good and protection. It was her duty to fight Nightmare, to destroy her fully and completely. This bad dream would never end until she accomplished that. She had made twenty and three contracts, with everyone but Moonlight. She was as ready as she could possibly be. And she was still scared. She was still afraid. For she had never even once before faced a foe that knew her every secret, knew her every thought. One that could do all she did, one that was an evil of her own making. The Nightmare she had created herself.

Only one enemy had ever come close to this and that was the creation of Shadow, Dark Dream. Back then, she had won by not fighting to kill but that was not an option here. Nightmare was nothing like Dark Dream.

Two spinning rings around her wrists and ankles, her face half hidden behind a mask and still letting her see more than she could ever before as human. It was a confusing feeling, to be so far removed from normalcy. Even if she was cut now, she wouldn't bleed easily. Even if her flesh was torn, she wouldn't lose control of her arm. But it was a double edged sword. Every second she spent as the guardian was worth ten as human. She was burning through her own life force to sustain this ability. That's why it shouldn't be used unless it was the only choice.

Arriving at a monstrous convulsion of roots and thorns, clogging the entrance to what appeared to be a massive hole amidst the labyrinth's hallways and corridors, she stopped. Nightmare was beyond there, she could feel it. As soon as she stepped past this, she would cease to be Dream and become **the guardian** fully and completely until she had settled things.

"Roses of Elimination!" Using her full power from the get go, Dream unleashed a furious energy burst that dwarfed her own glow, destroying not only the roots but the walls several meters away, melting the stone down with ease.

She didn't even have time to look at what was behind the thorns. Nightmare rushed through the energy blast itself, ignoring any potential damage the energy could do to her. Her form was similar to that of her origin, but her's was pitch black instead of pink, countless dark petals floating around her waist and arms. "Blacklight Devastation!"

Hitting a solid ten layer barrier of pink energy, Nightmare didn't bother to even care about the backlash of her initial attack. "Judgment Sun Impact!" Using Sunshine's, or rather Flare's, ability next, Nightmare smashed right through eight of the barriers, having her arm grabbed by Dream.

"Adamantine Press!" Dream didn't flinch when small bone fragments, blood and tissue flew towards her face, only to be deflected by dozens of petals. Breaking Nightmare's arm right in half was supposed to put pressure on the reflection but nothing of the sort happened.

Ignoring the dangling mess that her arm had become, she switched to a different ability. "Hyper Impact!" Bright's ability! Dream couldn't defend herself in time, the blow reaching the petals on her stomach. Most of the force was deflected to the side but she was still smashed into the ground hard enough to break apart over ten meters width of the floor. "Iron Maiden!" Summoning countless golden chains, Nightmare tied up Dream. "Whitelight-"

"Clear Zone!" Destroying the chains with Mint's ability in less than an instant of being captured, Dream took the chance to counter. "Whitelight-"

"Illumination!" Both of them finished their attack at the precisely same moment, the energy pillars clashing between them. Dream didn't hesitate to jump through the energy, the sizzling sound of some of her hair being burned not disrupting her concentration at all. "Storm-"

"Crux of Thorns!" Nightmare had been ready, just waiting for her to charge through. Four spheres of black petals instantly moved to Dream, swallowing up wrists and ankles, quickly rotating the pink guardian in mid-air and then bouncing from wall to wall, inflicting major damage to her armor.

With an unintelligible outcry, Dream broke free, small drops of blood flowing from where the petals had penetrated her armor, a normal being or Cure certainly would have lost part of her limbs. "Wings of Heaven!" Jetting around the air, invisible to the naked eye, only dust clouds at the walls showing signs of her movement, Nightmare wrapped herself into a ten layer barrier of dark energy.

"Abaddon!" Instead of using a single front to summon the countless fragments, Dream moved around Nightmare in a circle, the fragments creating a nearly solid wall of absolute death and sharpness. And with a click of her fingers, only barely audible beyond the noise of rocks still falling and the gusts of wind created by the guardians movement, the shards starting homing in on Nightmare. And yet Dream did not stop circling, creating more and more, an infinite onslaught designed to tear anything and everything to pieces.

"Explosive Beat!" Blue notes sprung up instantly all around Nightmare, each colliding with a fragment from Abaddon upon creation, exploding, the shard vanquished. A stalemate of onslaught and explosive defense. "Is that all you've got? Is it, huh, Dream?!" Shouting and roaring, Nightmare went on the counter attack. "Hell! Restoration!"

From one instant to the next, the air was burning up, the temperature so high that the oxygen in the air itself ignited, creating a sphere of flames capable of melting anything right around the dark guardian. The spread of notes stopped right there, the fragments of Abaddon incapable of penetrating the wall of absurd heat. In all of that, her arm was healing at an absurd rate. Bone was mending, cells splitting and creating tissue, veins reconnecting as if they were being sewn together.

"Glory Shaker!" Creating a set of ultrasonic vibrations in the air, the area around them fell to pieces like glass. The ceiling as well as the floor broke apart, leaving them in a wide open, dusty space. "Mirage!" Becoming invisible, Dream dove down into the labyrinth, knowing that Nightmare wouldn't be able to pinpoint her exact location.

"Running away already?!" Following her original, wrapped into the sphere of immeasurable heat, Nightmare wasn't short on methods to sniff out Dream. "Glory Breaker!" This time, the shock waves disrupted the flow of the air, revealing the invisible Dream in front of a solid wall, unmoving. "Blacklight Destruction!" The flames ceasing the instant she attacked, the invisibly stopped as well, revealing a shocked Dream in front of the wall.

The feeling of blood and guts satisfied Nightmare, knowing that it would take quite the effort to heal a wound like that. Clenching her fist around what she thought was her stomach, Nightmare crushed one organ after another while Dream screamed out in pain. Something was wrong. It was too easy.

"Blacklight Devastation! Full moon Destruction!" Using one ability with each hand, a second Dream appeared from behind Nightmare, leaving the invisibility. Most of Nightmare's available petals instantly moved to the impact zone but she couldn't deflect the blows entirely. The clashing forces were enough to cause gusts of wind strong enough to rip tree's right out of the ground.

"Wings of Heaven!" Nightmare escaped the rising damage with speed, concentrating her entire power into it. Using the petal armor to create a singular large shield in front of her, she broke straight through a thick wall, trying to put distance between herself and her enemy.

"Spade Impact!" Dream had caught up in an instant, not bothering with a shield and instead boosting her own speed even further. Hitting Nightmare's chest, the petal absorbed the blow but she was still thrown off her track. "Diamond Knuckle!" Burying her hand in the black petals, every single one trying to cut her hand to pieces, the yellow spikes functioned like an anchor, preventing Nightmare from escaping.

Going at breakneck speed, Dream smashed through multiple walls per second, their speed so high that Nightmare didn't even get to breathe in-between impacts, her petal armor working at maximum capacity to minimize the damage from the continuous impacts. Broken through hundreds of walls in a matter of seconds, Nozomi changed directions and went straight up. "Full Moon Destruction!" Unleashing the move at point blank range, Nightmare was thrown into the air, destroying ceiling after ceiling. "Abaddon!" Firing the deadly shard attack again, Nozomi didn't pay any attention to control and aim, solely focusing on numbers and power. A spreading cylinder shaped path of destruction followed Nightmare.

"Blacklight Devastation!" Appearing right behind Dream, Nightmare knew how to utilize Copy Cat as well. Hitting her better half brutally in the back, a massive wall fell to pieces when the rose guardian crashed through it. Jumping right after her, Nightmare attacked again, only to be met with a counter of the same kind. "Eternal Blooming Assault!"Their barrage of punches collided between them, each hit only lasting a fragment of a second, their arms moving so fast that they weren't visible for anyone but themselves. The petals creating spikes, shields and barriers each time, shifting in nanoseconds to support their owner.

"Spade Implosion!" Changing her tactics, Nightmare landed a clean hit on Nozomi's right arm. A shock wave created by the petal armor deflecting most of the blow blew dust in the dark guardians eye. No such chance would be left unused. "Mirage!" Making herself invisible, Nightmare instantly vanished from Dream's field of vision.

"No escape. Azure Trace! Iron Maiden! Fierce Overheat!" Overreaching herself and feeling the strain of the battle for the first time, Dream countered with a lethal combination attack. An infinite amounts of golden chains started to spawn immediately in thin air, targeting the invisible Nightmare, who was being marked by one of Windy's abilities. Dozens of chains rushed through the air, trying to tie the enemy down, missing by only inches, slowly getting faster and more accurate. Directing them from the distance, Nozomi would not let a chance like this pass. And finally, Nightmare's leg got caught by one of the chains. Over a dozen more quickly wrapped themselves all over her body, fighting with the petal armor for survival. And at that moment, Rouge's ability kicked in. The chains lit up in flames, setting Nightmare wild ablaze, the stench of burning hair far reaching through the labyrinth.

"Clear Zone!" Freeing herself from all three abilities at once, Nightmare had taken slight damage from that attack, several small burns on her face, a bit of her energy exhausted. She knew that this battle would be a long one for their armor made both of them nearly invincible until their energy ran out. "Azure Trace! Abaddon!" Copying Dream's idea without any hesitation, a tremendous amount of metal fragments raced towards her enemies location. Continuing to spawn and fire the fragments, the trace automatically adjusted the trajectory for Abaddon as she kept it up.

"Diamond Flash!" Moving in virtually instantaneous straight jumps around the place, every location she hit was destroyed just a second later by Nightmare's deadly barrage. Using Bright and Blooms enormous power to her advantage, Dream stopped for a moment and ripped an enormous pillar, easily a hundred times her size in length, out of the ground and threw it towards her attacker.

"Full Moon Destruction!" Smashing the object to pieces, the dark guardian had already anticipated the next move of her adversary. "One more! Full Moon Destruction!"

The monstrous punch connected directly with Dream's armor in the chest area. Bearing the impact instead of deflecting and side-stepping it, Nozomi grabbed the copy by her long hair and slammed her face into her knee twice before she flipped her over in mid-air. "Rose Banishment..." Twelve roses, six red, six blue, appeared all around the briefly defenseless Nightmare. "...Rosary!" At her command, the twelve roses fired energy beams all towards the targeted point, their creators enemy.

"Palace of Thorns!" Wrapping herself into a thick cocoon of dark rose roots, the energy beams didn't stop. It was a continuous attack that would not stop until whatever was at the target origin was successfully destroyed. Moving the cocoon while constantly regenerating it, Nightmare tried to sense Dream but lost her. "Wings of Heaven!" Moving again at breakneck speed, the Rosary Roses still followed her, constantly targeting and firing at her. Passing through a narrow labyrinth passage, Nightmare found herself in an ambush.

"Clear Zone!" Letting her enemy rush straight into the ability nullifying zone, Dream attempted to grab her enemy but was tricked. Several thick roots wrapped themselves around her legs, persisting inside the zone, bypassing Mint's ability to negate other special abilities. Similar to Lemonade, Nightmare flailed her origin around, smashing her lightning fast into the walls, ground, ceiling, everywhere she saw even the slightest resistance. "Palace of Thorns! Step of Aegis!"

Creating a cage of thorns, Nightmare also vastly increased her reaction speed, the thorn whip and Dream blurring into a black and pink whirl as they got thrown around wildly. Each impact took it's toll on Nozomi's armor, the enormous speed making it near impossible to determine where specifically Nightmare was. In that case, she didn't have many options.

"Adamant Press!" Using the attack to cover her arms and hands in the supposedly indestructible metal, she locked herself on the next wall, sticking to it like a spider. The thorn whip wasn't sturdy enough to withstand Nightmare's enormous pulling power and Dream's resistance. "Flare Eleven!" Creating several red spheres, each the size of a head, around herself, Nozomi instantly vanished from her spot and appeared at one of the spheres, shooting it so strongly that the orb vanished and only reappeared as it bounced off one of the lower thorn walls, leaving the roots burning. Firing the next ten shots within two seconds, the cage Nightmare had created became a liability and danger zone for herself.

The thorns vanished a second after, the spheres dispersing into the vast emptiness around them. Nightmare was nowhere to be seen and Nozomi had trouble locating her. She should have put another tracer on her, but it would be difficult to use that combination again. Clear Zone, even if enabled only briefly, would clear the mark away.

Without any announcement of attack or ability, Nightmare smashed her fists into Dream's back, the petal armor shielding her from the blow and the damage yet the impact still throwing her off her balance, sending her flying through the air. "Mirage Silhouette!" Five dozen Nightmare's were now surrounding Dream, all but one of them fake. "Stars of the North!" Each and every single one of them created several light orbs that started firing indiscriminately at Dream's rough location. The entire space between herself and Nightmare was filled with energy bolts.

"Invincible Rhythm & Melody!" Creating a iridescent sphere around herself, the bolts were unable to penetrate the shield, harmlessly puffing into thin air. A combination buff that granted temporary limitless defense but sealed offensive abilities. They were not quite even in terms of offense, but she could keep up with Nightmare.

"Diamond Flash! Wings of Heaven!" Boosting her speed to the physical limit of her new form, Dream vanished, heading deeper into the labyrinth, into areas that had been sealed off if not for Nightmare's radical restructuring. The black guardian, using the same abilities, was right on her track, both of them no longer counting on flying, knowing that crashing into a falling pillar or the ceiling would be a catastrophe at this speed.

Running in parallel tracks it had now become a high speed battle. Both of them moved so fast that they were completely invisible to the naked eye, leaving a blur of their signature color behind, trashing the ground and walls with ease thanks to their petal armor. Nightmare opened fire first. "Iron Maiden!"

The first gold chain appeared right in front of her. Instead of avoiding it, Nozomi grit her teeth, clenched her fist, let herself get caught and ripped the chain straight out of the ceiling, pulling it with her. Jumping over the next chain and deflecting a dozen more with just her armor, that one lonely chain on her right arm would be useful yet. "Fierce Overheat!" Leaving a trail of flames and magma as she ran, the chain was an immense distraction for Nightmare. The space and air between her and her origin was blurry from the immense heat the chain was giving off. Canceling the Iron Maiden, Nightmare switched to a different approach.

"Glory Shaker! Explosive Beat!" Using the Suite Cure's abilities at a much higher level than their real counterparts could, Nightmare caused both an artificial earthquake as well as filled Dream's side of the corridor with explosive notes.

"Clear Zone! " The notes were purged from existence as the Zone moved with Nozomi, something Mint had trouble with. All of the abilities she could use were far stronger than as if they were being used by their originals. "Meltdown!" Throwing red energy blasts in front of Nightmare, every impact zone turned into a magma puddle, something that even their incredible petal armor would have trouble negating for long.

Avoiding each hole was more difficult than she thought. Dream kept rapid firing the otherwise exhausting and incomplete meltdown ability at her, and just falling into one of those holes would spell certain doom.

Side-stepping every single miniature crater, Nightmare launched her counter attack. "Marine Cross!" Manifesting sixteen small blue orbs around Dream, they all started to fire, haphazard and random, no pattern whatsoever to it. Each shot was a super high pressure water bullet, effortlessly penetrating walls. Deflecting several of the bullets, Nozomi canceled out the attack with Clear Zone once again.

"Glory..." Nightmare planned to simply crush her enemy below thousands of tons of rubble, collapsing the entire labyrinth around them. The energy she was amassing was quickly reaching dangerous levels. But Dream was right on par with her. Using the same ability, focusing as much power, they both finished the second they passed a set of pillars, obfuscating their view. "...Earth Shaker!"

The doubly released shock wave resonated and with a single powerful crunching sound, both of the guardians found themselves about a bottomless hole that stretched several kilometers below. Tens of tons of stone was falling down on them in large and small parts. Using each part as a stepping stone, Nozomi quickly ascended the falling death trap. Hitting a particularly thin but wide piece of wall, Nightmare's hand broke right through the ground, pulling Dream through the stone, getting her stuck.

Emitting a single energy blast and becoming free, she was already behind Nightmare. It was now a race to the top for neither of them could survive in the void that stretched far and wide below them. They had blasted a vertical hole through the entire complex, at least ten kilometers of destruction.

"Beat Heaven!" Creating several far reaching layers of blue notes all at once, Nightmare watched everything explode in a incredible chain reaction the second the first stone fragment hit lowermost layer. Rubble became dust becoming a cloud so thick that it was impossible to see anything in it. With her speed, Nozomi shot through it in a split second, suddenly face to face with Nightmare. A malicious grin on her face. Dream blocked the first blow by crossing her arms, deflecting subsequent hits with her arms and shields. Seeing a gap in the black guardians defense, she targeted her right leg. "Azure Sky splitter!"

A wind blade of unknown sharpness collided directly with the black petal armor, the contact sending sparks flying everywhere, blinding both of the combatants. Fed up with being on the defense, Nightmare canceled the shielding on her leg. The wind blade cut right through it. At the same time, in that same instant, Nightmare focused a tremendous amount of energy into her right fist. "Thorn Queen Punishment!"

Even with all her energy put into defense, she couldn't block or deflect that blow. The bones in her underarms shattering from the impact, Dream flew towards the bottom so quickly that Nightmare was in the middle of a super sonic boom a second later.

"Iron Maiden!" Using the ability to chain herself down, numerous chains broke from the far off walls, connected to fragments and from there, more chains spawned off to connect to her. A gigantic spider web of stone and chains, slowly halting her otherwise unstoppable fall.

The pain was bearable but a hindrance. If she had been human right then, she would have collapsed on the spot. "Restora-" The ability didn't go off in time. Looking above, she faced what looked like a solid plate of silvery metal falling on her. A second later, she could see that it was an incredibly wide scale Abaddon attack instead.

Nightmare watched the impact of the attack from above. She was missing a leg but the petal armor was preventing bleeding and loss of further tissue. It would be incredibly painful but she had to regenerate that leg with Ember's ability. "Restoration!"

The roar of the beast could be heard even kilometers away, the pain surging through her body so enormous that any other creature would have died on the spot. Forcibly creating bone, tissue, muscle, all from the memory of the body.

The leg re-attached, Nightmare instantly raised her guard. There was no way that Dream would have died to just that. This battle wasn't over yet for she could still sense her energy. And she quickly realized that Dream would not come up. Far down she could see a shimmering pink spark that quickly grew into a brilliant light and then into a blinding sphere.

Six blue and six red roses circling around her, all of them did the exact same thing, stored energy in the one enormous rose right in front of Nozomi. An attack so powerful that it could destroy an entire city in one blow. Nightmare wasn't going to be taken down easily so she had to get really serious now. "My bond with the Rose!"

"That bond I paid the price for!" Nightmare was starting to retaliate in the same way as her origin, numerous gigantic thorny rose roots were filling the space around her, a single, gigantic black rose growing steadily in size as the energy reached levels equal to that of a weapon of mass destruction.

"It shall last forever!" The petals on her armor were withering one after another. The toll on her body would be enormous as well once she completed the attack.

"Until my last breath is drawn!" The only ability and attack to require an actual incantation of some sort. The pledge, the price, time and life. The four principles behind the guardian.

The time was ripe. The labyrinth was covered in darkness, the two monsters engaged in a death match dwarfing all the construct in the void had seen. One enraged, vowing to annihilate all before her. The other burning with righteous fury, certain to protect those she loved.

"**Divine Rose Prayer!**"

"**Divine Thorn Judgment!"**

The energy masses were so great that they temporarily slowed down time, bending the space around them ever so slightly. They both could feel the energy leave her hands, could watch the rose slowly open it's bloom, spread it's petals, the energy mass inside taking the form of a single bolt of unseen proportions. Even though it happened in just an instant, for those that were there, it took several seconds for the roses to actually unleash their gigantic power, off to clash.

Nozomi was first to escape to the sides, using everything at her disposal to put as much distance between herself and Nightmare as well as the energy bolts as she could. She had about two seconds before they would collide. She had no idea what would happen then.

The ground under her feet was literally vaporized as she stepped on it, a blinding mix of pink and black light removing any sense of direction from her. She saw the blast coming but she did not have time to protect herself. Swallowed up by the extending sphere of ultimate disaster, the complex was shaken to it's roots, the destructive radius of Prayer meeting Judgment bigger than a nuclear explosions.

=== Dissonance ===

Emerging from a dust pile, Urara was still half deaf. From one moment to another, half the ceiling had been vaporized and even more of it came down as dust. "Anyone alive?" Screaming much louder than she needed to, she tried to get out of the enormous pile of dust, only to sink further in. Cursing in her mind, she shot a few chains upwards, finally hitting something.

Instead of pulling herself out, she got pulled out. Standing on a large stone fragment that had fallen down, Black had one of the golden chains wrapped around her right arm. "Are you okay?" She, too, was yelling because of the blast.

"Sans my mouth tasting like the inside of a goddamn vacuum cleaner, seems so!" Yelling back, the two noticed more survivors of whatever disaster had happened. Nobody had any doubts about what actually had happened. Dream and Nightmare clashed and annihilated a massive part of the structure. Looking to the side, Urara was, for the first time in many years, so awestruck that she couldn't move.

Before her was a massive emptiness, only disturbed and interrupted by enormous dust clouds slowly rising and moving. A spherical and extremely vast hole in the middle of the structure. The upper most level seemed still intact and so was the lower most, but everything in-between looked like someone had just plucked part of the world right out of it. She couldn't judge the size because of how enormous the distance was to the other side.

Honoka was less awestruck and instead frightened. Together with Nagisa, she had a lot of destructive prowess at her disposal but nothing that could compare to this. Guessing a rough estimate of the widest points, numbers that didn't make sense or at the very least shouldn't make sense came to mind. Nothing short of a massive nuclear explosion could be so destructive.

"Watch out!" Pulling her partner out of the way, Nagisa smashed a falling piece of stone with her bare fist. "What did this?"

"The only explanation that makes any sense... is that Nightmare and Dream caused this."

"What? But... are you serious, Honoka? Hey... you're trembling." Taking the white Cure into her arms, Nagisa was blissfully unaware that the frightened girl she embraced was happy that her partner didn't understand the significance of that hole.

"Hey, someone help me get the others out!" Urara yelled and pulled Bright out of the dust pile. On Dream's instructions, everyone started to move to a specific point, following a small pink rose that floated in front of them. The roots had died down but the danger of Nightmare showing up was still very real. Most of the Cures had met up just minutes before the sudden devastation of the construct.

"Love. I can't find Miki." Inori was happy to see everyone else alive. She wasn't entirely sure how it had happened though. Her short term memory prior to the blast was very fuzzy.

"I didn't see her before the ceiling was erased. Was she here?" Setsuna, being with Love, was taking care of Ellen, who she was still worried about.

"I could have mistaken her for Aqua...I can't really remember a lot of what happened in the last twenty or so minutes."

"This is terrible.. everyone was already beaten up and now this... did anyone get caught in the blast?" Love was trying to assess the situation but it was quite difficult. Everyone was confused, hurt and afraid. If something had the power to virtually erase so much space, how could they ever hope to win?

Shaking her head, she refused to even think about despair or giving up. Everyone had stood against great darkness before and prevailed. Why would this time be any different? They might be weak, compared, on their own, but they had so many allies here. If they worked together, surely they could find a way.

Marine was frantically running around, asking if someone had seen Moonlight or knew if the base had survived whatever had caused that enormous hole. Finding Melody and Itsuki a little to the side, having taken off their boots to get the fine dust out of them, there was still no sign of Moonlight or Blossom. "Are you doing okay Itsuki?" Unable to find Tsubomi in all the chaos, Erika sat down for a moment, talking to the only teammate she could find.

"I found Hibiki and she's okay, maybe except a few bruises. Did you find Tsubomi yet?" She wasn't too eager to make Erika leave, despite having been just reunited with her own lover.

"Not yet. I just hope she's not at the bottom of that big old pile of dirt." Sighing, Erika watched Aqua and Mint slowly and cautiously remove the dust by controlled use of their powers. Nobody had much energy to spare, especially not after making that contract with Dream. "I wonder if the battle is over."

"Hey, Marine. You wanted to know about the base, right? I just remembered vaguely which way we came before we hid, so... it should be... around there. Somewhere in that direction." Hibiki had thought about it for a while, but with the blast and everything going on, it wasn't easy to recall things like directions. She pointed a little away from the gigantic hole. "It should still be there. Dusty, but there." Sneezing from a small dust cloud that rose from the ground as she flipped over part of her skirt, Hibiki earned a quick laugh from her partner. "You need a shower."

"Says the dirty blonde." Hibiki's counter was so hilarious that Erika started laughing, drawing a bit of attention to herself.

"Everyone!" Erika was instantly on her feet when she heard that shout. She knew that voice better than anyone else. "Are you okay?!" Shouting down from at least thirty meters above them was Blossom, who looked very dirty and roughed up. "I have Berry and... two Moonlight's with me! Is everyone else down there!?" All the yelling exhausted her so Blossom vanished behind the stone for a moment, taking a breather.

"Tsubomi! Are you okay? Looks like we made it through! I love you!" Shouting back, Erika didn't even blush as she loudly announced her feelings for Tsubomi. To nobodies surprise, the pink Cure stayed hidden for almost a full minute before she showed her face again.

"Erika, you're stupid!" Her face was a fine match with her own costume. "I don't see a way to get down! What happened?!"

"We don't know yet! Just stay up there, we'll get you down somehow!" Erika shouted back, a little amused by Tsubomi blushing from just hearing a love declaration.

"Hey. Did anyone else see that?" Nagisa was pointing towards one of the lower points of the hole. A few others started looking but couldn't see anything. A few seconds passed and they started to lose interest. Then, a series of brief light flashes. "Don't tell me they're still at it..."

"They survived **that**?" Saki had gotten a hold of herself, having walked over to stand next to her old friend. "Just how stupidly strong are they?"

=== Dissonance ===

Both of them looked a little roughed up. Their armor protecting them from certain death after getting caught up in the immense explosion had suffered critical damage and was still in the process of repairing itself. Both of them saw that as the only chance to permanently get rid of each other.

Standing on top of a giant pile of rubble, Nightmare was bombarding Dream with a barrage of punches and kicks, everyone single one being blocked. A thin trickle of blood was running down her temple, the only direct sign of injury.

Briefly lowering her guard, Dream set a trap and Nightmare fell right into it. Slamming her foot in Nozomi's side, the rose guardian rammed her elbow down with as much power as she could possibly bring up. The sound of bones breaking and flesh being pierced by the fragments was overpowered by Nightmare's outcry of rage. Their senses of pain were still heavily diluted and dulled, preventing them from succumbing from just one or a dozen injuries.

Having lost her balance, the dark guardian countered by sinking all ten of her fingernails into Nozomi's neck. A single powerful kick from her enemy destroyed her chance of ripping apart her throat but she had still inflicted horrible damage.

Bleeding from several holes in her neck, Dream lost her focus on Nightmare for just a split second. That was enough for the demon to vanish, hiding herself below the immeasurable amount of rubble, tens or even hundreds of tons of stone. Standing on top of that was an enormous risk.

Jumping down, Nozomi used a lesser form of Blossom's ability to prevent herself from bleeding out. They could still easily use abilities, but it would delay the point of full armor restoration. If either of them made it there before the other, it was their win. Attacking without need to defend.

Hearing nothing but the noise of rubble still falling and breaking apart, she tried to sense her enemy's energy, with little success. Noticing a major change in the rocks behind her, Nozomi turned around and fired several energy bolts. What she was greeted with was nothing but surprised screams. "Too bad, wrong side." Emerging directly behind Dream, Nightmare put her right hand flat on Nozomi's back. "Thorn Stake!"

Spawning directly from Nightmare's hand came multiple thick rose roots, easily the size of an arm. Tying down Nozomi, it was not a binding spell, despite it appearances. Just as the pink guardian was about to use her own power to break of, the roots retracted, ripping apart skin and flesh all over her body, in every spot the armor did not cover. And that was not the end of it.

A singular brutal energy blast hit her back, throwing her in the air. Nightmare was reluctant on following up as she had just used too much energy and her armor was in a critical state. Dream dropped to the ground, gasping in pain, a first since they had started their final battle. Luckily, she had landed away quite a distance from Nightmare and had time to get herself up and restore the wounds.

Not too far away, in viewing distance, an enormous rock split in half almost magically, without anyone touching it. "Is everyone well?" Reika, wielding an enormous two-handed sword made of absurdly sturdy ice, emerged first, covered in dust and confused about her situation.

"Somehow I'm alive." Akane coughed and coughed, having breathed much more dust than it was healthy.

"What happened to us?" Yayoi couldn't see well and tried to clean her eyes of the fine stone mist that was now in the air.

"I can't remember a thing." Putting her right hand on her forehead, Nao sighed and got up. Seeing that Reika was fascinated by something, she slowly walked over to her.

"Help!" With a whiny tone, Miyuki tried to get out of her prison, a large rock that was holding her down.

"Wait a sec, I'll get ya outta there." Only realizing now that she was in her Cure form, Akane stared at her hands for a second. Her memory was too cloudy and it wasn't important at the moment. Simply giving the rock a gentle kick, it rolled over and released her friend. "There ya go."

"Thank you, Sunny. Eh, when did we transform?" Looking at herself in surprise, both Nao and Yayoi realized that they were in Cure form as well. Reika had not needed any such realization, instantly recognizing the difference in her body.

"Everyone, you should take a look at this." The large claymore changed shape, transforming into a set of two long swords, one in each of her hands. The expression on Beauty's face was half curiosity, half warning danger.

"What... what is going on? Did we take a wrong turn at the library?" Nao took a good look around, finding herself at the bottom of what looked like an incredibly enormous hole in the middle of some sort of building.

"That is a valid question but I was referring to the on-going combat in front of us." Pointing straight at twelve 'o clock, the other four at first couldn't see anything but patches of dust that rose up without any reason. Then they saw two flashes. "You need to focus on observing. They are moving at an incredible speed."

"Say March... can you move that fast?" Sunny was having trouble comprehending just what exactly was happening.

"Don't be ridiculous... I can't even see them half of the time... maybe running but fighting?"

"Beauty?" Peace looked around, only to realize that they were by no means anywhere close to Märchenland.

"I've seen a lot of places during my times overseas but nothing like this. Judging by the size of this construction, we would have to be several hundred if not thousand meters underground. I'm unaware of any facilities of this size."

"No, no, forget about where we are... who are **they**." Akane was still baffled by watching the flashes, occasionally catching a glimpse of two identical looking girls fighting each other.

"The closest rational explanation is that they are some kind of superhuman entity like we are."

"Don't call us entities!" Akane rejected that idea outright.

"We need to stop them." Miyuki couldn't follow them with just her eyes either but she knew that whatever was going on, they weren't fighting each other for fun. That was a duel of life and death.

"You're right. It doesn't look like they're pulling any punches. They need to stop before one of them gets seriously hurt."

"Usually I would agree with the two of you, but do you believe we will really be able to put a hold on them?" Tensing up, Beauty switched her dual wielding to a large shield. "Here they come!"

Taking a brutal hit to the face, Nightmare was launched into the air. Jumping after her and following up with a dropkick, the black guardian crashed into something hard enough that it withstood the impact of her fall. But whatever supported the structure wasn't. Collapsing backwards, Nightmare managed to prevent herself from rolling down the slope.

Raising from the rubble, the guardian found herself faced with a group of Cures she had never seen before. It was obvious that they were Cures. A uniform, the magical energy they possessed and then the fact that nobody else but Cures were brought to this place. Not even asking any questions, she made a quick decision, pulled up the pink Cure, going by the assumption that she was their leader. "Are you okay?" She could use them.

"Somehow... who are you?" Miyuki had tried to support Reika, trying to stop them all from falling over as the black clad woman was trashed against the shield.

"Cure Dream. But this is no time for explana-" Nightmare could not even finish that one line before Nozomi had caught up to her. Using the chance, she grabbed the arm of the deceitful fiend and hammered her own elbow in the backside of Nightmare's elbow. "Titanium Pick!" The impact broke apart Nightmare's elbow, completely severing the limb from the rest of her body, blood covering Nozomi's arm, bone fragments flying through the air.

Not a second passed before the two of them resumed their battle. Nightmare ran and Dream pursued. It wouldn't be long before they got back to their full strength now. Catching up to the copy, Nozomi managed to grab her hair, slowing Nightmare down just enough to get a hold of the back of her head and slamming her face first into the ground. It was a chance. "Megaton Impact!" Reinforcing her entire arm and most of her body with the heaviest metal in Milky Rose's arsenal, Dream slammed Nightmare's face into the ground a second time. The rubble mountain below them split apart from the impact of several dozens tons of pressure in a single hit.

Yayoi, having witnessed the first attack, was staring in shock at the blood and tissue shreds that littered the ground right in front of her. Unable to hold it in, she bend over and threw up everything she had eaten before. The image of Nightmare's arm breaking in half was vividly burned into her mind.

"Hey... did you just see that..." Akane had seen a lot of brutality in her days as Cure, but nothing on that level.

Nao was covering her mouth and turning away, trying to remain comparatively calm, with only mediocre success. Looking around, at Akane, Yayoi and Miyuki, she noticed that Reika was gone.

"Megaton-" Attempting a third attack on the now defenseless Nightmare, Nozomi had regained enough power to have her armor deflect the incoming attack. Several dozen icy arrows rushed at her, almost in slow motion. The battle between her and Nightmare took place on a level so different from regular Cure powers that the attack was no more than a distraction.

Beauty, still unsure which of the two was to be fought, decided that she could start by keeping at least one of them at bay, temporarily. She couldn't rely on the others too much when the battle was fought on blood and bones, for none of them had experience in that. "Judging by that attack, she has an extremely high level of physical strength. I should keep my distance. Glacial Road!" Creating a winded and snake-like road in the air above her, Beauty used that to keep moving even though she herself stood still. "I will need as much offense as I can gather. Glacial Arbalest!" Creating an enormous type of crossbow, the bolt was magically loaded.

The appearance of new Cures was so unexpected that Nozomi had never even thought about it. Worse yet, they seemed to think she was the bad guy. Regardless, she didn't have time to deal with them in one way or another. Nightmare had to be dealt with quickly, before the battle escalated again. A second Divine clash would likely destroy whatever was left of the place.

Nightmare, using the brief gap in Nozomi's attention for her, used her healthy arm to grab Nozomi's. "Fierce Overheat!" Setting Nozomi wild ablaze, the dark guardian quickly vanished inside the rubble pile, out of reach.

"Clear Zone!" Jumping up in the air and staying there, canceling the effect of the flames on her, Nozomi could tell that it would be less than thirty seconds now before they were both back at a similar power level to before. The frozen bolts that blue Cure was firing at her were a nuisance at best. "Iron Maiden!" Targeting the unknown Cure, Nozomi watched as she skillfully evaded the forth-springing chains, barely but surely.

"Where are you looking?! Full Moon Destruction!" Breaking out of the rubble below Dream, Nightmare was face to face with her adversary for just a brief instant. But that was more than enough. The hit connected with her chest and even though the armor was enough to deflect the damage alone, the force of the hit was left intact. A loud boom almost deafened everyone close as Dream broke another wall of sound, flying straight past Beauty, crushing her Glacial Road, she flew all the way past the other four unknowns, finally losing altitude and crashing into a pile of rubble.

Nightmare realized now that those five would not prove useful. She couldn't absorb Cures and their reflections were nowhere to be seen. So she might as well eliminate them all at once. "Wings of Heaven!" Rising high up into the air, the evil guardian restored her destroyed arm again. It cost a lot of energy to continuously repair whole limbs, but she had little choice. "Abaddon!"

Reika realized instantly that neither of those two girls were going to tolerate any kind of interference. And now, the one that called herself Cure Dream, was about to unleash something extremely dangerous.

"Hey, shouldn't we be... doing something? This looks pretty bad!" Nao, following after Reika together with the other three, noticed the rapidly increasing amount of some kind of projectile above their heads.

"That's easy for you to say! I ain't got any defensive abilities!" Akane felt that they were in a real pinch. She still didn't understand anything that was going on, but one thing was very clear. They were in trouble. Big, serious trouble.

"Leave it to me!" She hadn't had chance to show off her new ability to Nao and Akane yet, so she had been secretly looking forward for a chance. The situation at hand wasn't quite what she had in mind, though.

Standing still, clicking with her fingers, a large drawing block appeared in her hand, containing hundreds of pages. "Defense, defense, defense... I got it! The Shield of Righteousness is just right for this!"

Beauty arrived at the point they all had stopped just as Peace executed her new ability. "Partum ex Fabula!" Like the unloading of a thunderstorm, Peace started to shoot off thunder in every direction. But instead of simply discharging it, the electricity all quickly started to flow inside the drawing block. With an enormous flash of lightning, the shield that had been on her block was no longer there and instead floating right above them. The edges, the full object, was completely made of electricity, semi-solid and yet just energy.

She had finished not a second too early. The rain of the metal shards had started and it was ten times as bad as a hurricane. The ground around them was destroyed, each shard hitting the ground in half a second after it launched, the destructive power easily equivalent to a rocket launcher. Yayoi realized very quickly that the shield was not going to hold. The fragments that hit it were pulverized, but each hit slowly drained the energy that sustained the construct. "Beauty, help!"

"Glacial Prison!" Creating a massive dome of solid ice above them, the shards broke through it in a matter of seconds. Regenerating the dome was a hard task but Reika tried her best.

"There gotta be something I can do to help... right!" Waiting for a single moment where she could see the attacking girl, Sunny launched her counter offensive. "Solar Rain!"

Nightmare reacted with nonchalance to the attack. Several hundred fireballs were raining down on her but even if they were to hit, she wouldn't take any damage. It was as futile as a squirrel scratching on a tank. But what she couldn't forgive was their impudence of having the gall to attack her to begin with.

Ceasing her continuous attack, Nightmare descended down, fast enough to make it look like teleportation for the others. Trying to jump away, everyone but Beauty was shocked by the sudden appearance of the black clad girl. Switching instantly to a sword and shield style, Reika attempted to hit the guardian, only to have her sword get caught by Nightmare's bare hands, where it remained stuck. "Burst!"

Nightmare flinched as the sword burst into hundreds of razor sharp fragments. One of them found their way through her armor, leaving a small cut on her skin. It was impressive for a regular Cure to be able to wound her. Impressive and unforgivable. "Stormflair!"

Beauty dropped like a rock, her consciousness blanked out by the ability. Turning to the other four, Nightmare's moves were still too fast for anyone to keep up with. Peace had her right arm bend behind her back in less than an instant, unable to even move. "Adamant Crush!"

Yayoi's scream of terror and pain woke up the other three. The bone in her arm broken, the yellow Cure passed out from the pain seconds later. Nightmare's face was showing a satisfied grin, quite pleased with herself. "Next?" Staring at Akane, she figured that the red Cure was the fire aligned one. She'd need to suffer more than just a broken arm. Maybe tearing out her liver was appropriate?

"Tempest Rush!" Unwilling to let anything else happen, March used her ability without any warning, almost vanishing from the spot. Using her incredible speed, she circled around Nightmare, creating a pseudo tornado on the spot, launched wind bullets from inside that wind barrier. A technique that combined defense, offense with lock down.

Nao's eyes went wide with Nightmare side stepped one bullet, reached into the wind wall and pulled her out by her throat. "What a cheeky little-"

"Ten Bloom Strike!" Nightmare released her grip on March in surprise, the tenfold attack sending her flying, even though she averted the damage with her armor. Effectively saving March's life, Dream had finally returned. "Hide! You're no match for her!" Barking her order at Nao, who had fallen to the ground and looked up at Dream as if she was some sort of walking disaster, the girl in question noticed Peace's broken arm and unconscious state. "Restoration!" Mending the broken bone and pierced tissue, it was an easy task.

Akane was the first to regain her senses. "March, get Peace! Happy, help me with Beauty! We're running!"

Miyuki wanted to voice her objection, not sure what to think anymore, but she couldn't get out a single word. She was strong and had experienced fighting those much stronger than herself, but those two were on a level so different, it was completely unreal. Picking up Beauty in a trance, the five of them ran, knowing that if either of those two wanted them dead, they would stand no chance.

"Protecting your new friends Dream?! How long until you run them through another disaster like everyone else?!" Blocking a barrage of attacks with her own fists, legs and armor, Nightmare applied some psychological damage.

"No matter what the future will be like, I'm making my stand here and now. I created you, I caused everyone to suffer and I will make up for it by betting my life on this! Their trust and friendship keep me going, no matter what you say!"

"What happened to your grandiose talks of justice and righteousness?!" Mocking her enemy, Nightmare backed away, using Aurora's ability to unleash several dozen beams at Dream.

"I'm bringing justice to you right now." Breaking through the beams with Clear Zone, she got a hold of Nightmare's shoulder. Both of them held on to each other, gritting their teeth, trying to overpower each other. Starting to whirl around each other, they still refused to let go.

"That's **your** justice. That has nothing to do with **real** justice!" Ramming her knee against Dream's armor, Nightmare still believed herself to be winning.

"Everyone has their own justice! You're my responsibility! My friends are counting on me!"

"I wonder what those friends of yours will think once they learn who is the source of all this!"

"Our friendship is not as shallow as that!"

"You're such a fool. They suffered, they fought, they even died! You think they'll just forgive you? They'll cast you out!"

"Shut up!" Headbutting the dark guardian, they continued to accelerate, creating extreme centrifugal forces around each other. There was no way to stop now. "Rose Liberation..." Spawning six red roses, one in each cardinal direction, one above them and one below them, they were ready to fire.

Keeping Nightmare locked down, Dream prepared to finish this off once and for all. But Nightmare had other plans. Even if her origin was ready to lay down her life to win, she didn't have that luxury. "Thorn Palace!" Covering herself and Dream in protective thorn roots, she forcibly stopped their insane movement, with dire consequences.

=== Dissonance ===

"Are all of them... Cures?" Putting Peace on the ground, Nao had even more trouble understanding the situation, now that they had encountered a small group of girls that introduced themselves as Cures and brought them to some spot that was virtually teeming with girls in costumes. She had already forgotten their names, too confused to keep up with everything that was happening.

Looking around, she started to count. "Twelve... thirteen.. fourteen.. how many are there?" As they kept walking around, she lost count and shook her head, giving a help seeking look to Akane, who just held her hands up.

"Don't ask me!" Akane was at the edge of just writing it all off as a bad dream or some sort of hallucination. It reminded her uncomfortably of when Joker trapped them in the Orb of Neglect.

"There are twenty five of us, excluding you five." Honoka, as one of the oldest and most experienced, took it as her duty to explain a few things to the new arrivals. "I understand that being told that there are twenty-five Cures other than yourself is a bit much to believe at first, but we've all been there. There was a first contact time for each group."

Sitting down next the unconscious Beauty, Honoka looked at the three conscious members of the unknown team. "Judging by just your appearance, may I guess that you're around eighteen, maybe nineteen each?"

"...Oh...yeah..." Completely baffled by the nonchalance the white Cure was displaying, Nao answered almost in trance.

Honoka wasn't one hundred percent trusting of them yet. If she went chronologically with the events of Fusion, Bottom and Black Hole appearing, these girls should have been present during all three fights or at least one. Yet, it didn't appear like anyone knew them. She had to be careful about what she told them, for now at least.

Despite the situation and the harshness of what she had just escaped from, Miyuki tried to be cheerful, with moderate success even. "I'm Cure Happy. It's nice to meet you."

Smiling at Happy and giving her a quick nod, the white Cure chose to postpone introductions until later."Judging by the condition those two are in, you showed up in the middle of the fight between Dream and Nightmare. I would explain to you what happened here, but I think it would be best if I let you ask the questions." Honoka took a long look at both Beauty and Peace, finding that they weren't physically in bad shape, just unconscious.

"Then, your name." Still smiling, Miyuki first wanted to break the ice. Akane and Nao didn't look very pleased by her decision but they didn't say anything.

"I'm Cure White. As far as I can tell, I belong to the oldest and most experienced team here." Judging that Happy was a people's person who sought contact with her fellow human beings, Honoka's initial opinion of her wasn't bad at all.

"How is it going Honoka? Are they okay?" Showing up just in time to blurt out her partners real name, Nagisa stood behind Sunny, who flinched a little at the rather athletic appearance of Black.

"And since she is already here and saying things without being asked, that's my partner, Cure Black." Pointing her hand towards Nagisa, Honoka briefly glared at her. "The others will introduce themselves later, so we should move on."

"Where are we?" Blurting out her question, Akane finally got it off her mind. "What the heck is this place? And what in the world were those two monsters down there? Are all other Cures that strong?"

"I'll start by taking your worry about all of us being that absurdly strong off your mind. Everyone here has their own style, strengths and weaknesses, so I can't really comment on how that fares in relation to you five, but the two you met are completely different from the rest of us right now." Taking a quick break to catch her breath, Honoka was no less exhausted than any of the others. She simply knew how to deal with Cures that had never met their own kind before. "As for this place, we're not sure **what** exactly it is but we know what purpose it serves and why we're here."

"To make it short, we Cures were too successful. I'm sure you five had your own troubles to deal with, your own enemies to fight, just like everyone else here. The problem with that is that every enemy of the Cures present here used the power of darkness. Now, darkness itself isn't evil. Darkness gives us shadows to escape the heat of summer, the night to rest from a long day and many other things."

"Wait a sec! I'm not keeping up. So, what is this about darkness? Can you make it easy to understand?" Akane usually didn't have any problems following explanations, but the circumstances were rather special in this case.

"Summarized, we beat too many enemies and destroyed too much darkness. Powers I can't quite explain without going into theoretical science brought us here to undo what we caused. Prior to this conflict you see down there, we were separated in two equal teams and made to fight each other. Supposedly, one side embodied light and the other darkness. The clash of those two produces energy and that is used to repair the hole everyone left after defeating their enemies."

Having her mouth slightly open, Nao looked at Akane, sweat drops running down her forehead. "Did you get that?"

"Not a thing." Grinning awkwardly, Sunny shook her head.

Sighing, Honoka simplified it even more. "We're not getting out of this place until the problem we caused is remedied. To do that, Cures have to fight other Cures. If we survive today, the whole thing will be explained to you."

"What do you mean, if we survive?!" Nao wasn't a fan of life or death situations.

"If the pink one down there wins, we live. If the black one wins, we die. It's as simple as that. And before you ask, not even all of us together would be able to make a difference. We know."

"But if we all try together-" Happy had never been confronted with a situation where team work among Cures could not best an enemy.

"Then we would still barely make a dent. You were down there, weren't you? To be honest, those two are lucky to be alive and in one piece. I really mean that. You saw the enormous hole, didn't you? Those two caused that and they were likely right in the middle of the explosion." Sometimes, applying a little bit of shock value was the easiest way to get someone to understand. "I'm not saying this to be mean to you or belittle your abilities, but these two are far, far beyond anything any of us have ever handled."

"Is there no way to escape this place?" Nao tried to calm down a little. White seemed to mean them well so she decided to trust her.

"Not that we know of. This looks like a pocket dimension, cut off from everything else. Earth, fairy worlds, anything. Cure powers are innate, so we kept them, but... could any of you check if any accessories or devices you use are on your person?"

A little weirded out by that comment, Miyuki reached for her smile pact, only to find it missing. "Gone!" Feverishly looking for it, she couldn't find it. "Gone! Gone! Gone! **No!**"

"It's the same as with everyone else then. In here, we can transform just by wanting to. No devices or fairies friends we have made it here."

"Say... could you sum up what exactly you've been doing here?" Akane was curious just how long they all had been in this place that White was being so accepting of it.

"We've been here for what seems to be more than three weeks now. Everyone but you arrived all at once, which is very odd. I assume you haven't just won any kind of great battle against your enemies prior to arriving here?"

"Not at all. That all ended years ago. Sure, we've been training a bit in case something else happened, but we were just on our way to Sea Land since we all got together for the first time in months." Explaining this to her, Sunny was startled by a sudden booming noise filling the air. "What was **that**?!"

"Their fight started up again. If it has been that long... maybe something went wrong when you were brought here." Honoka noticed that the blue Cure was coming to. She didn't like to apply stereotypes to people but considering what Windy, Berry and Aqua were like, she hoped that girl to be the brains of the group.

"Beauty, are you feeling okay? You just passed out when that girl yelled something at you." They all showed concern for her well being but Miyuki was the quickest to ask.

"I appear to have been knocked unconscious by some kind of attack." Fighting an enormous headache, Reika was slowly getting up, only to feel nauseous and sick the second she got on her knees. Tightly clenching her lips, she didn't want to throw up just from having a migraine. "And I was carried or moved." Noticing the presence of White amongst the group and the other Cures walking around, she went completely quiet for a few seconds. "Am I correct in my assumption that these people are also Cures but not related to our team or Märchenland?"

Honoka was very relieved that her assumption was spot on. "Yes, regarding everything you said."

"I'm called Cure Beauty. I'd like to know what exactly has happened here." Not asking the unknown Cure for her name, Reika prioritized knowing their current situation over formalities. She had learned long ago that sometimes, these things just had to be ignored for the greater good. Not introducing herself was completely out of the question though.

Giving the blue Cure a quick rundown and the same explanation she had already given the other three, Reika nodded a few times thorough the explanation. "I see... so as a consequence of our actions a few years ago, we've been brought here to remedy a situation that everyone present has contributed to. Beside the point that we should not shirk our responsibility for causing the problem, there appears to be no way to escape from this predicament at all."

"Two Reikas..." Miyuki was a little starry eyed, watching White and Beauty talk about these things like they were completely normal and the easiest thing in the world.

"Please don't be rude Miyuki." Beauty was still careful to mind her manners when possible. Of course, that didn't apply to whenever she was fighting. "Cure White... is it?" The girl had introduced herself somewhere throughout the explanation. "So, the process you and these others have been participating in consists of one team of Cures fighting another? Have there been any causalities?"

"None. The system seems to be specifically made to avoid down time that would come about from injuries. At the beginning of each battle, the combatants are subject to some kind of magic substance that heightens the desire to battle. It also significantly dulls pain, which in turn guarantees that the battles are fought seriously and without restraint. It isn't uncommon to end up with broken bones or substantial blood loss."

"Then how have there not been any causalities until now? As I understand, you've been here for several weeks. Judging by looks alone, I presume that nobody present at this time has any significant injuries from these battles."

"After each battle, both teams are also subject to a different substance, magic or energy that reduces any sustained wounds to a maximum of bruises and headaches. Exhaustion and being incredibly sore have been the upper limits of what I have experienced and seen."

"I see. Then, about those two below..."

"Hey, hey, hey! Don't ignore us!" Akane wanted to be part of the conversation but saw no chance unless they stopped talking like that.

"Anything you want to know?" Honoka didn't mind talking to either of them, she figured Beauty would have a better chance of explaining the situation to her team at a level they'd be capable of understanding.

"I don't understand any of the complicated stuff about pocket dimensions and what now, but... what is going to happen to us now?" That was the most important thing for Akane.

"I know this won't be the answer you want, but everyone else went through this already. You're stuck here with the rest of us until the damage done is reversed. If we all make it through this and Dream wins, hopefully we'll be going back to normalcy."

"This is weird. You're weird. How can you call fighting each other, Cures fighting Cures... how can you call that normalcy?" March was shaking her head in disbelief.

"Because I want to get out of here at some point. The fighting is hard but no lasting damage is done. No grudges are held. Sure, there are a lot of inconvenient things and there are a handful of real problems, but when I think about how much worse the situation could be, I'm pretty content calling us fighting each other normal."

"Worse? How could things be worse than this?" Nao wasn't convinced.

"The situation right now is an exception. Usually, each group has their own base. Everyone has their own room, we eat together, have fun together and once a day, we battle. From the reward money we get from battling, we get as much food and drinks as we need."

"You make it sound like a vacation." Akane was a little weirded out by that.

"I understand you're skeptical about this. We all were at the beginning. But it really sounds a lot worse than it actually is. If we make it out of this alive, you'll see." Honoka really hoped that Dream would pull through. Because twenty-nine other lives depended on her at this point.

=== Dissonance ===

A sonic boom ruptured the quiet air that had settled for the umpteenth time, giving word to all that were listening that the battle between guardians was not over yet. Moving too fast to be seen by the naked eye, Dream and Nightmare would not stop until one of them was no longer moving, dead and destroyed.

"Drop dead, Dream!" Screaming, Nightmare smashed her fist against Nozomi's, both of them repelled by the shock wave created from the collision, pushed back several dozen meters. Destroying the ground below them, each and every time they slowed down after a collision, their acceleration created an immense sonic boom.

Moving at speeds second only to jet aircraft in the human world each and every single one of their blows would be enough to cause a small earthquake or plain immense destruction. Facing each other for just an instant, both of them pushed themselves off the ground, taking their battle to the heights of the hole they had created previously.

Opening with a barrage of punches and kicks, Dream forced Nightmare on the defense, protecting herself with the armor and by blocking every hit as well as she could. "Spade Royal!" Hitting Nightmare's shield from the front, Dream vanished for a split second, only to e-appear in the same spot, blurred and with an afterimage. Hitting the shield again, Nightmare felt the same impact type attack as the first hit connect again but this time each impact created another one right where it ended. A bulwark penetration technique!

Taking the first real damage since she had sabotage Dream's last attempt to take her out during their whirl in the air, Nightmare spit out a few drops of blood, disliking the taste in her mouth. Accessing the wealth of knowledge she possessed from absorbing all the reflections, she couldn't find any info on that technique. From the naming, it had to belong to Misery's origin, but if so, why was she unable to use it?

Using the confused state of Nightmare, something that would only last for one more second if even that, Dream surrounded just her hand and arm with Clear Zone and grabbed the face of her adversary. "Blacklight Impact!"

Nightmare could only see a mass of black energy forming before she realized the danger she was in. "Symphony Echo!" At this rage, she would suffer too, but that didn't matter. If Dream blew off her head with another technique she didn't know, then that would be it, she couldn't recover from that. The ultra sonic waves created by Silence's ability disrupted all energy based attacks and defenses, a massive and giant EMP attack.

Retracting her hand, having missed her chance, Dream switched over to pure physical attacks. If energy was no good, brute strength would get the job down just as well. "Megaton Impact!" Cladding her arm into the neigh impenetrable metal, Nozomi used a small faint. Aiming for Nightmare's head, the weight of her arm slowed her ascend down enough to make the hit fall on her chest instead.

"Ten Bloom Strike!" Faster than Dream's attack, Nightmare was one step ahead of her once again. The blow connecting straight with the armor that protected her abdomen, Dream lost too much altitude by the impact to reach Nightmare anymore.

"Chain Tracer!" Sending out a lone golden chain, it homed in on Nightmare right away but missing her. Curving around behind the black guardians back, the chain tightly wrapped itself around her ankle. "What?!" A horrible realization dawned Nightmare as she was pulled down towards Dream. Unable to correct her trajectory, the Symphony Echo still disrupting pure energy attacks, Nightmare could only defend herself. "Iron Maiden!"

"Megaton Whip!" Hitting Nightmare, who had wrapped herself in golden chains entirely, with her full power, the impact itself caused a sound explosion that shattered walls hundreds of meters away. Releasing the chain around Nightmare's ankle only enough to let her fly towards the demolished ceiling, she grabbed hold of it with both arms, starting to whirl it around and finally smash it into the ground.

Canceling the Iron Maiden, Nightmare's head was ringing. Despite the additional layer of protection, she had **felt** that impact through her entire body. But that was trivial compared to what she had realized then. Dream was creating new techniques by combining abilities from those she took power from. Something she didn't believe to be possible as she had failed trying exactly the same thing herself.

Looking up, she saw Dream float high in the air above her. Her instinct warned her that another attack was coming. Jumping as hard as she could, she needed to kill Dream before she got the upper hand by creating even more new techniques. They both had access to too many different abilities. If Dream mastered creating new attacks, it was all over. Having fought at her full power right from the beginning, there were no last ditch resorts she could pull out now.

"Azure Abaddon!" Finally gaining the upper hand, Nozomi had finally figured out how to combine the properties of different abilities. She had kept believing in herself, her friends and their powers, and it finally paid off.

For the first time, Nightmare stopped her attack out of fear. What was rushing down at her was a storm of wind blades, each of them equivalent to the one that had cut off her leg. Using Clear Zone to hold off one of those combination abilities was too dangerous. "Diamond Flash!" Escaping in a straight line to the side, Nightmare felt the attack hit the ground. If the fragments shredded everything then this was complete and utter annihilation. Each of the wind blades cut right through the rubble, likely passing through everything below, reaching right into the void several hundred meters below them.

The fight had become one-sided. Nightmare had already realized that going up directly against Dream would be extremely dangerous. But what other choice did she have? Trying to find the other, powerless Cures, and take one of them hostage would take too long. In that time, Dream...

But the fight was not as one-sided as Nightmare believed it to be. Using one of the already refined and completed abilities of the others was fine, but creating one on the spot was more than just tiring. It was draining her. She couldn't keep that up for long. "Wings of Heaven!"

Chasing Nightmare, Dream ran straight into a trap. The second she came close to the ground, hundreds of golden chains broke out of the rubble, trying to tie her down. "Diamond Flash!" Dodging the chains with pure speed, Dream only worsened things. The chains, too, had been part of the trap.

She only realized the presence of Nightmare when an absurdly powerful blow connected straight with her chest. Nightmare's Megaton Impact while she had laid in wait using Mirage. Rushing into that with Diamond Flash was an enormous error. It was a sign that her judgment was starting to become rushed, the mental exhaustion of abusing her access to other abilities catching up to her.

Falling to the ground, writhing in pain and unable to breathe, Dream realized that this one error could be fatal.

"Iron Maiden!" Dozens of chains wrapped themselves around the guardian's wrists, ankles, waist and throat, completely locking Dream down. It was finally over. Nightmare wouldn't sigh of relief yet, but she knew that there was no escaping this prison. Both of them might be incredibly powerful, but she had laid this trap knowing just how strong Dream was. The chains tied all of the ground below her together. If she wanted to get up, she had to pull all of it with her. And that just wasn't possible in her position.

Nozomi realized that as well. She was feeling fear, knowing that within the next seconds, Nightmare would use a lethal blow, smashing her head and killing her. Only to proceed and kill all the others, those that had put their hopes and trust in her. "Glory Crasher Zone!" Creating a zone with a continuous effect of Melody's Glory Crasher, the vibrations almost tore her apart. She could feel veins in her arms and legs burst from the attack, blood running from her eyes and ears. It was no attack to kill herself. But to destroy the ground below her.

Catching Nightmare off guard, Nozomi jumped up, ignoring the burning pain in her body, ignoring the taste and smell of iron in her mouth, grabbing Nightmare's face. "Stormflair Echo!" The attack had an unforeseen side effect. At the same point of Nightmare falling to the ground, her consciousness suspended temporarily, as if the two of them shared the same polarization, Dream was thrown across the hole with immense force, a magnetic repulsion reaction.

Slowly getting up, injured badly from her desperate attack to free herself, Dream knew that she couldn't go on much longer. The same likely wasn't true for Nightmare since she hadn't been creating new abilities on the fly.

"Wings of Heaven!" Jumping as hard as she could, Nozomi reached a high enough altitude to believe herself to be just outside the blast radius of what she was about to do. Even though she had never used it before, her instinct told her that one little mess up and she'd burn out her entire life force.

Taking a deep breath, there wasn't much time before the Stormflair Echo wore off that monster and the fight would start anew. And the next time she got caught, she wouldn't have the power to free herself. Taking position, she was ready to end this battle. If the technique failed, she would undoubtedly die. If she succeeded then it was Nightmare who would die. Because of the, comparatively to their battling speed, long preparation time, she had been unable to use it before. But having Nightmare locked in one place without being near her, she could finally go all the way. An attack that surpassed even the Divine Rose Prayer. An attack with her life on the line.

A fluid motion, moving her hand from one side to another, the petals that formed her armor left her body, slowly ascending into the air above her. A second motion, almost serene, putting both her hands on her, now laid bare, chest, feeling her own heart beat. Closing her eyes, slowly and focused breathing, Dream's hair lost it's shine, her armor completely gone, all the petals having assembled above her.

Opening her eyes, staring down at Nightmare, Nozomi put her hands together as if she were praying. The preparations were completely. "Release of the Rose Empress!" Flying in place, stark naked, Dream's mind almost collapsed under the surge of emotions that the technique brought with it. Feeling nothing but hatred for Nightmare, that emotion was solely dominating her mind.

Looking above her, hundreds of white roses were floating quietly in the air, waiting for her command. Large, red rose tattoos had shown up on both the top of her hands and her chest, declaring her as the current Empress of Roses, something that could be called the ultimate form of the guardian, something that was the very embodiment of the Rose Garden itself.

"Isolation!" Lifting her right hand slowly above her head, several dozen roses turned blue, firing what looked like streams of petals towards the ground. Hitting the area around Nightmare, the petals vanished into the ground. Only a second passed before a true forest of enormous thorn roots broke out below the dark guardian, imprisoning her, trapping her in place. Lowering her right hand, Nozomi took another deep breath.

"Refulgence!" This time it was her left hand she lifted above her head. Numerous roses turned into a gentle pink, six at a time forming a rotating circle, creating massive energy orbs in the empty space between them, glowing bright enough to illuminate as far as any light possibly could. Again, she lowered here hand back to the old position.

At this point, Stormflair Echo wore off and Nightmare woke up to a terror she couldn't describe in words. The air above her, the entire ceiling of the enormous hole, was filled with floating roses, every single one at least four meters wide and high, a veritable ocean of roses. Noticing her predicament and imprisonment, Nightmare struggled to get free. Trying to use abilities resulted in a sharp pain in her head and nothing more, no matter how hard she tried. Dream had her locked down completely. "No... no, no, no..."

Less than a quarter of the roses made up the blue and pink ones, the majority still white. And it was time to change that. Putting both her hands in front of her chest, covering the rose tattoo, Dream felt how the technique was draining away her energy. With each breath, time seemed to slow down, her voice reaching the deepest depths of the construct. Her words almost tranquil, everyone could hear her. "Genesis and Exodus of the Roses."

Every single white rose turned into a bloody red, changing it's angle, all of them aiming at Nightmare, who was still trapped in the roots, about a hundred meters above ground. Nozomi no longer needed to say anything. The pink roses started to rotate so quickly that there was no telling how many of them there really were, the orbs being produced so quickly that soon, every red rose had absorbed one.

Nightmare saw the attack coming. The fear made her experience everything in slow motion. The beams moved through air so incredibly slowly that she witnessed how slowly, so very slowly, the space above her turned into a giant ocean of red energy, slowly descending, slowly merging, slowly coming closer. Her last outcry was heard throughout all of the labyrinth.

"**Dream!**"

Everyone that watched saw what happened in real time. Just as the roses fired, Dream started to fall and the red roses vanished the instant they fired their shot. A sphere, half the size of the hole they were in, a sphere as red as the most colorful rose they had ever seen, was encompassing Nightmare, the monster's last wail still sending chills down their spine.

Existing for several seconds, the sphere finally burst in a massive explosion, the shock wave powerful enough to push those watching dozens of meters over the ground.

Nozomi was laying among the rubble, naked and exhausted, no longer the rose guardian but just Cure Dream. That attack had at least taken a full year of her life if not more. But her life would have ended if she had not used it. It was the much smaller of two evils.

Breathing heavily, she could barely believe she survived. Nightmare had been just as powerful as she was, if not even a little more. Her only advantage had been her decision to ignore the limits of her body and create new abilities on the fly. If not for that, if not for that one moment where she sacrificed her health and put everything into one chance, she would have lost. She would have died, and everyone else would have died with her.

But for some reason, she could not feel relieved. She was feeling cold, fearful. Something wasn't right. She may no longer be the guardian, but still she extended her senses. And she found **her**. Nightmare. A faint, weak energy, as if the creature was about heavily wounded but not dead.

Ignoring the bleeding on her back, her legs, her feet, Nozomi got up, uncaring that she was walking around naked. Her instinct took her towards a small hill of rubble, dozens of meters from the hole her attack had created. Slipping and falling, suffering more cruises with every step, ignoring the pain that was booming through her body, Nozomi kept moving on, possessed by the fear that Nightmare might still be alive, that her senses had been right.

Just as she ascended the hill, she really saw her. Down below, at the foot of the hill's other side, there she was. Her armor broken and burned, her face charred, her hair shredded, her right arm missing, her left arm broken. And yet, she was still alive. What an incredible life force Nightmare had.

One step at a time, Dream got closer and closer, only to trip and fall, roll down the slope and hurt her leg. And still she got up again, her eyes fixated on the fatally wounded Nightmare.

"_You really... hate me so much... even in that state... you come... to kill me..." Nightmare spoke melancholic. "Why did things end up like this..."_

"_I... only wanted to be... **real**. I... wanted to take your place... so I could... really **be**." _

Each step took Nozomi closer to the reflection.

"_Had there been... another way... I really would... have preferred that... do you think I... enjoy being... like this?"_

Standing next to the reflection, Nozomi paused, listening to what the girl had to say.

"_You once... saw what happens when... someone makes a reflection... of you... don't you? I... I'm... I'm the same... Just... like Dark Dream..."_

"_A dark dream... is just... another Nightmare... ironic... isn't it... that I only... realize now how... foolish I've been..."_

"Do you want to live?" Nozomi's face was showing a trace of kindness as she looked down at the reflection.

"I can't... expect... to be allowed... to live after... what I've... done... no matter how much... I regret... all of that..."

"Do you want to live?" Repeating her question, Nozomi showed a small smile.

"If... if... you can find... it in you... to forgive me... I... I really... want to... want to live..."

Slowly kneeling down. Nozomi laid her hand on the reflection's right shoulder. "I see." Smiling even wider, Nozomi laid her other hand on Nightmare's left shoulder. With one swift notion, both her hands were tightly gripping Nightmare's throat. Her smile grew even wider, her eyes closed, the expression more terrifying than any rage distorted face could ever hope to be. "Forgiveness? Regret? Did you honestly believe I would buy into that after **all of this**?" Breaking out in laughter, Nozomi tightened her grip on the reflection's throat. "No. You don't seek forgiveness. You don't regret. You're a walking mass of hatred, anger and malice. You're pure evil, an abomination that I'm responsible for. And I don't shirk my responsibilities. Even if I have to

Nightmare could barely gasp, never mind answering. But the hateful glare in her eyes spoke for itself. Nozomi's laughter was heard for dozens of meters for almost a minute. And right after she stopped, if there had been anyone close to her, they would have heard the sound of bone snapping in two.

=== End of Event XXI ===


	22. Rule Change

**Dissonance**

_Event XXII_

**Rule Change**

"I don't get why we can't just blast through all this rubble." Hibiki was complaining, lifting up another large rock, handing it to her partner, who was standing right behind her.

"Because we might collapse the whole thing. This is like an unstable mineshaft. We're all tired and complaining won't help you feel better. So just bear with it, okay?" Itsuki took the rock and handed it over to Bloom, who threw the rock into a large hole a few meters behind her.

"Is Dream still out?" Nagisa, who was working in the same position as Hibiki but a few steps to the right, was curious about what was going on at the back where a handful of Cures were all huddled up, talking about something.

"Probably. She was in pretty bad shape when Urara and I found her." Rin was the second piece of the chain that started with Black. Michiru, working behind her, was the third.

"We don't know what is going to happen next, so its a good idea to at least restore accessibility to our base." The redhead threw another rock away and sighed. Just how much rubble had fallen? They had to thank Marine for finding the entrance just fifteen minutes after they started a search but just about all ways in were completely blocked off.

"What do you make of those new Cures? Well, I guess I can't really call them **new** since they look around the age of everyone else." Hibiki kept working, bored out of her mind, so she kept the conversation going.

"Why do you automatically assume that they haven't become Cures recently just because they're close to adulthood?" Michiru's reply hit a nerve and Hibiki handed Itsuki the next rock a little too rough, making her tumble.

"Ah, sorry, Itsuki." Turning to Bright, Hibiki found herself slightly more annoyed than she expected. "Because everyone else became a Cure around the time when we went to middle school."

"I think we can rule out coincidence on that at this point. How many of us is that now, thirty?" Itsuki was not one to believe in conspiracy theories but this really did smell like one. Not exactly the bad kind of conspiracy, but still.

"Does that really matter? We've got other problems. And I'm more interested in what they are like." Saki hurled another rock out of the way and wiped some sweat off her forehead. She turned around when she felt someone's presence behind her.

"You're interested in us?" Akane wasn't coy at all, and since Reika had told her to grab Nao and go help the others with what they were doing while she went over things with Cure White, there was no reason not to learn more about them.

"Of course. It's not every day you get to meet other Cures. Although that may seem a little weird, coming from me since we all know each other already. But it was a big shock back then!" Saki felt a little embarrassed, the red Cure having heard what she said.

"Ah, dun worry about it. Six of ya I can handle fine, but seeing y'all in one place was way too big! I never woulda thought there be so many of us! Came as a real surprise!" The more excited Akane got, the more her accent came through. A gentle nudge from Nao made her realize this. "Ah, my bad, my bad, I talk a lil' odd when I get all excited, ya know?"

"You're such a stereotypical Osaka person, it's kind of impressive." Like all the others, Rin had stopped working and gave the new Cures a good look. Their hairstyles were a little odd but nothing that was any more unusual than Aqua's hair curtain.

"Thanks... I think? You're the first person to ever see it that way." Keeping her accent in check the best she could, Akane got a little embarrassed. She wasn't ashamed of her accent or anything, but she took great pride in being able to talk completely normally despite having only trained to do so for a little over two years. "I'm Cure Sunny, Hino Akane."

"I'm going to make a really elaborate guess and say you use fire attacks." Rin was being a little sarcastic about the elaborate part. Raising her hand and smiling amused, Rin continued. "Same here by the way. Makes two fire-using Cures." Giving Akane a provocative look, Rin tried to gauge the new girl. "Wanna see who is the stronger one?"

"Someone else that uses fire, huh? Interesting. I'll be your opponent." Not afraid of taking up a challenge, Akane was raring to go. The two of them were stopped short by Aqua and Mint passing by, covered in dust. A single glance at the situation and Rin backed off, not eager to get into a fight with Karen because she was playing around instead of doing her job. "Are you turning tail now?"

"I'm backing off to avoid getting smacked around by the others. The fight isn't off, just postponed until... we fight somewhere where we won't be disturbed."

"Saying it like that, you make it sound kind of dirty. I'm not sure you should be flirting with someone new when you already have some kind of thing going on with Rhythm." Michiru didn't miss that Melody tensed up a little when she mentioned the white Cure.

"What part of that was flirting, huh?" Rin was quick to anger, something she still hadn't mastered after years of trying to and it was especially bad when her love life was involved.

"I'm not free for taking anyway. It's a bit complicated but I'm all tied up with March here. Isn't that so, Nao?" Akane had no problems whatsoever saying those things and she loved to embarrass Nao just a little bit with it.

"You didn't need to tell them about that." Having caught more than just glimpses of romantic relationships between other Cures, Nao didn't worry too much about it, but she still wasn't completely sure that everyone would be accepting of how she handled her relationship... or relationships.

"I'm Cure Melody, Hojo Hibiki. She's my partner, Myoudouin Itsuki, Cure Sunshine. Let's get along!" Hibiki found it a little strange to know two Cures that had names related to the Sun, but then again, stranger things had happened.

"Natsuki Rin, Cure Rouge." Smiling a bit, Rin pointed at the green Cure, who had been really quiet until now. "We haven't heard your name."

"How about you let Saki introduce herself first?" Michiru's tone made clear that it wasn't a real question. She didn't like the idea of everyone else skipping over her best friend. She also purposefully didn't reveal her own name, wanting Saki to go first.

"Are you two fucking each other or something?" Whenever someone pissed Rin off, her choice of words became more like Urara's, a bad influence that had stuck around over time.

"You might want to watch what you're saying. Saki and Mai are an incredible couple and she doesn't need to-" Michiru was interrupted halfway by Saki, who covered the redhead's mouth with her own hand.

"It's okay Michiru, no need to get angry." Letting go of her friend and turning around, Saki didn't waste time and introduced the remaining three, including herself, all at once. "She's Cure Bright, Kiryuu Michiru. She can be a little direct but please don't hold it against her." Waiting for Nagisa to walk over, the black Cure having been unexpectedly quiet until now, she introduced her as well. "She's Cure Black, Misumi Nagisa, probably the oldest Cure here. And I'm Hyuuga Saki, Cure Bloom."

"Isn't Moonlight older than me?" Nagisa commented on that quickly, not liking the word oldest or old in general. 'Most experienced,' was her preferred term.

"Yuri hasn't been a Cure for more than four or five years now. It's been more for you, right?" Itsuki interjected, knowing that it was mostly irrelevant but throwing it out there regardless.

"I guess I'm the most experienced one here then. Unless any of you have been at it for seven years or more." The last bit was directed right at the new girls who quickly smiled and shook their heads.

"We just recently made the five year mark. It's been five years, right, Akane?" Nao answered first, not completely sure about the date. "And I'm Cure March, Nao Midorikawa."

"Plus/minus some days or weeks, yeah. That comes about right."

"That makes you our seniors." Lifting her arms up and putting her hands behind her, Hibiki grinned. It wasn't all bad to be with the youngest group.

"I appreciate all of you getting along, but I don't think this entrance is clearing itself." Inori had shown up, her face and clothes covered in dirt. She was helping out clearing the rubble from a different spot. The strongest ones were all assigned to the main entrance but that didn't mean everyone else got to sit around and do nothing.

"Yeah, yeah." Hibiki replied first, earning a slightly annoyed look from Pine. The danger was over, that much was guaranteed, but the situation was still pretty bad. Relaxing for just a little bit wasn't all bad. "Should we get going? I don't want to get lectured by White or Aqua." Hibiki respected them but she wasn't too fond of their personality. They reminded her of a more grown up Ako in some ways.

"We don't need four people in one row, so let's take turns and have two people take a break at a time. Anyone especially tired?" Nagisa wasn't bad at organizing people due to her days of playing lacrosse. A lot of it had stuck with her all this time.

"I'll take the first break then." Itsuki stretched a little, still not in good condition from when Nightmare had gigantic roots ravage the place.

"Me too. My legs are killing me." Rin had ran enough to qualify for a dozen marathons in the last twenty four hours.

Rearranging the lines, Akane taking Rin's spot and Nao taking Itsuki's, they continued to get rid of the rubble. "Say, how did you guys become Cures?" Hibiki popped the question without any hesitation, curious about the new girls.

"Miyuki got us into it. I still don't know how she settled on us, but just after she transferred to our school, she got to be Cure Happy and-, what's so funny?" Akane was looking at Rin, who had broken out in laughter the moment she heard Miyuki's Cure name.

"Happy? Seriously, Happy? Oh hell, Urara is gonna have a field day with this. Not that her name is actually any better though." Laughing as hard as she could, Rin could imagine Urara totally making fun of the poor Cure that was called Happy.

Ignoring Rin and continuing the explanation that Akane had left hanging, Nao didn't stop working. "Miyuki became a Cure and more or less picked us out based on her... unique perception."

"You make it sound like she's lost her marbles Nao!" Complaining about her choice of words, Nao's partner handed another big rock to Michiru.

"So she asked you to become Cures? Geez, that reminds me an awful lot of Nozomi. That's my leader, by the way. Cure Dream, Yumehara Nozomi. The one that you saw fighting when you showed up."

"Someone like that is your leader? What kind of group..." Nao wasn't sure she was really comfortable with someone like that around.

"Don't get me wrong, Nozomi is really strong, but that wasn't what she is usually like. That was a life or death thing she probably won't use ever again." Rin didn't want to explain it in detail. Nothing good would come of telling them all about the reflections.

"Akane got picked first, Yayoi was next, then me, then Reika was the last one." Finishing up, Nao wondered how everyone else became a Cure. But asking all of them would take a pretty long time. "How did all of you meet each other? We were never told there were other Cures."

"None of us were told that. Based on what I know, there are a myriad of fairy worlds that don't interact. So they all have their own issues and legendary warriors. Which is how so many of us came to be Cures." Michiru launched in full scientific analysis mode the moment the question was asked.

"Some of us, I think everyone up to Peach's group, met when Fusion showed up. Fusion was, in a way, something like the combined remnants of the enemies the groups that met there got rid of. We met Blossom's group when Bottom attacked us while we happened to be all at the same park." Saki explained it in a way that it was easy to understand, fully aware that Michiru took things a little too seriously in these situations.

"After that, my group met all the others when Black Hole showed up. It's really a great coincidence that nobody but us even remembers those events. When you check the newspapers, it's always gas leaks or faulty construction or unexplained weather phenomena." Hibiki finished off the explanation, taking a deep breath, tired of handling rocks.

"I talked about this with White a while ago. My sister and I had the theory that when a creature that doesn't belong in this world shows up, such as Uzainas, the worlds forces create a memory layer. It's basically a snapshot of the worlds memories of the instant the outside influence arrives. When the disturbance is removed, by us Cures, the memories are restored and society finds some kind of more or less logical explanation for how buildings got destroyed."

"That sounds really far fetched. Then what about that time when everything got turned into a desert?" Nagisa was used to highly-specialized technobabble due to Honoka talking about her work at times.

"You're talking about Dune?" Itsuki remembered that time well. The people remembered for a time but after a while, they seemed to gradually forget until only her friends and she herself still knew of it.

"It's a theory. I suspect that smaller intrusions don't cause the memory effect and massive scales take time to correct. How else would the world still not know about Cures? There are at least thirty of us now, and-" Michiru really got going with topics like that.

"Let's talk about something else. It doesn't really matter now, does it? Who knows how many other Cures there are out there in the world? We're stuck here anyway. Hey, Sunny, March, you play any sports?" Rin didn't enjoy all the smart-talk.

"Volleyball. I'd like to be a professional but I gotta keep the restaurant goin' too, so I ain't got the time." Akane had lost nothing of her competitive spirit in the last years, something that kept making trouble for Nao and Reika.

"I still play soccer as a hobby, but I don't have as much time as I used to." Nao missed playing a little, but her daycare job didn't leave her all that much time except on weekends.

"As a hobby, huh? Do you follow the professional league at all?" Rin was suddenly intrigued. Nobody but her really played soccer, even among the other sporty Cures.

"Not too much. Playing soccer professionally had been an option for me, and it probably still is, but I love my current job. It's something I don't want to give up."

"What do you do for work?" Hibiki didn't mention that she used to play quite a bit of soccer herself, keeping the conversation focused on March.

"I work at a daycare. I've looked after my six siblings for a long time but Keita, the second oldest after me, is looking after the youngest ones now and I work to help support my family."

"Sounds like straight out of a soap opera." Rin shrugged. She had heard weirder things. "But I guess reality always is stranger than fiction. Six siblings, huh? Your parents were awfully productive. Speaking of sex, Sunny, you said you were tied up with March? How long have you two been a couple?" Rin wasn't really the master of treading lightly with words. She wasn't quite as far down the road to cynical behavior as Urara but far enough to put some people off.

"Don't mind her," Itsuki didn't want a fight to break out so she quickly tried to defuse the situation before it became a necessity to defuse it. "She's just like that. We've got all got our crosses to bear."

"I meet some foul-mouthed people working at the restaurant, I'm used to it." Akane dealt with those types just fine. When she was working, she always wore a smile on her face, knowing that even the worst person had a right to enjoy good food. And maybe it would even better them. "And there's no real answer to your question. The situation is a little complicated and I'm gonna save explaining it for another day. Assuming we'll still be stuck here tomorrow. I sure hope not."

"You should settle for being here for a while." Looking up, Rin sighed and took a deep breath. "In a nutshell, we're only getting out of here when we evened out the energy deficit or something ridiculous like that. Whole lot of fighting, running around and god knows what else is gonna happen. I sure can go without another Nightmare busting our butts." Rin's mood wasn't the best and the way she talked really showed that off. "Anyone else want to take a break?"

"Me," Michiru was exhausted and she didn't have any silly pride that prevented her from saying so.

"You two are dating, aren't you?" Continuing where Rin had left off, Saki didn't hesitate to pursue the topic.

"Akane, lets just tell them. There are a lot of other couples here and this is becoming really troublesome." Nao didn't like to just tell anyone but these girls seemed nice and trustworthy enough, Rouge being a bit of an exception.

"Shouldn't we ask Reika before we just blurt it out?" Akane didn't like going behind Reika's back.

"You're right. Ah, this is so complicated! That's why I'm usually against telling others!"

"Lets... change the topic then." Hibiki had her own relationship issues, mainly relating to Kanade being crazy, but nothing that would make act like that. "So March works at a daycare. What do you do, Sunny?"

"Jus' Akane 's fine. It's kinda weird gettin' called Sunny all day when yer talking about stuff like this. My family 's running 'n Okonomiyaki shop. Although we'll serve other stuff too now. Business been real good lately, so I'm often real busy, but if I ever wanna get my own shop, I'm gonna need Reika 'cause I don't know how to handle the finances 'n stuff."

"There's a lot of Cures that can cook, aren't there?" Itsuki had noticed that a while ago but it never really seemed worth the effort of mentioning it. "There's Sunny, Rose, Luminous, Bloom, Rhythm... doesn't Passion know how to cook as well? I heard she was the one that kept Peach fed while they traveled."

"Well considering most of us have partners, at least one Cure should be able to make food." Itsuki really hoped that Hibiki was a somewhat-decent cook.

"I'm counting on you, Itsuki." Grinning and showing her partner a thumbs up, Hibiki could see the rising worry on her face. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, just... " Sighing, Itsuki started talking to herself under her breath. "I wonder if I can get Erika to teach me..." She had never had any aptitude for cooking but Erika was good at almost everything when she put her mind to it, which was rare enough but not too unusual if someone asked her to help.

"I got a question. What are we clearin' this rubble for?" Akane was starting to wonder if there wasn't an infinite amount of rocks to be carried away.

"Our base is right behind there. Showers, beds, living room and food." Michiru explained briefly, really longing for a shower and something to eat. She was surprisingly attached to those basic physical comforts.

"A shower does sound good. I'm all dusty. I only ever get this dirty when I play soccer during rain." Nao had developed a small obsession with cleanliness over the years.

"You don't know what dirty is until you're literally looking like someone encased you in chocolate. But I agree that a shower would be bloody good. There is gonna be a run for them right the second we break through so I suggest either getting ready for a long wait or sharing a cabin with someone." Playing soccer in the rain was something Rin could live without, though.

"You're planning to take Rhythm?" Michiru brought the topic up a second time, not satisfied that she hadn't gotten a good answer earlier.

"How on earth does everyone think I'm dating her now?" Rin couldn't deny that Kanade wasn't quite nobody to her, but she didn't view her as her lover or anything like that. Although the girl probably looked at her that way.

"Her sleeping in your room, hanging around you and generally seeming pretty attached would be the main giveaways." Michiru really didn't know when she was crossing a line and once again, it needed Saki to stop in and change the topic. Melody and Sunshine were looking pretty annoyed already.

"Where are the others from your team? There are five of you, right?" Saki directed the conversation back to the new team.

"Nao, have you seen Yayoi?" Akane grabbed another heavy rock and kept the chain going. Just how many more were there?

"She was with a short blue Cure. Miyuki was with them as well." Nao didn't know even the names of half of the people that were around.

"Did that Cure also have blue hair?" Itsuki quickly got a very bad feeling.

"How did you know?" Looking to the yellow Cure, Nao had a curious look on her face.

"That's Erika, Cure Marine. She's a bit... hyper." Itsuki knew full well that Erika wasn't going to step on any brakes, no matter how new people were.

"Fits right in with Yayoi and Miyuki then." Akane grinned.

"I hope they don't explode." Letting out a sigh, Itsuki kept working. "I think we're almost through." She didn't really believe that but it would keep the mood from falling. A little optimism never hurt anyone.

"...What?" Nao was confused. What did she mean, **explode**?

"Watch out!" Akane was quick to react to the noise of rocks grinding on each other and grabbed Melody's arm, pulling her away from the rocks that came crumbling down.

"Thanks, Sunny." Worn out, her reflexes weren't quite what they should have been and getting stuck under several dozen kilos of stone would have really sucked.

"Isn't that the entrance?" Itsuki pointed at a small hole that had opened up from the miniature avalanche. "Looks like we really **were** almost through."

"Meltdown!" Launching a basketball sized projectile towards the base of the rubble, everyone but Sunny jumped away and tried to shield their faces from the immense heat. Now that they knew the ceiling wasn't going to come down, they could go havoc on the remaining rubble.

"That's pretty impressive. How do you do it?" Akane was used to high temperatures but she wasn't all that comfortable with this either, just being a few meters away from a small pool of molten rock that kept increasing in size little by little.

"Stop running your mouth and help me. This isn't parlor tricks and magic shows, this is tiring as hell."

"It's my turn now! I'll show you what a real Fire Cure is capable of!" With a smug grin, Akane took position, raised her right arm and created fire spheres right above her own head. With a second delay, each sphere, no more the size than a pinball, instantly crashed into the rubble, melting down the rock around it. With dozens of spheres hitting every second and more being spawned rapidly, it was a contest of who could melt down more rubble.

"Shouldn't we stop them?" Hibiki was holding on to Itsuki's arm, not sure it was safe to be around those two.

"It's impossible to stop Akane when she gets like that. She's competitive by nature. This isn't even that bad, it used to be a lot worse." Smiling as she explained Sunny's behavior to everyone else, Nao was reminded of the past. She couldn't even count the times she and Akane had competed over something.

"What are they doing?" A familiar voice spoke to the six watching Cures from behind them. Michiru was the first to turn around and recognize Muse, standing there and just watching the two hotheads have a go at the entrance. "Didn't White ask you to go and tell her when you freed up the entrance?"

Michiru instantly took charge of the situation. "As you can see it isn't freed up yet. They're working at it. We got rid of the rubble that was likely to cause a cave in without any problems and now they're merely removing the last bits."

"I'll tell White then." Ako was just as eager as everyone else to get back to a decent bed and showers and possibly a warm meal. Considering everything and all the worse possibilities, they weren't really all that badly off. They didn't go hungry, they could decide themselves when to sleep, eat and play, and the fighting had no long term consequences. It was only things like Nightmare popping up that made their lives in this place a living hell.

"Isn't Lemonade with you?" Nagisa was a little nosy when it came to other people's relationships, and this time too, she couldn't help but be curious.

"She is lecturing Marine and two of the new girls." Ako couldn't directly look at anyone, knowing that those two would get a really bad impression of her partner because of this.

"They're... alright, aren't they?" Hibiki didn't get along too well with Lemonade and who could blame her. Kanade almost blew off her head that one time, not quite literally but it would've hurt quite a lot, and ever since then, the relationship between Lemonade, Hibiki and Kanade had been more than just a little strained.

"For now. They got really out of hand. I didn't see them in action but Pine told me that they caused a hallway to collapse after being a bit careless with their abilities." Ako had appeased Urara, resulting in just a lecture. That her partner had been inside said hallway while it was collapsing she kept a secret.

"Erika..." Itsuki just shook her head in disbelief. "She never changes..."

=== Dissonance ===

"I'll take this one!" Nagisa didn't even stop to look if someone else was trying to get into the cabin, swiftly entering, transforming back and turning on the water that was miraculously even hot. There was one damaged cabin of the combined bathroom so that left six more stalls.

Each stall was about two meters long and one wide, the shower head big enough to sprinkle water over the entire inside. The floor was still tiles of stone, and several small drains in-between them. The door was as wide as the full width of the room itself and could be locked to the wall with a small mechanism. Each cabin had high, at least two meters, walls to either side of the other cabins, but left a small gap to the ground to avoid flooding.

"Hibiki!" Itsuki pulled her partner with her, almost tumbling over a rock and just barely keeping her balance. She really couldn't stand the dirt and sweat anymore. Getting into the cabin right across the one Black had gotten into, they locked the door and got rid of their clothes. They felt not a grain of shame seeing each other naked by now. "You got bruises all over your back... and your breasts, Hibiki."

"Don't say that in such a loud voice!" Blushing and covering her breasts, Hibiki turned her back to the taller girl, taking a quick look if there was any soap or shampoo. "Black?!" Calling for the other Cure, she knew that others would arrive any second now.

"Yes?" The noise of two cabins being used at once was making it difficult to talk without actually shouting.

"Is there any shampoo or soap over there?!" Hibiki found it secretly a little funny to talk about soap not even hours after they had all narrowly escaped death.

"Can't see any! Nothing on your side?!" The lack of answer was pretty self-explanatory. Rubbing the dirt and blood as good off her arms as she could, the hot water getting on the bruises did burn a little.

Saki showed up next, quickly occupying the second stall on the left side, right next to where Hibiki and Itsuki were. She didn't lock the door yet, since it was obvious when a stall was being used and Mai shouldn't have to wait.

Leaving Sunny behind, a hot shower taking just slight priority over establishing her superiority as Cure. Rin made it to the shower only seconds after Bloom, no doubt a whole storm of people not far behind her. In her hurry, she tried every handle until one opened and she walked right in on a naked Bloom. "My bad." Closing the door and disregarding any glimpse of Bloom's well trained body she might have seen, Rin occupied the third and last stall on the left side.

And it really only took a few seconds before the first Cures from outside the clearing team showed up. Surprisingly, it was Peach and Passion who were pulling Beat with her, both of them looking quite eager to get into the bathroom before whatever was apparently hunting them caught up. "Three people won't fit! I'll take another one or just wait!" Ellen was absolutely sure that those stalls were not made for that many persons.

"I've fit with Setsuna in much smaller places, don't worry." Love was also quite in a hurry so she just shoved Ellen into the first cabin that wasn't showing any signs of occupation, went in after and waited for Setsuna to close the door and lock it. It really was quite cramped with three people but they still had enough space to turn. "Setsu, turn a little, your boobs are in the way."

Ellen was so embarrassed and excited at the same time that her face closely resembled a gigantic tomato with purple hair. "Hold still, I'll turn on the water." Using one hand to grab Ellen's shoulder to balance herself and the other to reach for the faucet, Love didn't bother to wait for her new partner to transform back. She intuitively did when water started to rain down on her.

Two slamming doors signaled that other people that arrived as well. "Did we really need to shower together? I'm not sure I was needing one that badly after all." Despite her complaints, Ako was already undressed and didn't object to Urara locking the door.

"The others would make a huge fuss if we bothered to take separate cabins so just get on with it. Not to mention, that enormous red stain on your face tells me you really like what you're seeing." Turning the water on, Urara felt like she had just come back to life.

"Look who's talking! I'm not gonna buy 'it's the water temperature' one moment to explain how excited you are."

"I didn't know you liked my breasts so much that you could tell when I got stiff nipples. Maybe you'd like to have a little fun while we're already here?" Pushing her breasts against Ako's, Urara laid both her arms around the younger girl's shoulders and showed a really smug grin. And it lasted for a full three seconds.

Pushing Urara's head away and turning slightly, Ako started to clean her arms and legs, worried that someone else might have heard them talking.

In the last cabin, a surprise contender had shown up. Inori, as one of the fastest Cures, had overcome the handicap of being far away when everyone started going for the showers and made it in time to take the last stall.

"Love, stop pushing. Eek, where are you touching?" The complaint was followed by reluctant and roaring laughter, Setsuna pouting in response. "Ellen, don't hesitate to shove her when she gets too close!" Ellen was standing almost against the wall in the back of the cabin, Love just centimeters in front of her and Setsuna towards the door. They really just fit barely in there.

"Oh, your hair looks great when it's wet Ellen." Playing with a few strands, Love was having fun just teasing her partners a little. She let out a surprised gasp with Setsuna poked her sides, one of her weak spots.

"Stop playing around! I think this is gonna leave a small scar Love." Putting her finger near a wound on Love's wet back, Setsuna circled around a source of small agony for the brave Cure. "It won't be visible unless you wear a bikini but still... you got such a nice back, it'd be a shame..."

Nagisa felt a little hot just listening to them. Seven active showers obfuscated a lot of the words and what little she could make out sounded like they were getting it on in the shower. She could also hear several others arrive and turn away, disappointed, when they saw all the showers being occupied.

"Nagisa, are you there?" Honoka couldn't find her partner moping outside, so that made her having made it to a shower stall the next best bet. She had left Beauty with Aqua, who was bringing her up to speed from where Honoka had left off.

"Here!" Knocking on her own door from the inside, Nagisa hoped that would be enough for her partner to find her. A second knock from the outside and Nagisa opened the door just a bit, her hair hanging in her face, slick and wet. Honoka slipped in right away, already transforming back as she stepped through.

"Everyone else looked really disappointed. We all had the same idea it seems." Shoving Nagisa gently to the back, Honoka shook her head a few times, loosening up her hair. While she didn't have anywhere close as much hair normally as she did in Cure form, it was still multiples of Nagisa and it was all sticking together. "Ah... if it stays like that I'm going to have to cut part of it." Trying to unravel the complicated and sticky mess that her hair had become, she really wanted some of the shampoo and oil repair she had at home.

"Turn around." Making her partner show her back to her, Nagisa slowly started to fix her partners hair. "I don't want you to cut it. It'll take a bit but I think I can get it apart."

"I really love you, Nagisa." A huge smile played around Honoka's lips, moments like these always showing just how much Nagisa was a part of her. "Are you feeling okay? Any big injuries?"

"I really love you too." Giggling a bit, Nagisa sneezed, some water having gotten into her hair. "A ton of bruises that burn like sandpaper being rubbed all over me but other than that I'm fine." Focused completely on Honoka's hair, she didn't even notice that Honoka was reaching over and keeping the long strands of wet hair out of her partners face.

Right across the room, two other Cures were even closer. Hibiki's long hair was getting stuck in Itsuki's hands as they moved over her back, the two of them catching up on lost time. Both of them trying to out-do the other in their passionate tongue kiss, Hibiki was on the losing end, having to break off and catch her breath.

Itsuki was pushing her against the wall, not hard enough to seem forceful but with enough determination to give her the feeling resisting would be pointless. And without the wall to support her, she feared her legs might give in. Her partners hands didn't stay on her back for long. Standing only far enough away to just barely keep their bodies apart, every time she took a deep breath, she could feel her breasts touch Itsuki's, a thrilling sensation that sent a shiver down her back every time.

Breathing quite heavily, they were absolutely sure that nobody would catch them having sex in the shower, not with all the noise and everyone quite focused on themselves. Caressing Hibiki's left cheek, Itsuki made the girl raise her head just enough to look her straight in the eyes. The water was a welcome new element to their little love play, tickling their now quite heated up bodies. "Shouldn't we... get clean... first...?" Pushing out one or two words between a quick series of soft kisses, Hibiki couldn't hide that she was still nervous.

"I'm doing that right now." With a small grin, Itsuki's left hand drew a small trail from Hibiki's shoulder to her breasts, pushing down just a bit on them. "See?"

"You hardcore pervert." Hibiki's face completely belied her words, a massive blush having taken up most of it. "But two can play..." Pulling her arms around Itsuki's neck, she forced the yellow Cure closer, their bodies now fully touching, wet skin rubbing against each other.

"And look who's blushing the hardest." Itsuki didn't hesitate to one-up her girlfriend again, putting her right leg between Hibiki's. A moan that only she could hear, hidden away by the noise of the shower, escaped the lips of the younger girl just before they were sealed again by a furious kiss.

The last Cures had finally arrived and looked if one of their partners had managed to score a cabin early. Mai, despite knowing that Saki was somewhere in the showers, refrained from joining her, not quite feeling up to that yet. The incident with Wither was more difficult to deal with than she had thought. She urged Michiru or Kaoru to at least take the chance and join up with Saki. It wouldn't be the first time they'd see each other naked.

"How do we decide who has to go back?" Michiru and Kaoru were both eager to take a shower but three people in one cabin was much too cramped.

"Whoever finds her first can take a shower. I suggested it so I'll take the side with less doors." Kaoru had no objections to that.

Michiru got lucky and started on the left side, where Saki was. After getting no answer beside what she thought were surprised gasps, Saki's voice came out of the next stall. "Mai?"

"She'll take a shower later, she was really tired. She said one of us should use the chance and shower with you. Do you agree to that?" Michiru looked at Kaoru, who looked a little disappointed that she would have to wait to wash dust and dirt off her face.

"That's fine." Opening the door a bit to let Michiru in, Kaoru last saw the naked back of her sister. She was also a little jealous, since Saki was quite nice to look at. Banishing that thought from her mind, Kaoru was about to leave when the door she stood in front of opened a bit.

"I overheard. If you want, you can join me. It'll be a while until a cabin clears out and unless you stay right here, you'll have to wait." Inori had contemplated about it for a few seconds before actually making the offer. Even though being seen naked didn't bother her that much, as she occasionally goes to the public bathhouse, it was a little weird since she didn't know Windy all that well.

"I'm... well, I'd like to say I'm fine but that is clearly not the case. I'll take your offer." Kaoru didn't know much about Pine either. She was smart, busty, seemingly a loner and her combat style focused on speed.

Her back facing the door, Inori could still see over her shoulder as Windy transformed back. She was quite a bit taller than her, had really long, deep blue hair. From what she could tell through the clothes, she wasn't anywhere near as athletic as her sister. She kind of wanted to strike up a conversation but it was questionable if Windy even wanted to talk.

Standing in the shower, her back turned towards Pine, Kaoru tried to undo the mess that her hair had become. Much like Honoka, it stuck together in ways that the blue Cure thought impossible. It was near impossible to do without actively tearing and pulling very hard and that would completely ruin her hair. "Pine, I have a favor to ask."

"Your hair, isn't it? I suspect a lot of the others are having this problem right now. Stay that way, let me see..." Facing Kaoru's back, Inori tried to make sense of how the hair was tangled up. It seemed to stick together from sweat and dirt, and that would be a real pain to undo. "How long have you been growing your hair out?" It was as good a topic as any, and she didn't want to just stand there in silence.

"It hasn't gotten much longer after I was made, but since then, it's been about five years and a half."

"Made? You mean, when you became a Cure?"

"My sister and I aren't really human. Biologically, mostly, yes, but we were originally created to kill Saki and Mai. Bloom and Egret."

It wasn't often that Inori was speechless but the directness of her answer surprised her. But maybe it was best to answer in the same way. "That explains why you two seem a bit different from most of the others."

"We try not to be. Back then, we really knew nothing about the world that wasn't deemed necessary to deal with our designated targets, the Cures. We learned about the world, changed sides and immersed ourselves as good as we could but it looks like there is only so much we can do."

"Do you want to talk about something else? I'm not too fond of gloomy subjects. Please hold still, this might hurt a little." Finding a strand that was impossible to untangle, she had to pull it apart with force. If that didn't work, it needed to be cut.

Kaoru flinched a little when the pain hit. "Did it hurt? I'm sorry."

"I'm grateful you're doing this for me. I would usually just ask Michiru, but if I wait until after the shower, it would probably before even more difficult."

"Don't mind it. Say, what do you do for work?" Before Kaoru could answer, the two of them were interrupted. A loud thud from the stall next to them made both look at each other in slight confusion. Did someone hit the wall? Who was even in there? The bathroom had become rather steamy due to all the hot water and the noise was making it hard to hear anything. There was no real way to tell.

"You didn't have to hit me, goddammit! How about holding back some?" Urara was rubbing the back of her head. She knew she kind of deserved that hit, but she still put up a tough front.

"I have no problem if you touch me a little or with kissing, but fondling me like I'm some kind of toy gets you hit in the head, remember that. And don't even think about trying to start anything **more** than that in here."

Grabbing Ako and pushing her against the wall, the water spray was directly hitting Urara's head, thick trails of water running through her face as she started to grin wide. "So touching is no problem, is it?"

"I dug **that** hole myself." Closing her eyes for a few seconds and then opening them again, Ako found herself in a fiery kiss with the older girl, one of Urara's hands sliding up and down her left leg, the other hand's fingers intervened with hers, Urara still pushing her arm against the wet and warm wall.

If her personality was questionable, Ako still couldn't find a single fault with the more intense things Urara was doing to her. The kissing specifically made her feel like she was floating. Even though she could stand up to the yellow Cure normally, as soon as their lips met, that was all over. Ako blamed that on her inexperience. It wasn't that she liked to be pushed around by Urara at all!

"Where did all that sass from just a moment go, huh?" Switching from kissing to licking her neck, she loved to tease Ako. At times, the girl would stand up to her, other times her reactions were just priceless. And then there was obviously the fact she was really hot.

Urara gasped in surprise when Ako took the chance and softly bit the smaller Cures earlobe. Being taller in her adult form was really useful after all. Nibbling on it, she almost couldn't keep doing it, so wide was the grin that quickly grew on her face. She had found a weak spot!

"Enough... dammit, you win, stop... ah..." Urara was really sensitive in some spots, and her ears were one of those. Her breathing completely out of whack, she couldn't keep her composure and let out a moan.

"Shouldn't you keep your voice down? They might hear us, you know?" With obvious spite, Ako was now on top of the tease train, pushing Urara around a little. "Maybe I'd be willing to stop if-" Her expression instantly shifted to surprise and she had to cover her own mouth to not shriek.

"Where... where do you... think you're touching me?" Her face lit up like a red neon lamp, she could see one of Urara's arms go right between her legs.

"Oh, I know where. And I'm pretty sure you know I do." The smug grin only grew wider as Ako kept resisting, not quite enough to make it seem like she was genuinely uncomfortable with it but plenty to give the impression she would like Urara to think she was. "Let me hear that voice again."

At the same time, Kanade walked into the bathroom, having failed to find Rin anywhere else. She also hadn't seen Itsuki and Hibiki, and thinking that they were showering together got her jealously running hot once again. Trying to focus on something else, she called out to the red Cure. "Rin? Are you there?"

She didn't get an answer and after a few seconds, Kanade decided to just give up. If she was there and just didn't answer, that alone was reason enough to leave. If she wasn't there, Kanade didn't want to see Itsuki and her crush come out of the showers together.

Walking past the cabins, she felt someone violently grab her arm and pull her backwards. A door slammed behind her, water was sprinkling down on her, a wet hand covered her mouth and wet hair was touching her neck. "Not a word." Rin's voice cast a happy smile on Kanade's face. Letting her go, Rin took a step back and got the wet hair out of her face. "Your clothes get see-through by the way."

Blushing and transforming back, Kanade didn't know why exactly she got embarrassed over that. She had slept naked right next to Rin before, so what was the big deal now? "Why didn't you say something?"

"Because I can't stand the dumb faces of everyone when they look at me and think I'm dating you. I can't even talk to some new girl without getting one of the others go on how I shouldn't flirt when I'm seeing you." Kanade, like most of the long haired Cures, was having trouble getting her hair in order. "What are you doing?"

"Trying to avoid my hair turning into one giant tumbleweed. And who were you flirting with?" Her tone dropped significantly for the question. She still wasn't sure what her exact feelings for Rin were. Right now she was pretty infatuated with her, but she couldn't tell if that was only because she was the only one that was being nice to her.

"I wasn't flirting with anyone. Bright got a stick up her ass and misunderstood things." Trying to help Kanade, Rin only worsened the hair issue. "How do you girls deal with hair that long... when mine gets even to shoulder length I go crazy."

"So you do care about me after all!"

"Hey, that's not what I said at all. Just because I'm not flirting with the new girl-" Interrupted by Kanade turning around and throwing her arms around Rin's neck and kissing the older girl on the cheek, Rin felt a little bit of her resolve to not go anywhere with Rhythm die inside her.

"If you didn't care, you wouldn't have secretly pulled me into the shower. Aren't you just embarrassed to tell others you're dating a younger girl?"

"You have this horrible habit of jumping to conclusions. And getting really clingy." Flicking Kanade's forehead. Rin found that to be acceptable punishment. "I got you in here because I know you'd just start moping again if I ignored you."

"That's the same as caring about me." No matter how much Rin tried to paraphrase it, Kanade noticed that she was just trying to not admit she cared. "I'm happy."

"Stop it... it's creepy." Rin cursed a few more words under her breath with a tiny blush on her cheeks for which she gave the hot water the fault.

The mood in the cabin next to them was a lot more dry than that. Michiru was not the best conversation partner after all. There was nothing really to talk about either. Nothing beside Mai. "Did Kaoru leave?"

"It would make sense. It seems unlikely that another cabin freed up right after we got here." Trying to get a very persistent patch of dried blood off her cheek, Michiru tried using her fingernails, with barely mediocre success.

"You don't feel bad about leaving her?" Saki knew all too well about the problems the sisters had with emotions and generally what was considered normal behavior. But she never really got the hang of teaching them how not to be odd.

"It was a fair contest. In theory, I was even at a disadvantage since my side only had three working cabins."

"You said Mai was so tired she didn't want to shower? Is that really the truth?" Saki felt a little depressed. "I wonder if something happened with Wither."

"Its possible. The only explanation for why Wither would take Mai and run is that she was trying to keep Mai to herself." Michiru didn't like talking about this topic. Seeing Mai and Saki not happy together was like a knife in her sides. It hurt, even without thinking about it.

After that one sentence, Saki stopped talking, just trying to get all the dirt off her and out of her hair. Michiru felt like guilty for making her even more depressed but she just couldn't think of anything else to say. An analytical mind wasn't always a blessing. It had gotten better over the past few years but evidently not enough to be sensible enough to avoid things like this.

Across the room, the atmosphere was the complete opposite. Ellen was gotten somewhat comfortable leaning against the warm wall and was helping Setsuna to get some payback at Love. While the blue Cure held Love's arms back, even though she wasn't really fighting it, Setsuna tickled her and abused all her weak spots. Ellen watched with great amazement how Setsuna managed to drain Love of all her strength with a single move.

"Stop... I... give up... I give up... Setsu... please... ah no more..." Love couldn't stand it anymore. If the girl continued sliding her hands over the inside of her legs, she'd go completely crazy. She was already so horny that she wanted to go at it with Setsuna right there, but the presence of Ellen holding her back was like an unmovable anchor for her conscience that kept her lust and desire in check.

"Okay. Ellen, don't let her go, I know how she is. She needs a bit time to calm down."

"I don't mind being held. I can feel her breasts on my back so it's quite comfortable." Saying that line completely nonchalantly, Ellen gasped, pushed Love in Setsuna's direction and covered her breasts with her arms.

"Love!" Her face was completely scarlet. She hadn't even thought about it that way until Love mentioned it like it was something really kinky. "You're horrible!" Of course she didn't really mean it, but she did feel like she had just been taken advantage of.

"I'm surprised you're handling being in this cramped space with both of us this well." Setsuna grabbed Love and helped her stand. The pink Cure wasn't in any condition to be shoved around all of a sudden. Thankfully, the door had gotten considerably warm from the water and the general presence of three people so she could lean against it. Unlike Ellen, she didn't mind Love resting against her breasts.

"Well... we sleep in the same bed and... I thought it'd be really prude of me to shower on my own." She couldn't admit that she was curious to see them naked. Absolutely not! Her head would explode! And Love would never let that slide. She'd tease her about it for the rest of the day and beyond.

"That's so cute Ellen. That reminds me of when I first got Setsuna to bathe with me." Looking over her shoulder, Love leaned even more against her first partner, enjoying the situation. "She used to be a bit of prude."

"I did not. You're just too much of a pervert in the bath, Love. I wasn't even five minutes in the water before you went behind me and started feeling me up!" Kissing a specific spot on Love's neck, Setsuna got her to moan in pleasure. "Don't give Ellen weird ideas about me!"

"You two really fit together so well."

"That's not right." Love tensed up a little and her a much more serious face now. Leaving her partners wet embrace, she grabbed Ellen's hand, pulled her a little closer, not that there was much space to begin with, and made her part of their little hugging game. "We **three** really fit together so well. Isn't that so Setsu?"

"I must have been stupid to think you'd be mad about me liking Ellen. It's almost like you decided to bring her in instead of me now." Saying those things jokingly, Setsuna did enjoy Ellen's embarrassed face, her body directly touching Loves. They were all roughly the same height but the way Ellen stood, she had perfect access to pat her head.

In the cabin to their left, Nagisa had finally finished unraveling Honoka's hair, more exhausted than after a hard battle. "That was the most difficult thing I've ever done." Using the cabin wall to support herself, she felt almost out of breath.

"Stop exaggerating, silly." Kissing her partner on the forehead, Honoka was incredibly grateful to Nagisa. "It's so sweet of you to do this for me. I probably would have had to cut it."

"I can't let my future wife cut her hair because of something like this." Taking Honoka's hand and drawing her in, Nagisa returned the kiss. Looking in each others eyes, they didn't just see love for each other but also appreciation. "I often wish we would have started dating earlier."

"I'm not sure. It was really hard work to teach you so you could attend the same school as me. If I had been always thinking about what you looked naked or that cute voice you make in bed, I don't think you would have learned much."

"I bet you actually used to think that." Slowly putting her forehead against Honoka's, Nagisa started to smile. "I know I did. There were a lot of nights where I couldn't sleep because you were wearing something sexy that day."

"You're one to speak, miss wear clothing that shows off your midriff. You even changed back your Cure outfit that way. I know it's all just to give me some eye candy." Letting go of Nagisa and crouching, Honoka started to kiss around Nagisa's navel.

"So? Don't tell me that huge cleavage cut in your... uniform isn't... Honoka stop... you're making me really... horny..."

"That's what I'm **trying** to do, silly..." Lowering her voice a bit, just in case there was someone in the next cabin that had a really good sense of hearing, Honoka continued playing with Nagisa's navel, her tongue sliding over the wet skin, leaving a slightly sticky trail that was soon washed away again. It was driving Nagisa completely nuts.

Taking her partners heavy breathing and quiet moaning as a cue to continue, Honoka knelt on the warm, wet ground, her face right on the height of Nagisa's sensitive spot. The short haired Cure let out an excited gasp when her partner started using her tongue to pleasure her. They hadn't slept with each other since the whole mess with the reflections had started and doing it in the showers was a bit kinky, not that Nagisa disliked that. "Honoka... stop... that's unfair... I want to touch you too..."

Her legs were starting to give in and without the wall to help her, she surely would've gone down on her knees. Even so, the second Honoka's tongue went inside her, she couldn't take it anymore, grit her teeth to avoid moaning loudly and got down on the ground. "You tease..."

Licking her lips suggestively, Honoka was quite a fan of Nagisa's taste. Pushing her partner further against the wall, Honoka was right in front of Nagisa, kneeling, starting to kiss her neck, their bodies pressed against each other. Honoka was often the aggressor when they had sex, but Nagisa never just sat back and let her do everything.

Thankfully, the noise of the showers being used was enough to drown out Honoka's loud moan when Nagisa's fingers reached behind her legs. On the other hand, the sound of a door slamming close and two people walking over the cold floor tiles was something nobody missed.

None of those outside either. Saki and Michiru had finished and felt almost reborn. Reaching the exit, they met Marine and Blossom, the latter holding back the first by the back of her uniform. "Calm down Erika, nobody is gonna cut in line." The experience of meeting Ember had left noticeable changes in Tsubomi. She didn't want to be Ember but knowing that self-esteem went a long way to make Erika like her even more, she took a cue or two from her reflections.

Erika wasn't sure what to think of Tsubomi trying to be more like Ember. The reflection had her own charms and while she had fallen for that, Tsubomi was the girl she had been for years now. It wasn't all bad, but it was really something she needed time to get used to. At the very least, she didn't dislike Tsubomi not letting herself be pushed around as much at all.

"The humidity in here is crazy..." Tsubomi was soaked before she even got anywhere near the actual showers. It was starting to become hard to see as well since the bathroom wasn't exactly made for continuous use of all showers at once.

Erika, as soon as Tsubomi had let her go, had raced to the cabin and was already standing under the shower by the time her partner joined her. "What got you this dirty anyway, Erika? Nobody else was so covered in dirt."

"One of the new girls, the yellow one called Peace, has a really awesome ability and I was able to copy it. So we played around with that a little."

"A little too much maybe? You collapsed a hallway! I'm just happy nothing happened to you, but Lemonade was about to hang you up to dry." Changing back into civilian form, Tsubomi still had to undress, one of the few Cures that still hung on to their actual clothes. That came as no surprise, considering it was an outfit that Erika had made for her.

"Ha ha ha, my bad Tsubomi." Stretching on the spot, Erika quickly looked once to the left and once to the right. "Wanna see who else is in here?" The impish grin on her face was met with harsh contempt from the pink Cure.

"Erika! Didn't you learn your lesson when you got Rouge so angry she wanted to deep fry you?!"

"Oh come on, what are the chances she's to either side?" Keeping her grin, Erika seemed to have trouble to pick one side to spy on first. There were two ways to do that. Laying down on the ground and spying through the small gap between floor and the walls, and somehow getting further up to spy over the walls.

Tsubomi wasn't quite used to actually speaking her mind or being pushy. She tried really hard but it just wasn't who she really was. A spark of admiration for Ember, who had managed to make Erika fall for her even though she was the enemy, was deeply rooted in her mind now, but that still... "Erika!" While she had been deep in thought, Erika had decided on a side and was already trying to peek through the gap below to the right side.

She couldn't quite muster the courage to pull Erika back but she didn't want to just stand by and watch her get into trouble again. Because it would no doubt get herself into trouble as well. "Erika! That's bad! Stop it! What are you gonna do if whoever is in there catches you?!"

"Dash." The super nonchalant answer came without any hesitation. "There are two of them... and they're... wow..." Erika started grinning wide. "Tsubomi, take a look, they're totally going at it." Pushing herself a little more, the gap wasn't enough to let her actually shove her head through, but if she positioned herself right she might be able to spy upwards just a little.

"Look at me instead." Tsubomi needed all her courage to say just that. Trying to put on a tough face, she couldn't hide how embarrassing it was to say it. But to her surprise, it had the desired effect. She could barely follow Erika with her eyes, so fast did the shorter girl get up and behind her. "I said look! Kyah! Erika, stop!"

"Oh, it's too late to take that back now, Tsubomi."

Even the two in the cabin that Erika had been spying on heard the helpless Tsubomi gasp right after that. Not that they bothered to think about it or pay any attention. Hibiki's mind was almost completely blank, Itsuki pushing her against the wall, the fingers of her partner going right between her legs and inside. One arm thrown around Itsuki's neck, desperately trying to hold on and support herself, her other pleasuring Itsuki's intimate spot.

"You practiced... didn't you..." Itsuki had to hold on to the wall as well. Hibiki had gotten pretty good at using her flexible fingers, giving Itsuki an incredible time.

Hot air escaped her lungs with every breath, and she wanted desperately to taste Itsuki's lips again before she reached her climax. "Don't say... stupid stuff... and kiss me..."

No matter how hazy their vision got from being under the hot water for too long, it didn't matter. Having only eyes for each other, Itsuki heeded the plea of her partner, letting her tongue into the girls mouth as far as she could. The water could not take away from what she felt was a sweet taste, their kiss slower and a little uncontrolled compared to before.

Their kiss underway, Hibiki came first, the last erratic moves her fingers did before she needed both her arms to hold on to her partner drove Itsuki to came right after, the two of them sinking on their knees, Hibiki tightly holding on to Itsuki. In-between heavy breathing, a body with no strength and mind that didn't work properly, the girl could still say what she needed to say.

"I love you."

Three words that made Itsuki smile with happiness. Forcing herself to move her tired arms, she laid her right hand on Hibiki's head, slowly stroking her hair. "I love you too, Hibiki."

"I can't move..." A little embarrassed, Hibiki enjoyed the comfort of the tight embrace just after she had come.

"Should I carry you back?" Grinning a little, Itsuki wasn't sure she could stand, never mind carrying Hibiki. But she knew the offer would be rejected anyway.

"Don't be silly... I'd die of embarrassment." Trying to punch Itsuki's shoulder, it was no more than a weak jab. Spending a few seconds in silence, holding on to the pleasure she had felt when Itsuki made her come, Hibiki tried to hide her face in Itsuki's bosom. "Maybe if you promise not to laugh..."

"I wonder if I can hold it in. You're kind of adorable when you're embarrassed." Playing a little with Hibiki's hair now, Itsuki enjoyed teasing her a bit.

"You're horrible!"

Itsuki was not the only one that enjoyed teasing her partner. Honoka was kneeling next to an exhausted Nagisa, who had just received a bit of a reward for saving her partner's beautiful hair. Slowly and pleasurably licking her own fingers, Honoka almost made it a display to Nagisa.

"I can never get enough of your cute moans." Smiling, Honoka gave her partner a quick kiss. Just as Nagisa tried to reach for Honoka's legs, she got stopped. "Not here." Blushing a little bit, she didn't want to say why but she didn't need to.

"Are you worried they might hear us?" Nagisa locked her fingers with Honoka's, playing around for a bit.

"They all know we're together but I don't need them to know we did it in the shower. And you know... I..."

"You can't keep your voice down." The smug grin on Nagisa's face pissed Honoka off a little and started pouting immediately.

"That's because you always overdo it with your tongue." Looking away, she still kept playing with Nagisa's fingers. "But if we go to our room..."

"I'd love to... but..." Often, words weren't really necessary to get across what she meant. They had been together for so long, they knew each other better than anyone else did.

"Maybe some of the others got out early and cooked something. I'm pretty hungry too now."

"Sometimes I think **love** doesn't quite do justice to how much I need you by my side, Honoka."

"Silly." Looking really happy, Honoka moved and sat next to her partner, leaning her head against Nagisa's. "But yeah, sometimes I feel **I love you** is not just enough to tell you what I feel. But then I always remember, you can tell what I feel. You know when I'm worried, sad, happy, excited... you know me better than anyone else in the world. You're my one and only beloved."

"You're the only person that makes me happy like this, Honoka. I want to be with you forever. The worst thing I can imagine is a life without you. I wouldn't know what to do if we're ever separated."

"You're so sweet." Closing her eyes, Honoka started to feel a little dizzy. "I think we should get out... I'm starting to feel lightheaded."

Helping her partner up, Honoka turned off the water and immediately felt pretty cold. Nobody had thought of taking a towel, if there even were any left, so all they could do was transform and walk around with wet hair for some time. Opening the door, Honoka leaving first, she was suddenly face to face with Sunshine and Melody, the both of them looking gave off the same vibe as she and Nagisa did. Looking exhausted, clinging to each other, a certain kind of smile on their faces and the same look of realization in their eyes as they saw White and Black.

Both couples didn't say a word. Staying behind for a few seconds, Honoka looked around and got lucky finding the towels near the entrance. Sunshine and Melody were gone by the time she had dried her hair up somewhat. "They looked like..."

"We probably shouldn't talk." Smiling at each other, they were pretty sure that a great deal of others would follow their example, unknowingly.

Not all of them though. Kaoru and Inori were a little frustrated and worried since Inori was having difficulty with the blue Cures hair. She did enjoy the time talking with her on the other hand. Kaoru was both fascinating and weird. Both closely relating to her past. "I'll need to get out when I'm done with this. I'm already feeling like a sponge."

"You don't need to worry about my hair. If you need to leave, you should-" Trying to move a step away from Pine, the yellow Cure grabbed Kaoru by her shoulders and forced her back, keeping her in one spot. "Pine?"

"Inori is fine. And please don't move, this is difficult as is."

"You seem like a very honest but also informed person so I have a question for you."

"That sounds ominous. But ask. We'll be here for at least a few more minutes." Dealing with a particularly horribly tangled strand of hair right next to her scalp, Inori didn't mind having a fun past time. And it certainly was fun to not have to explain anything at all and just talk without having to hold back on technical details.

"I would like to become more human. Like everyone else here. Even the quiet and intelligent ones like Moonlight aren't as obviously different as my sister and I. How do I do that?"

"There is no single all encompassing answer to that. You said earlier that you have trouble with emotions. You and your sister are like little children in that regard. It takes a long time to properly understand emotions but we learn them when we are very young. Part of it is in our upbringing, another part we carry with us from birth. From what you told me, you most likely lack the latter."

"Since we cannot be reborn, there is no way for us to be completely like other humans then."

"I didn't say that."

"Please explain."

"It's... really just a guess but just because you weren't born with the knowledge of how to deal with emotions doesn't mean you can't feel them. I'm sure that you've felt sad, happy, thrilled, surprised before."

"I can count numerous occasions where that was the case, yes."

"What about others? What about feeling jealous? Wanting something? Loss? Love?"

"I'm not sure what any of those specifically feel like. I'm of course aware of the concepts and the common perception but I can't quite say if I've ever felt those."

"I think what you two lack is a puberty of your own."

"The period of when humans undergo their last growth spurt?"

"Yes. But for you two, it would mostly be emotional growth. I've never dealt with something like this before so all I can think of for now is to go and experience as many situations as you can. The main issue is that it'll be difficult to experience Jealousy, desire, loss and love just like that."

"We have tried imitating the behavior of others that showed those emotions. Melody and Rhythm were showing signs of irrational behavior so we reenacted what they did."

Blushing a little, Inori hesitated briefly before she asked. "All the way?"

"If you're asking if we included sex, yes. However, we couldn't reproduce their behavior that way."

"Just imitating actions won't make you feel love for someone else. We can continue this discussion in my room if you'd like. I'm done taking care of your hair."

"I'm really grateful to your help. I should probably talk to Michiru first before we continue this conversation."

"I'd like you to keep this between us for now instead. I'm still not sure if this will help you in any way."

"I understand."

The conversation on the other side of the room was quite in a different tone.

"Let... go... already..." Trying to get Kanade off her, Rin resorted to pinching her arm, finally getting results. "You had jealousy issues to begin with but if this is how you act around someone you like, its no wonder they're trying to get some personal space back!"

"Isn't it normal to want to be close to someone you like?!" Kanade felt she was being treated unfair now.

"Close yes, but there's a limit to everything." Turning around and turning the water further up, Rin took a deep breath. She wasn't one to call names. She had her own issues to sort out and one of them was that she easily lost her temper. "Why do you need to be that close to whoever you like anyway? Doesn't this distance cut it?"

"It feels like they're going to slip away if I let them leave." Kanade completely ignored what Rin said and hugged the girl from behind. Resting her head against the redhead's back, she felt more secure that way. "If I'm not with them, I always start thinking that they're going to leave me for someone else. Or that something happens to them."

"You're that afraid of being left alone?"

"I hate being alone..."

"Most people don't like being alone and how many times do I have to say that everything has a limit? You're full of extremes! Jealousy, scared of being alone, clingy, those are all things you take way too far!"

"**I can't help it**!" Shouting, Kanade wildly shook her head. "It didn't use to be like this... I was fine with just my friends, with being a Cure and my team being there when I needed them, with my parents... but when I fell in love with Hibiki, I started to feel like she was slipping away whenever she was away from me. It only got worse over time. And now I feel like I'm being abandoned every time I'm being left alone. **I don't want to be left behind**! I hate feeling this way! I felt like nobody in the world cared about me when you let me stay with you. And now, whenever I'm with you, I start to feel the same way I used to feel about Hibiki. If it continues like this, you'll just get sick of me and leave me, just like Hibiki!"

Rin was shocked by how emotionally broken Kanade was. Slowly loosening Kanade's grip on her, she turned around and hugged the girl, trying to calm her down. She hadn't noticed from the erratic and hurried way she had talked but she could tell, even through the water from the shower, that Kanade was crying.

What was she supposed to do? She had thought that Kanade had just that kind of personality, but she didn't expect it to be all connected. Her behavior at the time was almost like she had some sort of panic attack. Was she even qualified to try and help Kanade? What if she ended up making it all worse?

"You're thinking about leaving me, aren't you? I'm creeping you out, aren't I?" Looking up, Kanade's eyes were red from her crying and her whole face spelled out fear. "Don't go away Rin... it hurt so much when Hibiki left me, I don't want to feel like that ever again..."

"There is nowhere I want to go, stupid. You're messed up, but it's not creepy and I'm not thinking about leaving you or anything. So please calm down." She couldn't be angry at someone that was so desperately holding on to her. Nobody had ever wanted to be with her this much, not even close. Even though her reasons weren't exactly what Rin wished they were, but that didn't change the way she felt.

"Promise me you won't just leave me... I want to stop feeling like this. I want to stop being afraid. Even if it's just for a little while..."

"You always feel like this when you're not with me?"

"It's not always the same... sometimes it's worse than other times."

Taking a deep breath, Rin showed a bit of genuine affection, kissing Kanade on the cheek. "Stop crying." Trying to sound as gentle as possible, she didn't let go of the girl. "I promise I won't go away."

"Rin..." Kanade lowered her head, staring at the white floor. "I'm sorry..."

"I don't know if I can help you sort this out but I'll try. I'm not heartless after all."

"Yeah..."

"But we need to get out of here. I'm starting to feel like I'm about to dissolve."

"Yeah..."

"Stop being a vegetable and give actual ans-... why is your face so red?"

"Because... nobody has ever been this nice to me."

"Oh boy..."

Leaving their cabin, Rin caught a glimpse of Pine and Windy just leaving the bathroom and Karen and Komachi come in. Of all the people to show up...! Kanade was still clinging to her, and she couldn't just get back into the cabin. Getting a smile from the blue and green Cure, Rin knew that they would **totally** misunderstand what was happening.

"I guess it doesn't really matter at this point..." With a sigh, Rin walked towards the exit, Kanade clinging to her right arm, a happy look on her face.

Love, Setsuna and Ellen were about to leave as well, both Love and Setsuna helping their partner to get her hair sorted out. Setsuna's hair was only shoulder length and while Love had grown hers out a bit, it wasn't as long and problematic as Ellen's.

"We should have done this before we started playing around. I feel kind of dizzy. This is your fault Love."

"Please don't argue."

"No, she's right. I should have paid a bit more attention to your needs. But all we can do now is fix it as quickly as possible. And you shouldn't feel guilty, Ellen."

"How do you know-" Stopping midway into her sentence, she realized who she was asking. "Silly me."

Getting a laugh out of both Love and Setsuna, they finished up untangling her hair. "Thank god we only had to do yours. Setsuna got really, really smooth hair by nature so she never has this problem. My hair tends to be really robust so I can just comb it out later." Relieved, Love exhaled and tried to reach for the water. Ellen quickly reacted and turned it off instead. She was getting used to the way Love was thinking.

"I don't think all of us transforming in here is a good idea. It's cramped even when we're naked normally. In our Cure outfits, we won't be able to move." Setsuna tried to back off a little to open the door only to realize that it didn't move both ways. It only opened to the inside. "We're gonna have to squeeze quite a bit to get that door open."

That said, Ellen tried to make herself as small as possible, crouching in a corner, Love standing next to her, almost bend over the blue Cure, with Setsuna pressed against love, her arms just barely reaching the handle. The door got stuck on her own butt. Forcing herself against Love, the pink Cure had to step between Ellen's legs. And just barely, they got the door open, almost bouncing out of the cabin. Transforming the second they had space to do so, Ellen tried to hide her scarlet red face. In that last push, Love's crotch had gotten unreasonably close to her face.

"I thought we were gonna end as pancakes. That was a really tight situation." A soft jab from Setsuna later, Love regretted making that awful pun. "Ellen, are you feeling lightheaded? Your face is all red."

"That's... because... well... It's nothing, really." Trying to hide her face, Ellen quickly walked towards the exit, almost running over Egret, who was looking incredibly exhausted. "I'm sorry!"

Not saying anything, just waving and smiling, the girl vanished into the first cabin on the left side. Love and Setsuna caught up with Ellen a few seconds later, both of them quite in a good mood, now that they were all clean again. "I kind of just want to go to bed already." Love had a lot of energy but even she got tired.

"Remember what Bright and Windy said? If we're not going to stick around we have to be out of Cure form. I want to try and check the kitchen if there is something we can make quickly. I doubt anyone has started cooking something, since we're all tired, but I don't want to go to sleep with my stomach empty."

"I'm in favor of food." Ellen outvoted Love with that and smiled at Setsuna. She was getting the hang of being with those two and not feeling like a third wheel.

Back in the bathroom, the continuously arguing couple was just about done. Having committed the same error as the trio before them, they had realized much too late the mess their hair was in. Both Urara and Ako got rid of their own mess, occasionally helping each other. "I wonder what's going to happen now. Think we'll be going back to being split into teams?" Ako didn't like the idea of being on a separate team from Urara very much. All arguing aside, she greatly enjoyed being at her side.

"Can't say. There are five more of us now, so if they split us again and keep the whole exile thing, there's gonna be an uneven number of people on the teams. It would suck if we get split up. I haven't even slept with you yet."

"This better be as good as you say, for all the fuss you're making." Ako wasn't sure she should be so agreeable with the whole thing. It was making things for Urara a little too easy. On the other hand, all that constant talk about it did make her curious.

"I'll run around doing handstands if you can honestly say you didn't like it."

"The way you're so certain about this is really pissing me off." Ako finished taking care of her hair and moved behind Urara. "Let me handle it. I don't want to be in here another hour."

"Nothing stopping you from leaving alone."

"Stop being obstinate and let me help you."

"So what are we gonna do if we get split up again? Honestly, I don't want you to do the whole exile running exchange thing. I'd feel responsible if you got stuck."

"I doubt it would even do anything to **you** of all people, but lets not tempt fate. So if neither of us.. wow, what did you do to make it get like this, roll in the dirt?"

"Remember Marine and those new girls collapsing a damn corridor? What do you think got in my hair during all that?"

"Don't make a fuss about this later, I don't like it when you act like a bully towards the others."

"So its okay to bully you?"

"No, but I can't stop you from doing that anyway so I might as well stop bothering."

"I don't really see a way to change teams without the whole exile run thing. I don't think I can even go back to sleeping alone."

"You're exaggerating."

Turning around with one swift move, ignoring the stinging pain of some hair getting stuck in Ako's hands and thus ripped out, Urara grabbed both of the black Cures arms and pushed her towards the wall. "I'm not **exaggerating**. Are you just acting stupid or do you really think I want to go back to being a loner after all this? Do you have any idea how happy I am like this?"

Ako was so taken back by the serious tone and those words that she needed a few seconds to collect her thoughts. Blushing didn't stay out but that wasn't bothering her. "You're that happy to have me around? We're always bickering!"

"That's just part of what makes you suitable for me! I don't need a stupid yes-saying parrot as partner. I want someone that's smart, got courage and isn't afraid of standing up to me. Someone who is fun to tease but can dish out too. And of course, someone who is sexy."

"Awfully specific. Are you sure you're not just making that up to impress me?"

"See, that's what I'm talking about! Comments like that make me feel challenged. I can't be lazy around you and I likes that, a lot."

"Jeez, you really know how to make a girl feel wanted." Her face had gradually become more and more red and she didn't even have any rebuttals at this point. "And no, I wasn't being sarcastic."

"I know. I can tell when you're just playing with me and when you're serious." Urara was still smaller than Ako in her adult form, and not just marginally. There were six or seven centimeters between them. Getting on her toes and forcing Ako to look down, they kissed again, this time not fierce but softly.

Ako broke free only a few seconds later. "Urara, we need to stop getting distracted, finish up with your hair and get out of here. I'm starting to feel like cardboard that was out in the rain for too long."

"Your analogies are really horrid sometimes. But fine. We'll continue in my room."

"I knew you'd say that."

In the first cabin on the right side, Karen had been the only one smart enough to rummage through her room and find her favor, getting shampoo and conditioner for herself and Komachi.

"I'm so glad all of this is over." Komachi wasn't super comfortable being naked right next to Karen like this, but she didn't want to be seen as prude.

"Everyone must think that way. I'm just happy that everyone seems to have made it through alive. Turn around." Turning the water off for the moment and standing behind her partner, Karen put shampoo on her hands and started to take care of Komachi's hair.

"We still don't know what happened to Moonlight. Her reflection is still around, too, isn't she? Ah, Karen... that tickles." Twitching a little and trying not to laugh, Komachi thoroughly enjoyed being able to take a shower with Karen. Even if the situation wasn't good, she was really thankful that they had been brought to this place. If not for that, she might not have been able to get together with Karen.

"Berry is still out cold, too and so is Nozomi. It'll be pretty tiring for her when she wakes up and has to return the power she borrowed." The shampoo had a nice apple fragrance, something Karen really liked.

"Is it okay for her to even stay like that while she's passed out? Isn't it making matters even worse?"

"Hard to say. The petals aren't doing anything, as if they're in stasis. But I don't think we could do anything to help her even if we wanted."

"I hope she never has to use that again. I heard from the others that if Bright and Windy hadn't come up with an idea, she would have died..."

Karen stopped for a moment, having heard that as well. "It's something she would do. Sacrifice herself for everyone else. Nightmare wasn't something we could have handled without her. But I'm really glad that it didn't turn out like that. Okay, done." Turning the water back on, Karen washed the shampoo out of her partners hair thoroughly. "Say Komachi..."

Before she could answer, Karen hugged the busty girl from behind. "Don't ever try to do something like Nozomi... we're all together in this but especially you... you're together with me. If there is something, we'll take care of it together, no matter what."

"I couldn't ask for anything more than that." Answering happily and touching Karen's hands, Komachi smiled wide, her eyes closed. "I never want to let go of you again."

"That might be a little difficult, unless you come to travel with me to my concerts."

"I didn't mean that literally, silly."

"I know."

"You're so mean."

"Am not."

"I know."

"Why you...!" Tightening her embrace, Karen almost shoved Komachi away when she had to sneeze. "Sorry... I got... some hair in my... nose..." Sneezing two more times, she could hear Komachi giggle. The sight of Karen like that was priceless.

Across the room, Tsubomi and Erika had mostly finished showering, both of them dizzy and their vision a little hazy. On top of that, the pink Cure had trouble walking straight, which was entirely Erika's fault.

"Your voice is always so cute when you get excited. I wanted to hear more of it." Her arms behind her back, Erika almost danced around the bathroom, quite in a good mood.

"Stupid Erika..." Tsubomi had stopped her partner short just of when she was trying to seduce her in the showers. And still, she didn't get away without a lot of fondling and kissing, enough to drain her of the little energy she had left.

"Tsubomi, you're trying to be more like Ember, aren't you? Putting on a tough act earlier and in the shower." Things like that didn't slip by Erika. Especially not if it was someone she had known for years doing them.

"Can you blame me? She made you fall for her despite us being together."

"Now look, Ember is Ember, you're you. I liked her for different reasons. If you want to be tougher and a more direct, that is okay, but don't force yourself there if you think you need to do it to keep me interested." Now walking side by side with her partner, Erika grabbed Tsubomi's hand. "I love you for who you are, not for who you could be. That isn't going to change, Ember or not."

"I do think I shouldn't be so indecisive sometimes... Ember was really strong emotionally, wasn't she?"

"She never waited or hesitated, yeah. But she was also really pushy and arrogant and a bit selfish. I like that you aren't like that. Being a bit pushy isn't bad at times but she didn't know where to stop."

"Would you like me more if I-" Tsubomi's mouth got covered almost immediately with Erika's hand.

"There is no room to like you **more**, Tsubomi. I love you more than anyone else in the world, so what are you so worried about? Ember is gone, too."

Blushing fiercely after hearing that, Blossom hid her face by looking away a little. Erika really didn't hesitate to declare her love loudly and with pride. "You're not sad she's dead?"

"She wasn't going to be around for much longer even if Nightmare didn't kill her. She might have lived on in the back of your mind but I don't think it really would've made a difference. You're great the way you are. I don't **want** you to be all self-conscious and try to be more like Ember."

"You said its okay if I want it for myself."

"Do you? I think being a little meek but headstrong when it counts really suits you better."

"Thanks."

"No problem." Both of them starting to laugh, they tried to forget all about the reflections. At long last, they were back to normal.

Normal was not quite the status in the living room. Almost everyone had showered by now, and with the fatigue washed away, the new girls had suddenly become the center of attention. Yayoi in particular was surrounded by a few others, questioned about all sorts of thing. "Yayoi!" Erika shouted from the distance, joining the crowd around the yellow Cure together with her partner. "What'cha doing?"

"I was just telling them about the manga I draw. I'm kind of surprised so many of you know it. It isn't really aimed towards girls." Sitting on one of the chairs, Nagisa and Saki were behind her, sitting on the table, while Love, Setsuna, Ellen, Hibiki and Itsuki were spread across several chairs positioned around the popular mangaka.

"How did you end up drawing shounen manga? It's not something I'd expect a Cure to take up." Hibiki was immensely curious, being a long time fan of that series. "I've been reading your story for over two years now. I'm kinda sad they haven't announced an anime adaptation yet."

"I always loved drawing and even though I was much more into superhero stuff, it was too hard to find a job as character designer. Miyuki, Happy over there, was the one that told me to try it with manga instead. My first work was actually a revision of a much older short story I did called Miracle Peace. It didn't do well and there was this really cool mecha anime running at the time which inspired me."

"I didn't know you were into anime, Hibiki." Itsuki was surprised to learn something new about her love.

"I don't watch a whole lot, just the adaptations of the manga I like." Hibiki wasn't really invested in the whole scene. She didn't own any goods or posters, just a lot of volumes. It got boring during breaks at work after all.

"Miracle Peace... don't tell me..." Nagisa tried really hard to think of a name she had forgotten. "Do you draw fan works as well?"

"Doujinshi? Why... why do you ask?" Yayoi got a little nervous by that question, not sure what the consequences would be if word got out.

"There is this circle, Smiling Lily, that makes really high quality fan works of... girls liking girls. If I remember correctly, Miracle Peace was about a blonde vigilante that fell in love with a girl she saved."

"You read ero stuff Nagisa? Does Honoka know?" Saki's impish expression alarmed Nagisa.

"Don't you dare tell her."

"I won't."

"What... a coincidence. That someone made a doujin with the same name."

"Peace, you're sweating really badly." Itsuki remarked, knowing the signs of someone that was hiding something. "Why don't you tell us. I'm sure nobody here is going to think any less of you just because you draw girls love comics."

"That would be pretty silly. After all, I can count the Cures not in any relationship in this place on one hand." Setsuna tried to think of anyone that wasn't Dream, Bright or Windy. "Does Berry count? She's trying to make Moonlight her partner."

"I don't think she counts then." Love had a smug grin on her face, looking at Ellen who seemed oddly comfortable with the whole discussion.

"Are you serious? Aren't there over twenty of you here?" Yayoi looked around and while there weren't anywhere close to twenty people present, she couldn't believe that they were really all having relationships with each other. "A few I can believe but..."

"You see the Cure in white over there, the one with the hair pipe? That's my partner and lover, Honoka." Nagisa's grin was big enough to make very clear that she was proud of having Honoka as her partner.

"My partner isn't here right now but I'll introduce you next time." Saki was no less proud of Mai.

"Hibiki here and me are a couple as well."

"Don't forget about me and Tsubomi."

"Aren't you going to boast about having two partners, Love?" Setsuna asked her that so openly that Love was looking really amused.

"Setsuna," Kissing her first partner on the cheek, "and Ellen," kissing her second partner on the cheek as well, "are both my partners and lovers."

"You're just making fun of me now, aren't you!" Yayoi pouted a little, finding that scenario too unbelievable to be true.

"Should we demonstrate?" Itsuki looked at Hibiki, who was giving her love a questionable look.

"Itsuki, I don't mind, but could you ask me about this stuff before you decide?"

"I'm sorry darling."

"Don't try to sweet talk your way out of this."

Leaning forward and kissing Hibiki passionately without any prior warning, the yellow Cure laid both her hands on Itsuki's cheeks, somewhat thrilled by kissing with so many others present.

Yayoi blushed a little witnessing that. "...You weren't kidding." Watching them continue to kiss, she blushed even more. "Okay, I get it, you can stop now! Aren't you embarrassed?"

Breaking off, both of them a tint of red in their faces, they grinned at her. "Not a bit." Their synchronous answer put the mangaka girl off even more.

"I wouldn't mind giving an example or two of my own." Love immediately earned a dab to the back of her head.

"Forget it. I'm not going to let you embarrass Ellen in public, you flirt." Setsuna was fully aware that Love was merely joking. That didn't stop her from teasing Love some.

"So... almost everyone here... is in love with... another girl?" Yayoi was speaking really slowly, each pause making her eyes shine brighter until they were like miniature stars.

"Minus Dream, Bright and Windy... oh and Pine."

"Speaking of which, I saw Windy go into Pine's room earlier. Without Bright." Nagisa was fueling the rumor pot a bit. "You think they is something happening there?"

"Bright and Windy don't really strike me as the type to... you know... be in a relationship. They're... odd." Saki almost immediately put a lid on the pot.

"So Peace-"

"Just call me Yayoi please. Reika said we should settle for being here for a while, so lets be friends!"

"Just friends? Do you already have a special someone-" Another dab to the back of her head and Love started complaining now. "Setsuna!"

"Stop flirting Love! You don't even realize when you're doing it, do you?" Pouting a little, Setsuna earned a laugh from everyone but Love.

"I don't really have time for that. My work keeps me so busy, I often need to ask Miyuki to help me out to even make my deadlines." Yayoi wasn't that interested in romance in her own life. She much preferred to look to others for that.

"You do draw girls love comics, don't you? I saw how your eyes lit up when you asked if we're really all in relationships with other girls." Itsuki redirected the conversation back to it being about Yayoi's work.

"I suppose it doesn't hurt to tell you since you're all interested in it. Yes, I draw girls love comic, but not for Shueisha. It's something I only do for comiket."

Nagisa, knowing what comiket was, saw the look of confusion on Saki's face and quickly explained it to her in a mouth to ear whisper.

"I knew it. You're running Smiling Lily, aren't you? Breeze by the Frozen Lake is something you drew!" Itsuki got a little too specific and earned a curious look from Hibiki. "Don't look at me like that. I'm just human, too! I work in a dojo, not in a temple!"

Yayoi was sweating a little again. If she knew that much, she must have realized where the inspiration for that doujin had come from. And it would be pretty awkward if the inspiration in question got wind of being used as material for girls love comic that went on sale at comiket.

Getting up, ignoring the questioning glare from Hibiki, and bending over a little, Itsuki whispered a question in Yayoi's ear. "Could you please keep that a secret?" She was more than just a little nervous now. It didn't take much to embarrass Nao and this was definitely a top contender for biggest embarrassment in her life.

"I'll keep my mouth shut about Flames in the Sky, too." Having figured out that much, the rest was pretty much a given. "Stop glaring Hibiki. Don't tell me you have never looked at any kind of porn before!"

"Well... that is..."

"See!"

"You're really interesting people." Facing Love, Yayoi got a little curious. "But were you serious about having two partners, uh... I don't know your name yet."

"Momozono Love. Cure Peach. Just call me Love. And of course I was serious. The pink haired beauty to my left is Cure Passion, from the same team, and my first partner."

"Higashi Setsuna. Nice to meet you, Peace." Setsuna still preferred to be formal with people she didn't know that well.

"And the purple haired cutie to my right is Cure Beat, my and Passion's second partner. And just in case you wonder, there is no second-class or privileged treatment between us. We're all equals in this."

"Kurokawa Ellen. Let's let along, Yayoi." If she had already offered others using her first name, she didn't want to be impolite and ignore her.

"Yayoi! I almost didn't see you surrounded by everyone." Miyuki had shown up, taking the chance earlier when the shower freed up and get clean.

"Miyuki." Pushing her chair a little to the side to make room for her friend, Miyuki sat down right next to her, giving everyone in the round a quick look. "We were talking about you earlier. I was telling them how you help me out with work a lot."

"Ah, I don't really do much. A bit of filling and inking, sometimes commenting on perspectives and such." Smiling wide, Miyuki couldn't wait to learn about all these people. She had never met a Cure other than those in her own team and it was a very exhilarating experience to meet that many all at once. "No matter how much I walk around, I seem to always find people I don't know yet. I'm Cure Happy, Hoshizora Miyuki."

"You two work together? Or is there something else going-" Nagisa's curiosity quickly alarmed Yayoi, who started to flail her hands around and try to stop the older Cure from saying anything else.

"Miyuki just helps me out at work! Don't give everyone weird ideas!" Yayoi was much more interested in the relationships of others than have one of her own. And Miyuki wasn't exactly someone she could imagine in anything that resembled a normal relationship to begin with.

"The way you get all worked up about it makes it suspicious." Itsuki found it pretty fun to get the small Cure all worked up. "Now that you stand... you're even smaller than Erika, aren't you? Erika, go stand next to her."

"Like this?" Standing next to the new girl, Erika realized that she was indeed taller than her, by a few centimeters. "Wow, you really are tiny, Yayoi. How-"

"A hundred and fifty four centimeters! Don't look down on me!" Getting a good laugh out of everyone, Yayoi pouted a little and sat back down. "I can't wait to learn more about everyone. superheroes were always a passion of mine and now there are this many!"

"Superheroes, huh..." Nagisa looked at Saki.

"Superheroes indeed." Saki commented, the two making a little fun of calling it that. "I always thought of it more like a guardian kinda job. Protecting our world and those of the fairies."

"That's still superhero business." Yayoi wouldn't budge from her classification of Cures, no matter what. The excitement had died down a little over the years but she could still hardly behave herself. "What kind of powers do you have? I know those of my team in and out, but with so many others, there must be some really crazy ones! Ah, I already know Erika's though. I never expected there to be someone who could copy my Partum ex Fabula."

"Is that your ability?" Nagisa thought that it couldn't hurt to learn a bit about the new girl's ability since they would be likely fighting again at some point.

Holding out her hand, Yayoi summoned a drawing block, several incredibly detailed linearts on every page. Going through the pages towards the back, she stopped at what looked like a dwarf in heavy armor. "Partum!" Emitting electricity from her fingertips, Yayoi directly hit the block. Despite the expectations of everyone for the thing to go up in flames instead it seemed to absorb the electricity.

And they watched in surprised as the drawing came to life, slowly emerging from the block. It was no bigger than a fist but it was still kind of fascinating. A construct made entirely of electricity. "It can even move things, watch." Taking one of the cups that stood on the table, she put it down in front of the creation, the dwarf started to move the cup around. "It does what I want it to, but I have to be in eye-contact with it to control it."

"How big can you make them? Like a person?" Hibiki was impressed by such an unique ability. Did it stem from her job as mangaka?

"I suppose the biggest one..." Quickly going through the pages again, she stopped at what looked like a chinese dragon that took up the entire page. "If I created this it wouldn't fit into this room. It's over a hundred meters long."

"That's kind of scary. Doesn't it tire you out really badly to make something that big?" Love did kind of want to see it come alive though.

"The really big ones, yes. But if it's only as big as an ogre or a human, I can make several in a row."

"Not at once?" Ellen was also a little fascinated. The idea of a full band made of electric figures popped into her mind.

"I can only make one at a time. And it uses up the drawing, see?" Going back to where the dwarf was, who was walking around the ground and attacking Black's boot with what amounted to a tooth pick, Yayoi showed them that the drawing was completely gone. "I usually keep the block full with various things, but if I create a whole lot of them, it takes time to make them."

"Can you make **anything**?" Erika's eyes were sparkling with a certain light.

"Almost!"

"Then, how about..." Going up to Yayoi and whispering something into her ear, the yellow Cure also started to have big glittery eyes. "Can you do that?"

"It'll be difficult but I'm sure I could!"

"I'm looking forward to that." Grinning and laughing to herself, Erika returned to her partner's side, Tsubomi quite worried about that little exchange of starry eyes.

Yayoi was already whispering to Miyuki, who was now looking a lot like a pink dyed Peace, with the same overly excited sparkly eyes. "Whaddya'll doing?" Akane had caught on to the excitement that was slowly spreading due to Yayoi.

"Akane. You'll see soon." The smirk of genius was on Yayoi's lips, something one could only see on a creative mind.

"Hey, March, Sunny, this reminds me. Weren't you going to tell us how you two are connected exactly?" Hibiki brought it back up, remembering it from earlier.

"That's a fun story. I still remember Miyuki's face when she first got wind of it." Hiding her big smile behind her hand, Yayoi looked at the pink Cure next to herself. "Isn't that so Miyuki?"

"You'd be surprised too if you came into the library and the first thing you see is that!" Defending herself, she hadn't quite walked in on them on purpose.

"Reika said she doesn't mind, so we might as well tell you. It'll become really obvious if we're going to be here, anyway." Nao looked for a chair so she could sit but the next best one was halfway around the table. Noticing that both Black and Bloom put some space between each other so there was enough to sit down, she took the silent offer.

"There's an empty chair here." Itsuki made the offer after quickly pulling Hibiki on her lap. Lowering her voice and whispering to her partner, she earned an angry glare.

"I'm not heavy!" Hibiki didn't quite whisper quietly enough so that both the trio next to them and Marine could hear her. Blushing fiercely, she hid her face behind her hair. "Stupid Itsuki!"

"Ah, don' mind. I'm fine standin'." Akane didn't know if it was such a good idea to sit down next to Sunshine. She seemed like a bit of a tease.

"Don't be stubborn Akane." Nao was already pent-up between Black and Bloom, who couldn't resist poking the long side tails she had. "Could you please stop that? I feel like I'm up for auction." The double grin made clear that they hadn't had any ill intent so she didn't mind too much.

"You see, Nao used to be really popular with everyone, not just the girls. Reika and her knew each other since they were children and Akane was always competing with her so they got really, really close." Yayoi started the story without waiting for her teammates to be ready.

"Yayoi, ain't we tellin' the story?" Akane had heard Yayoi's version of the events more than once already and she didn't want to give people the wrong impression.

"You always leave out the funny details." Yayoi was fully aware of Akane trying to forget about the funnier parts of the story. Nao always tried to remain outside that particular argument.

"The real story 's startin' when we were in our first year o' high school, 'n Reika was talking about maybe goin' overseas after all, to study, thinkin' she coulda just come back 'n see us after schools over, but the times gonna be a problem so she ain't sure, and there was the problem of her bein' part of our Cure team. Ain't big of a problem though 'cause we got this magic portal thing goin' so we can just go 'n get her if we need her. Anyway, Nao was applyin' for a different high school than me so I got a lil' worried I mighta not see her as much. Same time 'round, Reika came 'n talked to me, tellin' me she got someon' shes interested in and she doesn't know if she shoulda postpone her overseas study to stay with her."

"Stop, stop, stop! Why did she come to see you and not Yayoi or Miyuki?" Erika raised her hand while she asked, for comical effect.

"Askin' Miyuki that stuff back in the day when we were all teens was like askin' a stuffed teddy bear. 'cause all her mind was all stuffed with fairy tales all the time. Ain't that right, Miyuki?"

"But fairy tales are so fun! And I was still constantly finding new ones. For example, there is this story called-" Miyuki was stopped by Yayoi, who used both her hands to gag her friend.

"If she starts like this, there is no end. Akane, go on." Trying to keep Miyuki silenced, Yayoi focused on the pink Cure and didn't bother to listen to the story, knowing it in and out anyway. After all, she had made several doujinshi with it as base. A very exact base. Remembering that and Sunshine being in the know about it did make her sweat a little.

"Yayoi was all sparkly sparkly eyes for superhero stuff at the time too. And she still ain't any different. Anyway, Reika didn' tell me who it was so I just said, go for it girl 'n thought that'd do it. Thinkin' about how even walkin' lexicon Reika got into romance, I started to get goin' again too."

"Akane used to have a crush on a guy, but they lost contact eventually. That's another really funny story, I'll tell you all later." Finally able to let go of Miyuki, who had accepted that nobody wanted to hear about fairy tales at this point, Yayoi sat back and grinned.

"Don' you dare, Yayoi! Ah, this ain't good. I never shoulda agreed to this!" Akane ruffled her hair and sighed. "So when I thought about it, the only one I really wanted to be with was Nao. 'n I didn' mind that we were both girls. This ain't Edo anymore. There's lesbians even 'n popular media 'n stuff. But I was helluva late! When I went 'n tried to ask her out, she was just goin' to a meet with someone who had given her a love letter! Can ya believe it! A love letter, 'n this day 'n age! I was blown away, I tell ya."

"You're exaggerating this Akane. It was just a really... sensibly written letter that asked me to come to the back of the school after class."

"And that's a love letter! So, curious like a cat, I went 'n followed Nao, 'n boy was I shocked when Reika was there, all waitin' calmly for Nao, confessing her feelings on the spot, not even embarrassed! I was so surprised, I yelled out 'n they found me, askin' me what I was doin'. So I got all pumped up 'n did the same as Reika, tellin' Nao that I wanted her to be my girl."

"That can't have gone well. So did you and Reika duke it out for superiority?" Nagisa wondered what that situation had to be like back then.

"Nah, we ain't livin' in caves. So we did the sensibl' thing 'n asked Nao who she wanted to be with. And guess what she said!"

Everyone started talking at once, most of them guessing that Akane was picked, a few other guessing that Reika was picked. "All wrong, all wrong, seriously! Nao played us both for fools 'n said she didn't want to date either of us! She wanted to go 'n get herself a boyfriend so she can have kids of her own one day! Can you believe that? Fifteen years old 'n thinking about that!"

"Can you blame me? With so many siblings, that thought was always on my mind, and getting older, I thought it was time to look for a partner." Nao was sitting a bit higher up than Akane, so she could give her a bit of an unfriendly contempt that didn't have any serious meaning.

"So how did you still end up together?" Hibiki couldn't quite make sense of how the story had to go from there to arrive where they were now.

"First 'oall, I talked to Reika, askin' her if she was serious about datin' Nao. After some back 'n forth, we agreed that we both wouldn't back off. 'n that we had bigger problems than just who was gonna go 'n date Nao. We went 'n flirted with Nao all we could, chasing off all guys that dared even look at her."

"So when Nao realized we ain't gonna back off, she asked if we couldn't settle for someone else. We said no 'n told her that we ain't givin' up. So Nao came up with this. If we could make her all forget about wanting a boyfriend, she'd date the one that got there first. Datin' on probation if ye want. Problem was, Reika was 'bout to leave for overseas 'n I didn't wanna screw her over bad. So we said, whenever Reika got back home, usin' the library to come back, she'd get to be with Nao and I'd be the girlfriend in the meantime."

"I... haven't heard of something like that before. Weren't you two jealous of each other? And you were okay with that March?" Nagisa was sure she couldn't have handled something like that.

"Reika 'n me are really good friends, so we were good. This way there ain't no cheatin' or anythin'. We both got to see Nao."

"So, you're still on probation even now?"

"Nah, sure not. Took us over a full year but at sum point, Nao realized she ain't even thinking about getin' a guy anymore. Mean, there's gotta be plenty a kids that want a nice home 'n Nao is gonna be the nicest Mom you coulda possibly find anywhere."

"So you settled for adopted kids instead of having your own?" Saki hadn't thought about kids before, considering that she and Mai couldn't really have some of their own that easily.

"I love kids and honestly, if I can give some that don't have loving parents a good home, I'm happy." Nao caught a glimpse of Akane smiling after she said so.

"Wait a second. So you three, you're still doing that? The whole, switch-a-roo?" Erika looked at Peach and her two partners and figured that there were really multiple ways to have more than one partner.

"Reika's workin' overseas a lot n' I have busy weeks so we switch when the other one has time. I actually like it this way. Reika's my best friend, but I ain't wanting to have any romance with her, ye know? I can still see Nao even if it ain't my turn, we just don' do all the couple stuff."

"That's a really unique relationship you got there. I'm amazed you three were able to keep that up." Tsubomi was very impressed by Sunny's and Beauty's dedication to March.

"Ya' flatterin' me. Really, it ain't that special if ye been at it for a while."

They were all distracted by someone loudly clapping to get the attention of everyone present. "Dream has come to. Everyone that made a temporary contract with her please return to your room and stand by in civilian form. That only serves to ensure her survival." Michiru, after checking on Mai, who was sound asleep in her own room, had made a round, met up with Kaoru halfway and proceeded to inform everyone.

"We'll call two at a time so don't turn into a Cure until you have been called to meet with Dream." Not waiting for everyone to acknowledge this, Michiru had already terminated her contract with Dream. She didn't feel any different but Dream had clearly felt the effects.

Kaoru, who was checking if there was someone they had missed, was so deep in thought that she walked straight past White and Beauty, who were just outside the entrance to the base area. "Where are you going Windy?" Honoka noticed that she was really deep in thought so she raised her voice and repeated her question. "Windy. Where are you going?"

"White? I was... never mind. Everyone has been asked to go back to their room since Dream has woken up and we need to terminate the contracts everyone has formed. Michiru and I went first so we're able to go around and collect the others."

"We'll continue this later then, Beauty." Not losing any time, Honoka left the blue Cures, waving her hand briefly before making her way to her room.

"What shall we do? As I understand, none of us have any relation to this."

"I'm not sure. There are no additional rooms, so we can't assign you living space just yet. I assume you might best collect your team and stand by in the dinner room." Almost walking in the wrong direction, Kaoru turned around and followed the same route as White.

Reika had learned most of the situation, and had already explained the basics briefly to her friends, but this was an optimal time to explain the rest to them, with everyone else busy. The place was eerily quiet without any of the other Cures walking around or chatting. There were twenty four rooms in total, just like White had explained.

"Reika!" Miyuki had spotted her friend from the distance, Yayoi right behind her, Akane and Nao further to the back, just coming out of the big hall. "Everyone went back to their room for something. Did they explain to you what they're doing? It's a bit eerie."

"There is a lot to explain so we should sit down. Lets return to the big hall for now."

The big empty room wasn't anywhere as comfortable, now that they were the only ones in there. Not to mention that they still were in a completely unfamiliar place. "I will start with the reason why we are here. I believe it is important that we understand why it would make no sense to try and break out."

Nao sat down next to Reika, having spent the last few hours with Akane while Reika was busy. Akane sat down between Miyuki and Yayoi, not bothered in the slightest by Nao separating for now.

"There is no doubt we remember the Bad End kingdom. What we never paid sufficient attention to was that they were using the power of darkness. Even I didn't think of darkness as anything but an enemy until now."

"But it's the enemy. Joker 'n Pierrot and the others were all usin' it to attack us 'n everything." Akane didn't see where this was going.

"They were using darkness, exactly. Just like we are using light. Those forces are not sentient or have a consciousness. They are readily available to everyone that has the means to tap into them. If they so desired, they could very well have used the forces of light." Reika found that to be a honestly terrifying outlook. "Darkness does not make evil and evil does not make darkness. It just happens that darkness is a much favored choice for those with ill intentions because of the powers it grants."

"So you're saying that it depends on the user if something is good or evil. Not on the power they are using."

"Yes. And in this case, we, users of light, vanquished the users of darkness. Thus, a small imbalance was created. What do you suspect would happen if this small imbalance was to be created over and over again?"

"One side would vanish eventually." Yayoi had read enough shounen manga to understand basic principles like this. She didn't like actually **being** inside one of those stories though.

"Darkness is part of the world the same way light is. Without light, plants will not grow. But without darkness, there will be no night, no rest, and everything will be facing an never ending drought."

Putting two and two together, Nao realized what Reika was talking about. "With this many Cures... the imbalance must have been enormous."

"Yes. I am not familiar with the physics concept of entities embodying forces like this, but White said that when they first arrived, they were told that those forces brought them here to remedy the imbalance and prevent us from worsening it."

"So we're stuck here until whatever imbalance was created is evened out?" Yayoi was surprisingly sharp on topics like these "Just how long is that gonna be? And isn't it kind of unreasonable that we all need to help for parts we're not responsible for?"

"White couldn't tell me anything about that. The fact is that even if there was a way to escape by force, to return to Earth, eventually it would turn into a living hell."

"Talk about a bleak outlook. So it's being stuck here and doing whatever or findin' a way out and getting' roasted back home." Akane didn't like that scenario at all. "Are you sure she was telling the truth? I mean this sounds incredibly far-fetched."

"I'm confident that she was not lying. She seemed especially concerned that we are all here as well now." Reika didn't like being imprisoned in some other dimension either, but there were greater things at risk.

"So what exactly are we doing here? The others mentioned battling, but I didn't really pay attention to it." Nao wanted to know what exactly was waiting for them.

"In the most normal case, there exist two teams which will once a day select participants for a battle that serves, so I understood, to generate energy. From the looks of it, this complex and all it's systems are kept alive by the generated light energy, while the dark energy is stockpiled to remedy the imbalance that was created."

"That doesn't sound right. Everyone was getting along fine. I can't believe they were forced to fight each other." Miyuki didn't like the sound of the whole fighting aspect.

"There seem to be various conditions in place to reduce antagonizing and stress to near zero. First, there is a mechanism that appears to highly stimulate the part of our brain that handles our battle drive as well as numbing the part of our senses that handles pain. That makes it possible to fight between friends without causing personal issues to develop. Second, after each battle, every participant is healed. White mentioned that she witnessed several fighters suffer great injuries only to wake up in their room later with nothing more than a few bruises. Third, every participant is rewarded with a form of currency the system uses to fulfill what White called wishes. It allows teams to create food, drinks, goods and even entire locations by expending this currency. There are two bases of this. Each team as a public pool which is used to pay for food and similar necessities and each Cure has a private pool which they use for personal things. White demonstrated this by creating a novel-" Reika was interrupted by Nao standing up so abruptly that she kicked over her chair.

"You gotta be kidding Reika! Fighting each other? **Severe injuries**? Are they all insane?" Nao couldn't stand the thought of that.

"Aqua said that it is highly likely some of you would react that way."

"But she's right, Reika! Us fighting each other isn't just wrong, it's sick!" Miyuki stood up as well, hoping that Reika wasn't going to blindly believe in what she was being told.

"I think everyone else thought this way at first, too. But look at how close they all are. I'm sure that some of them must have fought each other before." Yayoi couldn't quite face the others but intuitively, she knew that what Reika was saying wasn't just any bold faced lie the others came up with.

"Ye mean they already got used to it? Na, Reika, how long have they been in here?"

"They couldn't quite pinpoint the time but roughly two to three weeks."

"I don't think they're lying, Nao. I ain't happy with this whole fightin' either, but think what the alternative is. If we just sit around, we'll be here even longer. I think we should at least give this a chance."

"Akane, are you serious? What if you end up fighting Reika, or me?"

"These battles aren't one versus one, right? And Reika said it does something to... something and we're able to fight easier with that."

"Peach and Melody, both of whom you have met I believe, fought each other. Black and Bloom have met each other in battle as well." Reika had seen them sit together briefly, so she hoped the example would show some results.

"But they were really friendly with each other." Yayoi commented, on Reika's side in this argument.

"I say we should just wait 'n see. If it's as bad as Nao and Miyuki think it is, we can always think of something then." Akane didn't want to fight with Nao or Reika. Not to mention, sitting around and arguing wasn't going to help.

"I'm in favor of that too." Yayoi quickly agreed to that notion.

Calming down after seeing both Akane and Yayoi want to take the wait and see approach, Nao still didn't like the idea. "I'm gonna talk to Black and Bloom later. I don't believe all of this."

"The more pressing issue is how the system will adapt to our presence. The current situation is far from normal but they seem to be about done fixing it."

"Are you talking about those two monsters fighting each other? What was that about anyway? I've never seen anything like that. To begin with, why didn't we show up together with everyone else if they've been here for almost three weeks?" Akane didn't want to have to deal with someone like Nightmare ever again.

"Before we woke up in the ruins earlier, we were using the library portal. I can only assume that we got transported here while we were moving through it and that ended up displacing us far away from the others. If this complex is setup to generate energy and otherwise protect it's inhabitants from dying as suggested by the healing effect applied after a battle, then it makes sense that it would do something to prevent us from dying by being displaced inside a wall."

"Reika... can you try to explain that again without all the difficult words?" Miyuki had trouble making sense of that explanation.

"In a nutshell, because we were using the library portal, we got stranded." Akane summarized it quickly.

"I'm gonna hit the showers." Nao was in a bad mood and whenever that happened, she went off alone, sorting herself out before she blew up at someone.

"Hey." Nagisa waved to Yayoi and Nao, both of them a little surprised by her sudden showing up. White was with her, wearing glasses and scribbling things into something that Akane immediately recognized as a sudoku book. "Settling in? You're welcome to check out the kitchen. Just don't leave a mess or Hikari and Kurumi will give you hell."

"Don't give them the wrong impressions Nagisa. Hikari would just lecture them about not leaving behind a mess. You know she's empathy personified."

"Black." Nao figured she might as well bring it up right away. "Is it right you and Bloom were on different sides in a fight?"

"Sure. Man, I really hate fighting her. She hits like a tank. If you're ever ending up against her, try to keep your guard up."

Nao was so taken aback by how easygoing Nagisa was about it that she didn't know what to say. It was Akane who came to her rescue. "How come you and her act so friendly when you're together then?"

Nagisa earned a scornful look from Honoka. "She really just means friendly Honoka! I swear we're not plotting anything! She got- that hurts Honoka, that hurts!" Having her arm pinched, Nagisa was completely at her partner's whim. "We were just getting along normally, like everyone else."

"Is this all an elaborate joke for the new girls?" Akane was looking at Reika, starting to lose faith in her story. "You two ended up in a serious fight and you still get along?"

"Honoka, what did you tell Beauty? They seem to have a really bad idea of what is going on." Walking up to Akane and sitting down on a chair, not daring to sit on the table while Honoka was watching, Nagisa was ready to give an explanation. "I think I understand why you're confused about this. The battles are pretty serious, yeah, but everyone gets healed and while in battle we don't really need to think about stuff like I'm about to punch Saki in the face with everything I have. We remember it, sure, but we all know it's something we need to do and nobody holds any grudges."

"So you beat each other up but forgive each other right away?"

"I guess you could call it that. We had to get used to it in the beginning, but once you had three or four battles it's nothing bad. Some of us even like to look at it like a competition." Lowering her voice, Nagisa tried to hide what she was saying from Honoka. "Honestly, I kind of want to fight Sunshine. She's good at martial arts and a pretty balanced fighter so I think it'll be kind of fun."

The five new girls were pretty stumped by that. She was looking forward to the battling? "What if you ended up fighting your partner?" Nao was afraid of that aspect the most.

"What about it? I know it's just part of the whole process to fix things, so it's not like its personal. Say Honoka, would you be angry if we ended up fighting in a battle and I hit you?"

"Assuming you could get close enough before I toast you, no, why would I?"

"Does **everyone** see things that way here?"

"Some others probably don't like fighting their partners but nobody takes any permanent damage so it's really not as bad as you imagine. Nobody liked the idea in the beginning and we had some fairly loud protests but as time went on, everyone got really accepting of it. We have some volunteers every time now since they're saving their favor for something big. And if the team you're on wins, the team gets a bonus. That usually means better food and better facilities."

"It's like being in an RPG." Yayoi's eyes were sparkling again, the entire explanation Black was giving heavily reminding her of that game genre. "Tell me you have a secret move, Black, please." Yayoi was in her own world already, no longer worrying about the whole process. Excitement had already overtaken her.

"It's not exactly a secret move, but my strongest attack is Blacklight Devastation. I focus the energy I control into my fist and release it in one go when I punch something. It has pretty high power, you know?" Pretty proud of her physical strength paired with her limited energy control, she noticed Honoka glaring at her. "Maybe I shouldn't give away how my technique works." Laughing awkwardly, even Nao couldn't resist but smile.

"So everyone has already accepted fighting each other? We're the only ones that have to get used to it now?" Miyuki felt a little left out.

"Hm, Honoka, didn't Dream pretty much resist fighting until recently?"

"She was stubborn about it, yes. She eventually got around after really messing up in her first battle, though." Honoka didn't bother to look up from her sudoku puzzle. Taking a pen she had put behind her ear, she wrote down a few numbers and immediately realized they were wrong. "Who makes these?"

"That same girl that was so stubborn about fighting anyone else is the same one you first saw I guess. That's not what she is normally like though. Think of it like some kind of super upgrade with limited duration."

"It's a hidden form!" Yayoi was getting hyped even more now. It was only getting better and better. "This place is great! There are so many Cures here and they're all partners and they have special moves and secret forms and-" The words couldn't come out fast enough and Nagisa was a little worried she might have flipped a switch or something.

"I think Yayoi is accepting this a little too easily..." Nao sighed, still not fully convinced.

"Say, what do you do about meals? Anyone on cookin' shift today?" Akane was getting hungry. Seeing Black so relaxed would make her feel silly if she kept being tense about the situation. Since everyone was like that, it couldn't really be that horrible. Nao would come around soon, surely.

"Hikari and Kurumi prepare food pretty often but there is really no order who cooks. We were running out of favor just before Nightmare ran amok, too, so I'm not sure how much we have left in the kitchen."

"Learning all these names is gonna take me a while..." Akane was a little worried. She didn't have Reika's exceptional memory so learning twenty five normal names and another twenty five Cure names was going to take a bit of effort on her side.

"You got more than enough time. Nobody is gonna be offended just 'cause you don't remember their name right away. I'm Cure Black. Should be pretty easy to remember since my outfit's color matches my name. Misumi Nagisa. Don't bother remembering it all, just Nagisa or Black works for me."

Quickly introducing themselves again, Nagisa's stomach started rumbling, the thought of food stimulating her appetite. "I wish Hikari was here. Honoka, do you know in what order they're going to terminate our contracts with Dream?" Leaning on the table, her chair standing on just the two back legs, Nagisa tried to wrestle her partners attention from her sudoku book.

"I didn't ask. If you want to know, you could go and ask Bright or Windy, they're calling us up after all."

"You're so cold, Honoka..."

"I'm really tired and just want to relax a bit before I go to sleep."

"Relax? You're doing an impossibly hard sudoku!"

"So? I find this relaxing."

"I give up..." Turning around and sighing, muttering "Unbelievable." under her breath, Nagisa looked at Sunny. "I know what Yayoi does for work, but what do the rest of you do?"

Pointing at herself, Akane figured the look designated her as the one first to explain. Putting her fist before her chest, she proudly proclaimed what all the others already knew and had heard countless times. "My family runs the best okonomiyaki shop in japan!"

"There it is." Nao teased.

"Akane-mania." Yayoi joined in.

"Shaddup, both of ya! Ya know I ain't exaggeratin' one lil' bit!"

"Yeah, yeah." Nao was smiling wide, always amused by how worked up Akane got whenever they didn't pretend to be in awe. Her okonomiyaki were excellent, but the way she bragged about them made it fun to tease her.

"Why, you...!" Shaking her fist, Akane cursed several unspeakable things in her mind, none of them meant seriously.

"Why, Akane, you should aim for the best okonomiyaki in the world. There are incredibly powerful artisans overseas. The world level is completely different from the national level." Explaining it with a completely serious expression, both Yayoi and Nao knew that it was a completely lie. Okonomiyaki wasn't that popular overseas.

"What? There are cooks that high level? Do they use special ingredients, Reika?" Akane fell for it, hook, line and sinker.

"One of the greatest okonomiyaki chefs in the world comes from Russia. They say his lightning reflexes and speed let him serve ten customers in five minutes. There is also that one Taiwanese chef that is said to be able to make okonomiyaki with ingredients you will never see otherwise. His cho chun sui okonomiyaki is legendary."

"This is bad... this is really bad. I can't hold up to them at all. Black! I'm gonna borrow the kitchen, okay? I need to see how fast I can be!" Totally pumped up, Akane was up and away with a single nod of Nagisa.

"You were making fun of her, weren't you?" Turning to Reika, Nagisa thought that was a bit mean. Then again, it wasn't much different from how Honoka sometimes teased her.

"You could tell? Oh my." Smiling innocently, her left hand laid against her cheek, Reika was quite amused that Akane continued to fall for her pranks.

"I'm always wondering if I shouldn't help out Akane when you tease her with your fake reports. She believes all of your stories since you spend so much time overseas." Nao was amused despite her usually scolding Reika a little for teasing Akane.

"Eh, you were lying, Reika?" Miyuki had been spending some thoughts on okonomiyaki grilled with actual lightning bolts.

"Miyuki..." Both Nao and Yayoi were a little surprised that she too was still falling for those stories.

"You work overseas? What do you do?" Nagisa was curious since being overseas would put considerable distance between her and everyone else.

"Reika's a vigilante!" Yayoi blurted out without waiting. "She fights crime and terrorism!"

"Now, now, I was only involved in one case where they attempted to bomb am embassy."

"That's amazing. You really do vigilante work as Cure?" Nagisa was very impressed.

"Oh, yes, I do." Reika's expression and speech was completely different from before. Being overseas had taught her the lesson of relaxing when you could since the next crime could be waiting just around the corner.

"The bombing of an embassy?" Honoka was listening in on the story half-heartedly but now she was becoming interested. "Where and when did that happen?"

"In Hong Kong, about two years ago. It was the American embassy. Have you heard of it in the news?"

"I remember seeing an article. They said a rogue criminal element interfered in the police's special forces mission. The bomb was found frozen in a solid block of ice. That was your work?"

"Yes. I'm flattered you remember that much."

"It got the police stumped and they looked for an answer everywhere. I'm a scientist. I knew that magic had to be involved in that." Looking at Reika, Honoka showed a little smile. "Nice to meet you, Ms. rogue criminal element."

"Oh please, don't call me that. I'm only helping out the police when I can. I tried out several other occupations but found my powers to be best suited to this." Holding up her hand, Reika created a spear with over two meters of length instantly. "I'm most skilled in the use of various weapons and their creation. I excel at using a bow." The spear dissipated instantly when Reika closed her hand and crushed the shaft of the weapon. Not even fragments of the creation remained.

"You're a lot more talkative now that we're not on the topic of what this place is." Honoka was smiling even more now.

"Even a Cure or a vigilante has to relax sometime. That is also part of the job. Stress only causes a lack of concentration, which might end up endangering your life or that of others."

"A very informed statement. I think we will become good friends, Beauty." Ending the conversation and going back to her sudoku, Honoka was quite thrilled to have found another conversation partner.

"Please, do call me Reika."

"Reika, Reika. Why haven't you come up with a fancy name to call yourself? You know, like Sailor V!" Yayoi turned the conversation around once more.

"How about Blue Rose?" Miyuki was simply saying the first thing that came to mind.

"Miyuki... that's from that Hero Anime." Yayoi was grinning wide when Miyuki realized that as well.

"I don't think it is a good idea to be known by the people too well. It is my job to help them and that involves making hard decisions sometimes. Unlike in fiction, you often can't save everyone."

"You never told me about this, Reika. You had to chose some people over others?" A little shocked over the sudden reveal from her childhood friend and partner, Nao turned to the blue Cure.

"And your reaction is why I haven't told you. You love people even more than I do and I know you would have an extremely hard time living with leaving people behind."

"I can't tell if you're being really considerate or not trusting me enough." Nao pouted only long enough for Reika to lean forward and briefly kiss her in front of everyone else.

"You know that I would trust you with my life, Nao. I just didn't want you to be sad, thinking that I was suffering from having to make hard decisions." Actions like these always made Nao's heart skip a beat. Akane had her own ways for that but Reika always surprised her the most.

"If you're always overseas, how do you go back to see March?" Nagisa wasn't embarrassed by the public display. She had been in a similar relationship too long for that.

"It likely will not work here, but there is a place called the magical library which... hm... Miyuki, did Pop or Candy ever explain to you where exactly the library is located?" It was rare that Reika had to ask others.

"Huh? Isn't it just part of Märchenland?" Nao interrupted before Miyuki could answer.

"I never really asked. If Candy was here she... likely wouldn't know either." Letting her head hang, Miyuki was reminded that the fairy wasn't exactly highly informed. Those things fell to Pop.

"Then, let's us just say that this magical library connects every bookshelf in the world. Going from Japan to England for example is a matter of minutes with this. Due to the specific way you need to arrange books and likely other conditions we don't know, I don't think any humans but us have ever found it."

"Don't you think that there might have been previous Cures that used the place? I've been thinking this for a while now, but considering that there are over twenty other Cures, there had to be an earlier generation at some point." Nao had been slowly pushing her chair towards the table, putting her elbow on it and resting her head against her palm.

"Come to think of it, Miyuki's grandmother was awfully accepting of Candy and Wolfrun, existences that would be considered highly controversial normally, especially for people as settled and levelheaded as her." Reika was thinking about the idea of there being previous generations.

"Oh come on. My grandmother is really great but I can't believe she'd be a Cure!" Imagining her grandmother transforming and in a frilly outfit made Miyuki cringe a little. The face she was making was evidently laughter inducing as everyone but Honoka and Reika burst out in it.

"I would not rule it out entirely but that is a story for another time. To come back to your question, I often use the library to travel between different locations. I also return home that way when I take a break."

"How do you pay for living expenses like that?" Nagisa and Honoka were both working, saving up to own a house of their own someday, still living in an apartment.

"My family is reasonably rich and while I wouldn't need to worry about money if I just followed my family's wishes, I prefer to follow my own path. Since I'm traveling a lot, I live in two places. Aoki Reika lives in Japan and Cure Beauty lives in the magical library."

"You should see all the stuff she has collected there." Nao was having a difficult time holding it in. "There are scrolls with 'The Path' written on it everywhere."

"While many countries treat my intervening with extreme caution, there are others, mostly smaller states in America as well as China and Korea, that welcome the help. There is often reward money associated with capturing criminals and while I don't do this work for that reason it does pay for my living expenses."

"I offered her a few times to move in with me and save herself the trouble, but she's saying that it'll get in the way of my time with Akane even though Akane said she wouldn't be bothered at all." Nao explained, waving her hand back and forth.

"It is a matter of pride." Reika was very proud of helping people and doing what she thought to be the right thing.

"How did you end up becoming-, wait a minute, I think the next pair is coming." Looking towards the entrance, Nagisa wasn't let down by her sense of hearing. The first thing she saw was a purple outfit that belonged to Rose. And right by her side was Hikari, the two of them talking about something. "Hikari! Over here!" Waving to her long time friend and teammate, Nagisa waited until both of them were close before she introduced them. "That's Shiny Luminous, the third and final member of our group. She's a bit younger than me and Honoka, but she is responsible and a good cook."

"Both qualities you were never all that good with." Honoka sent a single verbal jab flying over the table, causing Hikari to smile.

"Don't tease her, Honoka. You know she is always trying." Turning to the new girls, Hikari bowed slightly. "I'm Kujou Hikari. Nice to meet you all."

The eyes of the Smile group switching to the purple Cure at her side, Rose introduced herself as well, without bowing and instead a quick nod. "Milky Rose, Mimino Kurumi."

"Say, both of you don't have Cure in your name. How come?" Miyuki was instantly curious about that. Yayoi wanted to ask as well but her friend had been faster.

"That's pretty complicated so can we delay that until later? I'll tell you sometime, I promise." keeping up her innocent smile, Hikari turned back to Nagisa.

"So... so cute." Yayoi was already plotting things in her mind, promising herself that she wouldn't be caught dead telling someone about it.

"I'm sure that if you ask her, she will tell you if she is still romantically available." Reika purposefully spoke loud enough to let Hikari hear her words, making her blush a little.

"Reika! I didn't mean it like that! Don't tell me you didn't think she was cute when she smiled!" Yayoi blushed fiercely. The blue Cure used to be always so incredibly serious about everything that it was impossible to get used to her suddenly teasing her friends a bit.

"Of course she is cute. However, that is a purely objective perception that has nothing to do with romantic interest. You-" Reika was interrupted by Nao, who sealed her lips with her index finger laying on them.

"You shouldn't tease them so much." Nao was the only one exempt from Reika's more carefree attitude, even though she wouldn't mind a bit of teasing here and there. Akane took mostly care of that when they were together, so it wasn't something she missed too much.

"Say, Nagisa, what is that smell? It looks like someone is cooking." Hikari had specifically asked if she could be picked soon so she could prepare at least dinner before everyone would go to sleep, exhausted as they were. Though, looking at Nagisa, there wasn't much sign of exhaustion.

"Akane, Cure Sunny, is probably trying to make okonomiyaki at the speed of sound in there. Reika, I'll go and tell her you were just pulling her leg." Getting up, Nao quickly walked over to the kitchen entrance, hoping that Akane had not made a mess of the place. It would be really embarrassing if the first impression she left with the others was that of wrecking the kitchen.

Stepping into the kitchen, she found Akane desperately trying to balance two more okonomiyaki than she could possibly handle. "If some overseas chef can do this, **I can do it too**!" Noticing that someone had entered the kitchen, she looked up and saw a very amused Nao. "Nao? What's so funny?"

"Geez Akane, how many times has Reika told you silly stories about the world outside of Japan? And you always believe her. She was just making fun of you, there probably isn't really any okonomiyaki business in the rest of the world."

"Reika! Why you!" Yelling through the window, she was immediately greeted by said girl standing in front of it.

"Oh my, did you call me?"

"I'm gonna get you back for all of this one of these days!"

"Now, now, you're welcome, Akane."

Smiling and giggling a bit, Reika walked away, leaving Nao and an annoyed Akane behind. Turning around when Luminous entered the kitchen together with Rose, Nao introduced her partner. "Cure Sunny, our team's expert in all things okonomiyaki." Introducing the most likely older girls to Akane as well, Nao figured it was time to drag her away.

"Kurumi, do you think we could just make okonomiyaki for everyone today?"

"Considering what we have left and that we don't know when we're going to be able to get more favor, that's a pretty good idea actually. Sunny, do you mind if we help you out?"

Nao was surprised by how easily those girls adapted. They didn't know Akane for more than a minute and they were already trying to make her feel part of the large group. "Show them what you've got."

"Count on me to show ya the best okonomiyaki ya lot have ever seen!" Pumped up even more than before, she quickly shoved Nao out of the kitchen. "Sorry but even girlfriends should stay away when chefs are at work!"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm looking forward to your prized okonomiyaki."

Getting back to the others, they were now all sitting at the table. "Nao." Nagisa had still more questions. "What is it you like about those two?" Pointing at Reika and the kitchen, supposedly Akane, Nagisa wasn't sure if she was going to get an answer.

"It's rude to point at people, Nagisa." Honoka was the conscience that followed her around.

"My, I don't mind." Reika was amused more than anything by the interaction of those two.

"Since Reika is already here... I like how she has a cute side to her she doesn't show anyone else but me. She's also extremely responsible, composed, intelligent and refined. In a way, she's the exact opposite of Akane in some of those aspects."

"When she's with me, Nao is the aggressive one. But it's the other way around with Akane, isn't that so Nao?" Reika didn't mind talking about these things at all.

"I just can't keep up with her energy anymore. It was fine when we were just competing over things but after she got interested in me since I also have a calmer side, it was all over. Akane is really wild and I like that. She often makes jokes to cheer people up and she never gives up either. She isn't dim just in case you think that since I mentioned her being the opposite of Reika. She's a bit crude at times but that's part of what makes her lovable."

"That's kind of interesting actually." Putting down her sudoku and looking at March, Honoka found herself intrigued now. "So for the two sides of your personality, the strong one and the calm one, each of them compliments only one. That's different from most couples since they look for a partner that works well with them in general. But I guess like this, you have partners that make a perfect match with just one of your sides."

"I never looked into it that deeply, but I suppose you can say it like that. Of course there isn't really a switch or anything for the way I behave, that would be silly. I just happen to fall into a routine when I'm with just one of those two."

"I've been listening for a while, but how come you never mention me helping you three get together? It was really difficult!" Miyuki was starting to feel a little left out.

"You were just meddling a whole lot. And Yayoi wasn't any help either, always fantasizing about how we might end up." Scolding them, Nao unintentionally demonstrated how her personality could shift from calm to serious in a heartbeat.

"Nao, you shouldn't scold them. I now think it was really funny when Miyuki tried to help us out. Do you remember that one time where she and Yayoi dressed up as delinquents in order to let you impress me? And they ended up being chased by a nearby police officer until we, who knew the entire time it was them, told them it was just a joke?"

"How could I ever forget that? Every time Miyuki smells a romance in the making, her brain fries all her common sense."

"Wow, that's mean! Ha-ppu-ppu!" Making her usual face when disappointed or annoyed, Miyuki earned a loud laugh from Nagisa.

"Your face just now was priceless. And that story! Did you really dress up as delinquents?"

"Oh they did already. You'd never catch them having any romance of their own but they meddle all they can in those of others. Akane and I ended up locked for half a day and a whole night in the gym storage room once. They thought it would give us time alone and then those two forgot all about us!"

"Yayoi, it wasn't our fault, was it? We just got a little... distracted." Miyuki didn't like being scolded very much.

"No, Miyuki... that one really was our fault." Rubbing her head, Yayoi still remembered Akane giving both of them a single punch to the head so they wouldn't think of something like that again. "But it worked, didn't it?"

"I can't argue that. Your methods aside, that was the first time Akane kissed me."

Just as Nao finished saying that, Saki showed up without Mai. They had both been called together, yet...

"Is Mai not feeling good?" Nagisa didn't wait for her friend to sit down.

"Apparently she wants some time alone so she can work out being led to believe that Wither was actually me. I can understand why she wants to be alone but it still sucks. What is this smell?" Saki was looking a little depressed with a bit of gloom on her face.

"Akane, the fire, watch the fire! Ah, Kurumi, no, don't use that to-" They heard Hikari shouting from the kitchen, everyone kind of curious but also afraid to go and check.

"How is Dream holding up?" Honoka was a little worried about side effects. She wasn't a close friend of hers but they all had to thank her for saving their lives.

"Okay, I guess? She was looking drained when Mai and I got there. I gotta say, I expected something fancier from the whole terminating the contract thing. Michiru and Kaoru played it up a bit too much."

"I know what you mean." Nagisa agreed right away.

"What were you doing?" Reika hadn't been informed on the details ans she was curious.

"Right, all of you don't know. Honoka can you explain? I'm not really sure how it all worked either."

Sighing briefly, Honoka turned around and faced the new girls. "Earlier, when you arrived in the middle of their battle, Dream and Nightmare, they were fighting by using our power. Technically, only Dream was really using **our** power and Nightmare was drawing on the power of something else, but I'll leave the full explanation for later. So, the power Dream borrowed to fight off Nightmare needs to be returned. From what Windy said, it usually would return it all at once but if all but those that already got their power returned aren't in Cure form, the power has nowhere to go and so it basically stalls."

"You kind of lost me around the part where you explained they were using power from something else." Nao wasn't that interested so she kind of lost track.

"So everyone gets called out, transforms and has their power returned. Then we go to Dream, she creates a small rose bloom for us and we crush that, as a sign that we're no longer linked to her." Honoka didn't bother with any more technicalities since everyone but Beauty didn't seem to care.

"The poor roses." Miyuki got a bit of a weird look from Nagisa, saying that. "Bloom, the girl called Mai you were talking about..." The sparkling eyes were eerily reminiscent of Marine when she got excited over something. Or causing mischief. "Are you having trouble with your partner? Do you think I could-" Miyuki was stopped, almost violently so, by Nao hitting her on the head gently.

"Didn't we just talk about you meddling?"

"Bu~t...!" Seeing Yayoi snicker from the corner of her eye, Miyuki leaned back and started to pout.

"Wanna play something? I think I got a pack of cards back in my room. Looks like most of the rooms are fine." She liked talking and learning more about the new Cures but she found it easier to do if she was just a tiny bit distracted.

"I think I'll use the chance to shower instead." Nao was starting to feel like she had fallen into a bucket of dust.

"I'll accompany you." Reika was used to be in a state of moderate dirtiness but if showers were available, she would happily use them.

"It's been a while since we've all showered together, right?" Miyuki and Yayoi didn't even think about asking if they could tag along. It was something completely normal to them.

"I recommend not showering as Cure. Especially not you, Nao, and Yayoi. You'll never get your hair dry ever again." Nagisa didn't mind being turned down at her offer. "I'm going back to my room to take a nap then. The others should eventually show up if there is anything." Getting up and walked around the table, Nagisa leaned down, Honoka intuitively looking slightly up, turning her head, the two of them exchanging a brief kiss. "Coming with me?"

"I'm pretty tired, so a nap actually sounds good." Taking her partners hand, Honoka waved the new group goodbye for now. "I'll see all of you later."

"They're on a completely different level from us, aren't they?" Nao was impressed by the relationship that Black and White seemed to have. Despite some slight bickering and doing things on their own, as soon as one of them asked the other for something, they were like one.

"I believe you're selling yourself short, Nao. They're different from us, yes, but I don't believe we're any less of a couple than they are."

"Maybe you're right." With a smile on her face, the green Cure turned to Black's friend. "Bloom, what are you... oh she's asleep. She must have been really tired."

"Come to think of it, we don't have a place to stay for the night, do we?" Reika had realized this earlier but didn't think Black and White would end up leaving before she remembered to talk about it. There were surely other Cures she could ask later so she let it slide for the moment. "I'll ask White or Windy later. With so many couples, a lot of rooms are bound to be empty."

"I'll tell Akane we're going to hit the showers." Nao ignored the issue about the rooms. If Reika was going to handle something, anyone else bothering to do something about it was wasted effort.

Walking ahead of Nao, the group of three was no longer worried about the place they were in. "I can't believe I'm actually having fun here." Miyuki recalled that they were all supposed to battle each other. "While we were talking, I completely forgot all about it."

"I'm confident that everyone else acts that way here. If they all constantly worried about fighting, they would only unnecessarily make it hard for themselves." Reika took a quick glance down the floor, seeing Black and White walk arm in arm, White leaning a little against her partner.

"Maybe. I'm not looking forward to having to fight other Cures." Miyuki put both her arms behind her head and sighed. "I wonder if there is a way around it?"

"You're just afraid you'll get beaten Miyuki. I know your ability isn't any good in a battle." The verbal jab from Yayoi hit the nail on the head. "Don't worry about it. You can just stall everyone and your team can deliver the finishing blow!"

"They'd have to knock them out in one go. You know my ability breaks if someone gets hurts even a little. And I feel horrible just thinking about abusing it to fight others!"

"Now, now, you should worry about that later." Watching Nao arrive at her side, Reika could guess what Akane had to say just from the face she was making. "Did she say something like 'Tell Reika to keep her fingers off ya!' by any chance?" Trying to emulate Akane's accent made both Yayoi and Miyuki laugh.

"Jackpot. I wasn't even thinking about that until Akane basically shoved it in my face. We're not going to take the same cabin."

"Oh, you're boring Nao." Yayoi was fond of seeing those three be together and even more so when they didn't want to be seen. It was excellent fuel for her fantasies.

"So sorry that I'm boring." Shrugging, this time it was Reika who giggled a little.

"I believe it won't be as bad to be here as we thought." Given how nice everyone was to each other, Reika couldn't imagine that not a single one of them had a mindset similar to that of Miyuki. If they had accepted their being there, Miyuki would eventually too.

=== Dissonance ===

Returning to the big tables in the dining room, Miyuki the first to finish, a lot of Cures were already there, eating what looked like Akane's okonomiyaki but not quite. Spotting nobody she was directly familiar with right away, she decided to just ask the next best person if they had seen Nagisa.

Walking towards a yellow Cure that sat next to a black Cure, both of them already eating and surrounded by empty chairs, Miyuki bowed down next to the yellow one. "Hi. I'm Cure Happy, one of the girls who just arrived. Have you seen-" Miyuki found it rather weird that the yellow Cure suddenly started laughing like someone was tickling her everywhere at once.

"Urara, if you make fun of her name I'm going to call you Cure Fanta for a week."

"Goddammit, you're serious aren't you?"

"Of course. I don't appreciate someone sitting in a glasshouse throwing rocks. It's enough that you throw rocks all the time anyway."

"What... are you two talking about?" Miyuki was completely lost now.

"So, **Happy**, what do you want?" Urara couldn't have possibly rolled her eyes more at Miyuki's Cure name than she did.

"I wanted to know if you... knew where... Nagisa is... you... is there something on my face? What is so funny?"

"You're horrible, Urara." Ako hit her partner on the shoulder, not thrilled that she was already making fun of the new girls.

"Who is Nagisa again? Which Cure?" Urara averted her eyes slightly, trying not to look at Miyuki too much.

"Cure Black. Why are you looking away now?" Trying to get back in Urara's line of sight, Miyuki bend over the table so far she was almost falling on it.

"Haven't seen her. I can't hold it in! I just can't! So **Happy**, are the others of your team called 'Satisfaction', 'Pleased', 'Content' and 'Blissful'? Do you turn into 'Cure Depression' when you're not **Happy** enough? Don't you think you should go for a nice **Happier** color than just pink? Why not use-" Urara winced in pain so hard that she punched the table out of reflex. Ako had pinched her leg really hard and was giving her a scornful look. "Oh come on!"

"No, **Fanta, **enough is enough." Looking at Miyuki, who had a pretty annoyed expression on her face but no suitable comeback, Ako sighed. "Don't take it personal, she's just a bit on the mean side."

"You're going to feel really damn silly calling me Fanta for a week. I'm betting you'll stop in a few hours."

"Try me."

Miyuki had already walked off, leaving the mean yellow Cure and the scolding black Cure behind. "She must have had a really bad day..."

Instead of continuing to ask people, she decided to just go to the kitchen and check on Akane. There was a little bit of a line in front of the window where the finished food was handed through but she couldn't make out who it was that was serving.

Opening the door, Miyuki felt something very solid but not very heavy hit it, followed by a scream. "Miyuki, what are you doing?!" Akane was standing in front of a large oven field, used to make okonomiyaki. Looking down, Miyuki found Luminous next to a few broken dishes.

"I'm so sorry! Are you okay?" Crouching down, Miyuki tried to pick up the shards only to immediately cut her finger on one. "Ouch!"

"Ah geez Miyuki, what are you doing? You should stay outta the kitchen when we're workin'!" Trying to keep her speech accent free, Akane served the next Cure in line. "Kurumi, please get Miyuki out of here. She doesn't mean ill but she can be kind of a klutz."

The purple Cure grabbed Miyuki by her arm and shoved her outside before she could do anything else. "If you want food, please wait in line." Closing the door and kneeling down, all three of them let out a sigh.

"Hikari, are you alright?" Helping her friend up, the pink Cure slipped a little and she too cut her finger on the broken dishes. "Geez, what is it with everyone today?"

Akane completely forgot about cooking for the next instant. Kurumi took the finger of the innocently looking Hikari and sucked on it briefly. Neither of them seemed to be embarrassed at all about it but they didn't appear to have any romantic air about them either. Were they just naturally dense?

Hikari was daydreaming for a few seconds before noticing Akane's look. She wasn't that dense after all. Pulling her hand away, she pointed at the plate. "Akane! The food, the food! It's burning!" She didn't want Akane to keep staring just because she fell and broke some dishes.

Quickly getting back to work she didn't know what to make of those two. They seemed really, really close but... there really was nothing romantic about how they interacted. She wasn't like Miyuki, who loved to meddle, but she wasn't entirely uninterested.

A lot of sudden commotion caught Akane's attention. Looking through the window, she saw a blue Cure walk as fast as she could without running through the room. Her first target was the white Cure that Hikari had introduced to her as Egret. The next was a blue Cure called Aqua. A few others followed and Akane noticed the increasing commotion. Getting really close and whispering, each Cure that was talked to stopped eating and got up, leaving as fast as the blue Cure had come.

"What's going on?" Akane put out the heating for the plate. "Hikari, Kurumi, lets check this out."

There was a lot of confusion. Mai, Karen, Urara, Ako and Inori had all been called. "Did something happen to Dream?" Akane couldn't identify who asked it but unrest was growing rapidly. "Did Nightmare survive or something?" Rumors were growing faster than weeds.

Seeing Reika run past the entrance with Nao and Yayoi instead walk into the thoroughly confused dinning hall, Akane knew that something was very, very wrong. Quickly walking up to Nao, Akane didn't even bother to hide how worried she was. "Where is Reika going? What's going on?"

"A yellow Cure showed up and asked her to go. She didn't even look at us. She was pretty rude." Yayoi spotted Miyuki at the back, walking around with an empty dish.

"This is bad, this is really bad." Akane felt a single shiver go down her back.

Quite the distance from the base, a group of Cures had finally assembled. "I don't think this needs an explanation." Kaoru watched the spectacle together with the others. The group totaled nine people. White and Egret, Aqua and Lemonade, Bright and Windy, Pine and Muse as well as Beauty.

"I thought the reflections were all gone. Did one of them make it?" Urara was suspicious of the whole thing. It smelled of Nightmare somehow surviving.

"Moonlight's reflection is still alive. And there is something about it that bothers me." Karen was one of the two people who knew and she didn't like telling the others. "We put both her and the reflection into the same room. Komachi, Mint, isn't using hers so we used that one. We noticed that Poison's and Mint's names were absent from the glass. It was a blank mirror."

"Oh wonderful. You brought her in and the mirror turned into theirs, yes? Good work, Karen, now we're going through all this crap again, yes?" Urara was going to be seriously pissed.

"Half of your theory is wrong. We checked Dream's mirror and both names were gone as well. The same for everyone else. My partner's mirror didn't show any signs of changing at first but when we came back it had both Moonlight and Eclipse engraved."

"I fucking knew it! Can't we catch a goddamn break? So what is this shit over there? Nightmare trying to come back to life? Eclipse or whatever attacking us?"

"Calm down. I don't think this is related to Eclipse at all. She was unconscious and resisted all our attempts to wake her up." Kaoru, the other person who knew about the changed mirror, was completely calm and composed. "Let's focus on finding out what is happening before we accuse each other or Eclipse of anything."

"What is it trying to do? I assume it is the right way to describe it." The adrenaline from watching the scene unfold before her was driving away all of Mai's exhaustion.

"Restoration." Kaoru took one step ahead, no more than centimeters away from an artificial cliff, created by Dream and Nightmare. Looking towards the far distant other end of the spherical hole, Kaoru felt extremely uncomfortable.

The nine Cures watched in disbelief as part of the walls continued to replicate itself only to crumble under its own weight. The process repeated itself every two seconds in over fifty different places and it was spreading. The system was trying to offset the destruction Dream had caused.

"It's not restoring itself." Karen stepped up next to Windy. "It's not failing to restore. Pay close attention to the moment it falls apart."

Honoka focused her eyes the best she could. And she saw it. "It's breaking up on purpose."

"I think you're close. But there would be no real purpose to just breaking up and rebuilding from the same material. Urara, can you use your chains to get us down there?" Ako felt like there had to be a reason the system was stagnating at the other end.

"I could but I'm not going to. I'm not going to watch you get buried under a crap load of rocks."

"This is no time to be worried about me."

"It's always time to be worried when someone suggests a crazy idea. I'm not-" Both of them felt a chill all of a sudden, turning around. Right in front of them was a bridge like structure made of ice, pillars extending sporadically from it to the ground. It appeared very solid. "Karen, did you-"

"Beauty governs the ability to control and create ice evidently." Michiru stated it just in case someone wasn't clear about it. Jumping on the bridge, she immediately lost her footing and fell. "It looks like following her on this is impossible." She didn't pay any attention to her ungraceful fall.

"I can." Inori jumped on the bridge and managed to do what Bright couldn't. "It's going to really tear this thing apart, but I can follow her. I'm worried about her going alone. Kaoru, if something happens don't hesitate to call everyone else." The other Cures and especially Michiru were surprised by Pine directly addressing Windy by her first name.

Using energy blades and attaching them to the sole of her boots, Inori traversed the bridge like a rink. Looking ahead, Beauty was moving at an near impossible to catch up, creating the bridge as she went, a huge lance in her right hand. She was clearly expecting some kind of attack.

Reika noticed Pine following a few seconds later and stopped, creating a large platform. It took almost a full minute for Inori to catch up despite her style's emphasis on speed. "We're all a team so you shouldn't go off on your own like that."

"I have a lot of experience working alone. I also believe that it is not likely that any foe-" Reika stopped her sentence short. The distance between them had at least four meters and still, all it took for Pine to vanish and re-appear right in front of her was one blink of her eyes. Inori was so close that Reika could feel her breath on her own face.

"You're probably really strong but you'll be even stronger if someone has your back." Inori didn't need to try and convince her of her abilities after that. Acknowledging Pine's argument without another word, Reika looked at her feet and the deep cuts she had left in the bridge.

"Lift your feet. You're poorly equipped if you want to come with me." The others were already in significant distance so going back and giving all of them the chance to come was more than likely wasted time. "It might be a little cold but please bear with it." Turning the soles of Inori's boots into ice skates, both of them continued.

"Halt." Reika stopped on the point, Inori managing to come to a full stop a few meters in front. They were close enough to witness the replication first hand. Looking around, Reika knelt on the glacier road and looked down. Below them were piles upon piles of blocks, all of them in various shades of gray, red and blue.

Watching the blocks disperse and re-assemble it was became clear very rapidly what was happening. "Transmutation." Reika was fascinated by the process. She was seeing something that was always only speculated at in science fiction. Instantaneous molecular re-assembling, transmutation.

Leading the road around the blocks and to the end of the enormous hole, Reika touched one of the walls, taking off her left glove. "Did this area transmute already? It looks different from the other side."

"It's still spreading." Inori had caught up again and pointed at the solid wall. There was no sign of it not being made of a single large fragment and still part of it was just slowly changing color, like it was being rapidly infected by something.

"Why is it doing this?" Reika couldn't identify any of the materials. Their touch and hardness seemed different from any earthly material she knew.

"Your guess is as good as mine. I suspect it's trying to prevent large scale annihilation like this from happening again." Inori tried to cut into the changed material, with less than little success. It was too hard even for her energy blades. Turning around, she found herself facing a wall that had not been there before a few seconds ago. Looking around a bad hunch became immediate reason for concern. The entire walls was encroaching towards them. "Beauty, we need to go." And it was rapidly gaining speed. "Now!"

Going back the same way she came, Inori was quickly passed by Beauty who created a separate road, jumping over to it with a single serene motion. Looking over her shoulder for just a moment, she realized that they had spent too much time in dangerous territory. Just speed wouldn't get them out of there. Stopping by freezing herself in place, Reika focused on extending the road far enough for her ally to go ahead.

Watching the rapidly encroaching wall, Reika felt a rush of being powerless. No matter what, at best she would be able to slow it down. Taking a deep breath, the temperature fell so far that her breath turned into white clouds. "Zero Celsius - " Creating her signature dual wielded blades, Reika threw one to her left and one to her right, both of them leaving a trail of bitter cold air behind. "Glacier Break!" The cold air left behind the weapons rapidly solidifying and turning into solid ice, each side expanded at an abnormal speed in every direction. Within ten seconds, a thin line of ice had turned into a dozens of meter thick barricade of frost, over a hundred meter in every direction. An artificial ice-stream.

The sound of the encroaching and multiplying wall hitting her barricade was something that reached the Cures waiting for the return of the other two. Inori had reached the literal end of the road and she was still too far away from everyone else.

Looking behind her, the wall was having trouble passing a massive ice barricade but it was only a matter of time until it would pass it. Seeing a blue speck rapidly catch up, Inori was ready to run for her life. No matter how fast or strong they were, it was impossible to fight a wall that extended itself.

Inori almost felt her arm rip off when Beauty rushed past and grabbed her. Using her Zero Celsius skills was taxing and not something she like to do if it could be avoided. So running away was a very viable and justified decision to make.

Looking back and realizing that even running wasn't going to let them get out safely, Reika changed plan. "Hold your breath!" Giving just that one command to Pine, Reika took as deep a breath as she could herself, held out both of her hands and created layer upon layer of ice around them, a thick sphere designed to protect them.

And they **felt** the impact. Unable to hold on to anything but each other, Pine and Beauty were thrown around like a pinball, the sphere just barely holding together with Reika's continued concentration. The next impact was strong enough to almost destroy their protective prison. Inori was desperately trying not to breathe, the temperature inside their little prison far below zero.

The outside was no less chaotic than that. Lemonade and Muse were combining their efforts to create a makeshift safety zone to protect them from the literally crushing threat that had already swallowed up Beauty and Pine. "Ako, are you gonna hold out?" Urara's golden chains kept the encroaching wall itself at back but the transmuting stone had already infected the ground below them.

Using her powers to create both a floor and a ceiling above them, essentially sandwiching six Cures between two layers of protection, Ako had trouble keeping all of it sustained with energy. None of them were really in fighting condition and much less ready for a life or death situation.

"I hope Mai makes it to the base in time." Michiru wasn't sure if they were safe there. At least the odds were highly against them.

"Will you stop standing around like an idiot and help out? We're not doing this because it's fun, you know?" Urara was shouting at Bright, the encroaching wall slowly pushing them in.

"Windy, how much longer?" Honoka was already preparing to help out Lemonade and Muse.

"The ground is already... I will need to keep this active. Do it as soon as you're ready." Focusing all her attention on her energy manipulation and going completely silent, sweat appeared on her forehead, the concentrating needed to keep the no more than finger thick tunnel system she was creating with super high pressure wind.

"Whitelight Pillar Formation!" Using the single hole that was right in front of her, Honoka pushed the entire force of several Illumination attacks into it. "Everyone cover yourself as well as you can!"

Karen took the cue and stood up, dispatching a wall of water right around where Urara's chains were, creating a sphere of chains, water, and Muse's barricades. With an ear deafening shrieking sound, the entire area around them burst with White's energy, the tunnels too small and not exiting anywhere to contain the energy. A temporary breather for both Lemonade and Muse.

"Again!" The ground was regenerating at an tremendous rate. Honoka had to wait for Windy to blast the area around them to bits. Aqua's water shield robbed the fragments of all their speed and served as filling for the holes Lemonade's chains left.

Mai had reached the base in record time, deploying her Wings of Heaven the entire time. Shouting as loud as she could, most of the Cures were already assembled near the one and only entrance to the base. "The system and this entire place undergoing a major change! We don't know in what way or form this area will change! Gather everyone that isn't already here and if necessary drag them to the garden!" The rooms were not safe. Nightmare had been able to penetrate them and there was also the issue of the mirrors still being there. The mirrors... Moonlight!

"Two physically aligned Cures to me and follow!" Taking charge of the situation the best she could, they should have thought of splitting the commanding team in half, leaving enough behind to actually issue orders.

Itsuki and Hibiki were quick to volunteer, trying to help in whatever way they could. "Peach, Passion, Beat, you three make sure that everyone gets to the garden! Don't forget the new girls!"

Not waiting for any confirmation, Mai continued and managed to grab Rouge, who was with Rhythm. "Go and get Dream. The contracts should be all terminated by now. Rhythm, you go and get Berry. She's likely still unconscious in her room."

"Rose!" Seeing the purple Cure approach from a distance together with Luminous, Mai waved her over. "Luminous, you go to the garden. Rose, I need you to help me." The group of four, three of them following Egret without bothering to ask any questions, headed to Mint's room, finding both Yuri and her reflection there. "Melody, get her reflection. I'll carry Moonlight."

"What do we do?" Itsuki realized why Egret needed one other person but what were she and Rose gonna do?

"Rip that mirror out of the ground and take it with us. If everything goes wrong, it could break during whatever the system is changing. And we still need it to get Moonlight back." Throwing Yuri over her shoulder, Mai was a little worried by how light she was. Melody was ready as well. "We're going to come back if you aren't there by the time we put them under Peach's care."

"Ready to do this?" Kurumi wasn't exactly the strongest Cure around but she was more physically able than most.

"She should have picked Bloom and Black to do this. They're the monsters. Ready." Grabbing the frame of the mirror, she felt a slight chill on her hands.

"That's not a nice thing to say. On three. One... two... three!" Both of them tried to pull as hard as they could when Kurumi finished counting but the object wouldn't budge at all. Gritting teeth, they kept trying until their muscles were screaming for them to stop.

"How on earth is this thing not moving?" Itsuki tried to shake it but that too didn't do anything.

"If we can't pull it off the ground we're just gonna take that too." Kurumi focused and even though she knew it would hurt like hell later, she used an incomplete ability. "Adamant Blade!" Creating a massive hand blade attached to the top of her right hand, Kurumi cut right through the stone ground. Thankfully it wasn't of the same material as the transmuted one yet.

"I guess demolishing Mint's room isn't that high a price in exchange from keeping Moonlight turning into a complete vegetable." Waiting for Rose to finish cutting through it, she noticed the painful expression on her face. "Are you okay?"

"This weapon isn't really ready for use yet. Maybe halfway complete. Done." Retracting the blade was more difficult than creating it. Screaming out in pain briefly, Kurumi bend over slightly. "I knew it would hurt... I'm fine. Lets get this thing out of there."

Now that they had essentially cut the mirror out of the room's frame, it was relatively easy to carry if too big for the door. "Sun petal pierce!" Hitting the entrance to the room with her full power, the resulting hole was more than big enough. They were just passing through it when Egret and Melody returned to them.

A quick glance to the entrance made clear that they were late. The stone was rapidly changing color. They wouldn't make it through if they kept the mirror but abandoning it meant to abandon Moonlight and any hope of returning her to normal.

"Shut up and do it!" They heard shouting from nearby, likely the entrance to the garden. "I know you can hear me Egret! You and everyone that's with you, get your asses over here as fast as you can! Lantern here and I will buy you some time!"

"Who da hell ya callin' Lantern you walking oven!" More yelling. "Don't lag behind old-timer! Solar Rain!"

"Who the hell are you calling old-timer?! Meltdown!"

There was no mistaking that rivalry. Sunny and Rouge were devastating the entrance, stalling the transmutation the best they could. "Move!" Using her ability wouldn't help. Instead, Mai shoved the injured Kurumi away. "Melody, you take over. I'm gonna check if someone was left behind! Wings of Heaven!"

How in the world did they get into a situation this bad? Almost flying through the corridor, she simply bombarded the doors with wind bullets, heading right into the dinner hall and from there into the shower, returning the way she came, not finding anyone at all.

"Egret, where the hell are you? This are getting hairy here!" Rin was shouting loudly, noticing a whirl of white passing right past her a second later. Stopping her ability, grabbing Sunny by her collar and retreating as fast as she could, she ignored the complaints of the other red Cure.

Focused in front of the flower hill, nineteen Cures were worried about what was happening. The three remaining were Egret, who was just coming to a stand still near the entrance, waiting for Rouge and Sunny. Intensely watching the wall, Mai noticed that it was changing colors but not shape.

It was too early to relax though. "Everyone but eight are accounted for." Love had quickly approached Egret. "What is going on? Everyone left earlier at dinner and now we're suddenly in a state of emergency?"

"The destruction Nightmare and Dream caused seems to have triggered some kind of reaction from this place. We're not entirely sure either but either way it doesn't hurt to be careful." Mai wasn't exactly someone who liked to take charge in situations like these, at least not with that many people.

"Love, Miki is coming to." Setsuna, Ellen right behind her, had finished checking on everyone. "Everyone is pretty worried about this."

Further back at the flower hill, the tall blue Cure was moaning in anguish. Her head felt like an oil tanker on fire. "Where... am I?" Miki felt grass tickle her all over her body. Her last thought from before she had fallen unconscious was coming back. "Yuri!" Trying to sit up abruptly, pain that was not from this world hit her.

"Don't rush, Berry." She couldn't quite place the voice.

"Is that Mint?" Still trying to sit up, someone pushed her down.

"Yes. You're probably really badly dehydrated so you shouldn't try to get up. If you're worried about Moonlight, she and her reflection are both here. Although one of them is unconscious and the other one... well you know."

Laying back down, Miki was disappointed. "She didn't go back to normal after you got Eclipse to her?"

"Blossom found you, Moonlight and her reflection. We only got back to our base a few hours ago at best. Everyone had to turn in their contracts with Dream and there were also five new Cures that had shown up."

"New Cures?" Miki wasn't sure if she was still in delirium or not.

"Rest for now. I'll see if we can get you something to drink." Leaving the tired Miki for a moment, not without whispering to Melody that she should keep a close eye on Berry.

"If only Karen was here..." Water from the pond was likely not going to be drinkable. Looking around, she found Marine with Blossom not too far away, curiously inspecting the changing walls. "Marine!" Calling for her, Komachi was either ignored or not heard. She didn't like shouting so she walked over to them.

"It turned from gray to this kind of reddish color. Is it clay now?" Erika knew a lot about colors and the walls looked exactly like a bright shade of of the naturally soft material.

Komachi had barely reached the blue Cure when a series of strong quake started to shake the room, forcing those that weren't sitting already on their knee or flat on the ground. Trying to balance herself, Komachi had to give up within seconds, falling flat on her butt. "What now?"

The quakes ended as suddenly as they had come and the air started to smell strongly of iron, just like what had happened when the mirrors had shown up. It was already feeling like the smell of impending doom. "Marine. Could you go over to the flower hill base and create some water for Berry? She looks badly dehydrated." Komachi wasn't sure how long they would be here and she was worried about Karen as well. Looking around, a few Cures, namely Peach, Passion, Beat and Egret, were running around trying to calm down people. What was going on?

"First the quiet call to arms, then the sudden emergency, now quakes... this place isn't very safe, is it?" Nao was complaining a little. For some reason, Akane had returned together with Rouge and a white Cure that was introduced as Rhythm, who seemed really attached to her.

"All our brains went out to check what is going on and it looks like they didn't manage to come back in time. I can't think of anything short of Nightmare being back in full power that could take them out so they're likely all fine." Rin wasn't entirely without worry. They had no idea whatsoever how this place really worked and that bugged her. A lot.

"We're not going to have to sleep here, right?" Miyuki was looking around and the thing that most closely resembled a bed was a wooden bench, and that was far from comfortable.

"Can't say. Could be worse. You could be sleeping forever." Rin wasn't in a good mod and someone being worried about where they slept kind of rubbed her in the wrong way.

"Rin! You don't need to scare them for no reason. Nobody is gonna die or get hurt." Kanade complained and held on to Rin's arm extra tightly.

"There aren't any... bugs here, right?" Looking at the grass around her legs, Nao suddenly remembered a very frightening incident with a very odd gadget created by one of their adversaries, making her feel a chill.

"Of course there are bugs. I assume. I haven't actually seen them. Don't tell me a grown woman is afraid of some insects." Rin felt Kanade tighten um her grasp, a clear sign she was going too far and becoming insulting again.

"Nao is our queen of fright!" Yayoi proclaimed with a big smile on her face, causing everyone else, except Nao, to laugh.

"Yayoi!" Blushing and trying to grab the yellow Cure, Nao fell flat on her face. Feeling grass on her face, she almost ricocheted off the ground like a rubber ball, hastily cleaning her face.

"If you're going to harass her just for having a little fear of bugs I'm seriously going to punch you." Akane didn't take kindly to that and while she had done her part in teasing Nao in the past, she didn't appreciate someone genuinely being mean about it.

"Yeah, yeah, don't get your panties in a knot. I realize I got a bit of an attitude problem at times. No hard feelings." A little annoyed, mostly with herself, Rin couldn't believe she let her mean streak get the better of her right away.

"You two saw what was happening, right?" Miyuki somehow doubted she should be sitting around doing nothing. "Why is nobody going out to look for the missing people?"

"If it was safe to be out there, we wouldn't be here like this." Rin looked around. "If you go out there and you're just a bit unlucky you could end up as pancake. That's why everyone is staying here. And I'm not heartless enough to tell you it's okay to go and check." Rin had her own way to show she cared, even though it was rather rough.

"So we just wait here for something to happen?" Yayoi didn't mind being in the garden was it was a really beautiful place and remained calm despite the earlier quakes. "How can this be here anyway?"

"We don't know either. At one point, people agreed to let Blossom wish for a garden and this is what we got. It's been here ever since."

"That... favor thing Nagisa was mentioning, right?" Miyuki wasn't terrible at memorizing things but she wasn't Reika and it had been a long day.

"Think of the battling like an arena. You go in, get paid for your effort and if you win, your team gets a nice bonus to boot. The arena docs take care of you afterwards and there is only one battle every day."

"Isn't that taking it a little to lightly? You're still fighting other Cures!" Miyuki didn't like the way Rouge was talking about their situation.

"When you really think about it, I'm not. I actually like the battles. It's a lot like sparring. You get serious, fight and then get healed. I think the worst I ever got was still feeling sore the next day. Can you really call that something you have to be worried about?"

"I'm kinda sore every time they assign students new topics for a thesis... Carrying all those books around is really tiring." Being a librarian wasn't just about knowing and loving books. There was a lot more to it and Miyuki was still getting used to that.

"What about injuries during battle? The way Black described it, you really go seriously at each other."

"Hm, that's hard to say really. You feel some level of pain but the battle drive is overwhelming it, mostly." Holding up her left hand, Rin created a fire claw. "If I slashed you with this, you would likely feel no more pain than when you hold a match too long and it burns your finger. Of course, if I did it now, you'd be on the ground. But the same is true for me."

"Getting beaten up and healed can't be good for your body." Nao was now wondering if there were any long time drawbacks to this whole thing.

"I'm actually surprised I'm still this fit. I play soccer professionally and I need to train pretty hard to keep in shape. But I haven't really noticed my performance dropping. On the contrary, I've gotten more used to using my Cure powers since I'm almost always in this form."

"At least you don't sleep as Cure." Kanade had been quiet so far, not really eager to get into much of a conversation with the new girls. After her outburst earlier, she just wanted some alone time with Rin.

"How do you know this isn't just a setup by some great new enemy?" Keeping up with the questions, Nao had carried around doubt about the legitimacy of this whole scenario.

"An enemy that keeps us entertained, fed, heals us and then repeats the process? I don't know what you were fighting or are fighting but I don't think that's really a likely thing. Now... don't go running out. I need a break." Getting up, Kanade still right by her side, Rin left together with the white Cure.

"They all have different views on how it all works, don't they?" Miyuki looked to Yayoi, who had been awfully quiet.

"I believe them though. They really have no reason to lie to us." The yellow Cure didn't trust people without reason, she had met too many people that just wanted part of her limited fame. "If she wanted to lie to us she wouldn't have been so crude."

"Well, you're right about that but... it doesn't sit well with me. Maybe it won't be as bad when I'm experiencing it." Nao was giving it the benefit of a doubt, for now.

"Nao, are you seriously going to try fighting other Cures?" Miyuki couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"If it's like they said, there isn't really any harm in it. I mean, feeling sore? I'm happy when I get all the crayon off my hands after work." Grinning, Nao remembered her work. It was fun dealing with the kids but also very tiring.

"That's true but... doesn't that sound too easy?" Miyuki sighed, not knowing if it was worth to continue to argue this. Even Nao seemed to be leaning towards just trying it now.

"Compared to what we were expecting, yes, but I don't think it'll be **easy** the way you think." Akane had been on the wait and see route from the start and that still hadn't changed. Leaning against Nao, the red Cure found her partner to be unusually tense. "Worried about Reika that much? You know how strong she is, Nao."

"Of course I'm worried. If you were gone I'd be worried just as much." Putting her arm around the shorter girls shoulder, she sighed. "Akane, do you know what they're doing with that huge mirror?" Nao had seen it a few times from the corner of her eyes but until Rouge had left, she hadn't paid any attention to it.

"They came running in with two identical looking Cures just before they brought that huge thing." Miyuki got up and tried to get a better look at it. "Yayoi, lets go and take a look."

"Sure. Letting Nao and Akane have some alone time is probably appreciate." Giggling, Yayoi enjoyed the red flush on Nao's face.

"Yayoi reads too many comics..." Akane sighed and squeezed Nao's hand. "Right?"

"You're not very convincing."

On the other side of the garden, just in front of the pond, Mai was wondering what exactly to do with Moonlight. The plan had been to somehow take her reflections memories and just that but how would they do that. Luckily for her, Dream had finally recovered enough to walk around.

"Are they okay?" Nozomi was still feeling a little dizzy but not bad enough to stay down and do nothing. She was likely the only one that had any idea how to use the mirror at this point.

"The reflection is unconscious and I'm having Black and Bloom keep an eye on her. I don't want another Poison running around. Moonlight is... well, unchanged from before. I'm not sure if she is just sleeping or unconscious or just has her eyes closed."

"What happened to her?" Nozomi knelt down next to the silver Cure, taking a close look. She seemed physically fine but... **only** physically.

"She was stuck in exile for a long time. You know what that place does to you. Just look at Rose, Passion and Beat. I can only think that whatever she was confronted with was so bad that her mind shut down. You asking me about her means you have **some** idea how to help her, right?"

"Not in the way I want to..." Being connected to Nightmare, fighting her and finally killing her... at the end, Nozomi had gained the same knowledge of the mirrors that her reflection had. Maybe it was because of the way she had died or that her corpse couldn't go back into the mirrors. But she also had the other memories of her. Memories she was working hard to forget.

"What do you mean?"

"I know what Nightmare knew but... Poison as well as the Dusk and Dawn group came up with a way to let a reflection take over the mind of an original, each of their own means. There is an additional way but... I can't say I'm not surprised they didn't even mention that."

"Dream, I'm grateful you got rid of Nightmare but we're not exactly in the best situation here and I don't want her to stay like this or die." Mai didn't know Moonlight very well but she was still one of them.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Miyuki and Yayoi had now shown up, interested in what the big mirror was all about. "Are they twins?" Looking at Moonlight and the other silver Cure, that was the first thought that came to mind.

"Not quite. One of those two is a leftover from the copies that used to run around the last few days. Some of them were quite vile but.. in general they were us but with our personality turned around." Mai found it difficult to explain the reflections in few words.

"I'm not sure I get it..." Miyuki walked over to Eclipse, greeting the first friend she made among the other Cures. "Nagisa!"

The black Cure had been talking with Saki about Mai and how she and Dream kept the discussion awfully quiet as if they were talking about something bad. Watching a passed out reflection that was likely to have a really carefree attitude seemed like a waste but then it was not a risk she wanted to take. "Miyuki. Got bored of just sitting around?"

"You could say that. Are you a friend of hers?" Pointing at the unconscious Eclipse. Noticing that Yayoi had vanished from her side, Miyuki looked around only to find her examining the big mirror.

"She's not really one of us." Saki answered for Nagisa. "I think you're better off not knowing what happened with all of them but if you really want to know I'll tell you."

In the meantime, Egret had finished listening to Dream, who had just explained the third method. "I'm not going to decide that. Her teammates should make that decision."

"What... decision?" Miki had, despite Komachi's warning and Melody trying to keep her down, gotten up and walked all the way over to where Yuri was.

Sighing, a little exhausted by how complicated the situation was getting, Mai figured that she might as well let others know if they were going to have Moonlight's team decide. "I'm going to get Blossom, Marine and... well I guess Sunshine just got here." Looking behind Berry, both Melody and Sunshine came running, seemingly arguing over something while doing so.

"Berry, you shouldn't walk around!" Hibiki was concerned about her condition. She had just looked away for a few minutes and then she was gone.

"And Yuri shouldn't still be laying around like a vegetable. If I'm going to rest somewhere I'm going to rest right next to her."

"Give it up Hibiki. I would do the same, no matter what condition I was in, if you were in Moonlight's place." Itsuki wondered why they didn't leave Berry with her to begin with.

"Dream, what decision was Egret talking about?" Miki wouldn't have a single calm minute without knowing that Yuri was going to be okay.

"I'll tell you when Blossom and Marine get here. Sunshine, you and those two are the rest of her team, right?"

"Yes, but why are you asking? Is she off so badly that we need to make some life or death decision?" The thought kind of frightened Itsuki. Yuri was a dear friend she had known for years now.

Nozomi didn't want to say anything else. Telling her team was going to be hard enough. But she didn't know any alternatives.

The moment Tsubomi and Erika came back with Mai, the two blue Cures started to glare at each other. They hadn't forgotten even though the point was a little moot right now. "What is **she** doing here?" Erika's maturity went a little out the window when someone accused her friends of things she didn't like.

"I have every right to be here as you. I saved Yuri's life." Miki showed no signs of keeping her own hostility towards Erika in check.

"So you can try to steal her from her real partner?" Trying to walk towards Berry, Erika was held back by Tsubomi. "Tsubomi, let go, I'm going to show her what it means to mess with my friends!"

"Stop acting like a child!" Tsubomi seldom got loud and shouted, even more rarely at Erika. "I know Momoka is your sister and she loves Yuri, but it's still not your decision to make if they belong or not and whether Yuri can go and date someone else."

Erika was about to shout back, thinking that Tsubomi was taking Berry's side for some reason, when Tsubomi started to shout at the tall blue Cure next. "And you. There is no need to act self-entitled about this! If Yuri decides to be with you, that is one thing, but if you brag about it and make the sister of the partner she will leave to do that feel miserable, you're going to have to deal with the consequences!"

Taking a deep breath, everyone was looking in amazement at Tsubomi, who just after her outburst realized that she had shouted at people in front of so many others. Her face turning slightly crimson, she looked to Egret. "What are we gonna decide?"

"Dream." Mai waved to her and Nozomi tried to find the right words before she started.

"Before I start... was there anything exceptionally traumatizing in her past? Something that would cause her to shut away her mind in fear of losing it? She was a long time in exile so..."

Looking at each other, the rest of her team started to have depressed expressions. "There are a handful. I'd usually not talk about this without her permission, but..." Itsuki started and looked to Erika, who knew Yuri slightly better.

"She had to kill someone that might have been her sister in another life. And she watched her father die right after that. Those are the same people that beat her up to the point of her not being able to become a Cure anymore and killed her fairy partner. Those are the worst parts I think."

"I feel bad for asking. I'm sorry. But this makes it clear that she is still somewhere inside of that body."

"So why is she not recovering? She isn't in exile anymore!" Miki didn't exactly have a long line of patience at the time.

"She shut herself away so tightly that the world around her doesn't matter anymore." For Itsuki, that was the logical conclusion.

"That's too sad... Poor Yuri..." Tsubomi really felt for her. Why did the bad streak for Yuri never end?

"I don't think any physical influence could get her out of there. It's like a coma. And the only way to get her out of there I know might have some really serious side effects. She might not be the same person anymore when she wakes up."

"You're not going to tell us you want to use her reflection to take over her body, right?" Itsuki was worried that the conversation was heading straight to that conclusion. But before anyone else could react, Dream quickly denied it.

"No. We will use put both of them into their mirror. Reflections are really just part of us and the mirror connects us. With both of them in there, Eclipse should become part of Moonlight. The connection will wake up Moonlight, I'm certain of that. What remains is to see if Moonlight rejects whatever Eclipse's personality is or..."

"Or what? She turns into a psychotic murderer? That's not a solution!" Miki walked up to Dream and grabbed her by her collar. "There has to be a way without that risk!"

"Calm down Berry. You two, too." Itsuki looked at Erika and Tsubomi, both of them looking rather upset. "Think about it. Yuri was in exile when Nightmare showed up. And we didn't see Eclipse anywhere during the whole thing. Erika, she wasn't at the other base, right?"

"If she was, nobody knew. I don't remember hearing her name before now." Being the only that had experienced the situation inside the enemy camp, Erika had already a good idea what Eclipse had to be like. "If she was made like all the other reflections, she's the complete opposite of Yuri. Easygoing, without a care in the world, an airhead."

"That is what I believe, too. If she has been unconscious the entire time, her personality would have had no chance to change. That means she would still be like that."

"I prefer Yuri levelheaded and calm." Miki's image of what Marine described was basically that of Marine. A lot taller but otherwise the same. She didn't like that.

"This isn't about preferences. It will be up to Yuri and Eclipse what remains. In the worst case, we'll have someone very carefree at our hands. I called you three because I think you know her best and it should be your decision. I just... can't think of anything else that would get her to come out of her shell."

"A kiss of true love!" Miyuki had joined up back with the larger group and Yayoi, curious of what was happening.

Marine almost lost her composure hearing that, knowing Berry would jump at it right away. But despite her expectations, the tall blue Cure didn't say anything. "The only one that would apply to isn't here." Erika flinched when she felt Tsubomi pinch her, clearly having noticed that the short Cure worded it as offensively as she could.

"Miyuki, this isn't fairy tales... I think you shouldn't say those things so easily." Whispering to her friend, Yayoi had long figured out that there was very little room for careless statements in this discussion, the reason she had been so quiet.

"I'm in favor of trying to get Yuri back together. Even if she ends up as Eclipse or with part of her personality, that is better than having an empty shell around." Itsuki dared to say that out loud, knowing that there would be likely some resistance from Erika.

"I think so too. To be honest... I think Yuri could really use a bit more happiness in her life. If she was more carefree..."

Erika didn't say anything, already outvoted. She felt for her sister, but Momoka would be devastated if Yuri didn't come back or remained in a coma. If she came back with a changed personality, she was at least still there and they could work on it.

"How are you going to get them into the mirror? Don't tell me you want to kill them to do that!" Miki wouldn't stand by and let that happen.

"There is no need for that. If both sides look into the mirror at once, the reflection can pass through it and even pull others in. But neither side can tell when the other one is looking so they would have to constantly push against it and try to enter."

"Explains why they haven't used it to attack us." Itsuki was surprised that Dream knew so much about it. "How do you know about all of this? Because of the contracts it is clear you're Dream but..."

"Nightmare's memories and knowledge was forced on me when I killed her." Nozomi turned away slightly saying that, everyone but Miyuki and Yayoi quite aware of the burden that must be.

"They need to be on opposing sides. Sunshine, can you carry Moonlight? I'll take Eclipse." Dream had heard no opposition to the plan, which might very well be their only shot at getting Moonlight back to normal or at least something like normal.

Grabbing the reflection under her arms, Dream lifted her up. It was similar to holding a test dummy if only much lighter. Standing in front of the mirror, Nozomi waited for Itsuki to do her part. "Slowly move her towards it. If you see her starting to go through the glass, just shove her in. There is no gravity or anything in there, she won't get hurt."

Eclipse's hair was the first thing to pass through the glass, looking almost as if the mirror was an open gateway to another world. Giving her one decisive push, Nozomi watched her float inside the object, slowly rotating around her own axis. "Now we... wait." Staggering a little, still feeling the exhaustion, Nozomi managed to get a hold of herself before any of the others had to catch her. The situation didn't allow them to do much.

=== Dissonance ===

Smashing a hole into the sphere with a brutal kick, Reika didn't bother to hesitate and threw Pine right out, jumping after her, gasping for air the second she got away. The far beyond zero temperature inside the sphere was the large drawback to that technique. Pine had lost consciousness a few seconds ago and she had been close.

Creating a small glowing crystal, Reika looked around. They were surrounded by solid... rock? Or something kind of reddish material that closely resembled it. It would be tough to get through there. "Pine!" Shouting and hitting both her cheeks in turns, Reika tried to wake her up. It took a few tries before Inori reacted.

"I thought I was a goner..." Greedily sucking up air, she regained her senses quickly. "Where are we?"

"That is impossible to say for certain. My sphere protected us from being crushed but we got swept away by the expanding structure."

Getting up and looking at the room they were in, Inori didn't feel very optimistic. Creating her diamond blades, she tried to cut through the material, without success. "It's a lot sturdier than the old one." Seeing that Beauty's crystal was about to go out, Inori created a small sphere of energy, quietly floating in front of her, enough to keep the space dimly lit.

"Let me try." Walking along the wall, Reika tried to find a point that was thinner than others but she had to settle for just going by her gut feeling. "Stay away from me as far as you can. It's about to get quite cold." Focusing, Reika knew that few materials remained sturdy when cooled down to several dozen degree. "Zero Celsius, Frost Brand."

Inori almost felt like retreating back into the ice sphere. From the spot Beauty was touching with her hand emitted an ice cold wind. It wasn't comparable to the air-tight freezing inside the sphere but it was considerably uncomfortable. She knew exactly what Beauty was doing. If it was cooled down far enough and then hit by a strong impact, chances were it would shatter.

"Thank you for saving me."

"I would die before abandoning one of my own."

"Please don't talk about dying. At least not while we're in the middle of nowhere."

"This is as far as I can cool it down. I need to keep the Frost Brand active so please hit it with everything you have." Trusting in Pine, Reika stepped aside without letting go of the wall.

"I'll show you that I'm no burden to you. I don't like using this technique but it's practically made for this. Diamond Pulse!" Hitting the frozen wall with what looked like a weak punch, Beauty seemed to notice that there was a noticeable amount of energy manipulation involved.

With a horrifying sound, enormous cracks appeared in the frozen wall. A second hit and several cubic meters of the foreign material shattered, leaving a fine ice dust in the air. "I know you are sending a type of energy into the structure, but how do you control it's dissipation from there?"

"Imagine the roots of a flower. The impact zone is where all the roots converge and the stem of the flower leaves the earth. I just inject the energy and replace the matter in it's place. It's a brutal technique to cause inside damage to something. There is a big drawback to it though." Moving her fingers and massaging her own hand, Inori believed she didn't need to explain it.

"The energy has to travel through your arm first and at the point it travels through your hand it is already slightly destructive."

"It doesn't cause nerve damage but it really strains muscles. But I can keep going. We need to get out of here."

"I agree."

=== Dissonance ===

"I wonder if we're going to run out of air or energy first." Urara and the rest of the vanguard, minus Beauty and Pine, were stuck just like they were. Windy and White, as well as Aqua and Bright, were working to get back into the direction of the base. They couldn't afford to worry about saving Beauty and Pine when they were in danger themselves. "Ako, can't you use whatever Silence used to blast through this?" Urara herself was busy keeping the place lit. Chains were spanning all across the ceiling and parts of the ground.

"If you want me to **die**, sure."

"That's a no the size of the fucking ocean then. I hate being useless." Looking to White, who was taking a break, the older Cure didn't look good. "White, you're doing okay?"

"It takes a lot out of me to keep doing this... Karen, how are you holding up?" While her own combination worked with extremely thin tunnels and energy bursts to expand their breathing room, Karen and Bright weakened the material with constant water exposure and water pressure drilling and massive physical force.

"About to take a break myself. Who knows how many tons of material we need to go through before we get back to the base. I just hope everyone is fine." Extremely worried about Komachi, she found it hard to concentrate on what she was doing.

"How many meters have we passed now?" Looking back, it didn't seem like much.

"About twenty. It's more than it looks. That still leaves a lot more to go. I didn't pay much attention to it when we came here but we must have walked at least a kilometer."

"So fifty times what we got past, minimum. Excuse me if I don't sound optimistic enough." Urara was thankful that was with Ako at least. Bright and Windy may count as partners but both White and Karen didn't have theirs with them. She could imagine well how worried they must have been.

"What happened anyway? Did this whole place just go berserk?" Keeping the conversation going she tried to focus it on something that was not the near endless way ahead.

"Your guess really is as good as mine as this point. Considering Dream and Nightmare blew a hole the size easily the size of a stadium in the middle of this complex, could be anything." Honoka wasn't really in any mood to be speculative about what had hit them.

"It's likely that whatever is running this place restored functionality the only way it could." Ako helped out a little, knowing what Urara was doing.

"I don't think it is just restoring things. There was no need to change gray rocks into red rocks for that. I think they saw us screwing with everything and increased security. And we just happened to get stuck here." Urara wasn't entirely sure about that but it was the best guess she had.

"You think everyone getting back to the base triggered it, thinking that we wouldn't leave, and then we did leave and got caught in it? It makes sense but... what did it change?" Honoka found herself distracted from thinking about Nagisa now, her scientific curiosity piqued.

"We'll know when we get out. I sure hope we still get free showers and healthcare. I'd rather not walk around like a mummy." Lowering her voice and getting closer to Ako, who sat right next to her, Urara figured that there were some things she shouldn't say out too loud right now. "It would be better if we met up with, whats her name, and Pine. The new one controls ice, that should be really damn useful."

"But going in the other direction means it'll take away their drive of going towards their partners. You can't say tell them that." Ako understood that Urara wasn't as careless and hardhearted as she led others to believe. "Do you think they're still alive? By the way, her name is Beauty."

"I hope so. We made it through all of Poison's and Nightmare's bullshit so it would really suck if someone got killed now. Pine isn't really that great a defensive fighter if I remember correctly. Lets hope that... what, are you serious? Happy and Beauty? What are the names of the rest?"

"I don't know and now is not the time to make fun of their names. And don't think I forgot about you making fun of Happy, **Fanta**."

"Give me a break." Looking at Windy's back, she and White were back at work, demolishing another set of several meters of wall. The main issue was that it didn't create more air. It just dispersed the existing one. "Stop! If you keep going like this, we're going to run out of air sooner than later. We need to find a room or something like that and break through there. At least we'll have room to breathe."

"And how do you suppose we do that?" The thinning air was starting to affect Honoka. Of course she noticed that but knowing about it didn't make it any better.

"I think our problem just solved itself. Can't you feel this? It's getting really cold!" Ako got up and backed away from the direction they had come from as far as she could. "One thing none of us thought of... what if there are reflections of the new girls on the loose?"

"Great work Ako, now I'm genuinely about to just say screw all of this." The idea wasn't that far-fetched. "If that isn't Beauty **and** Pine freezing that wall back there, I'm going to choke whatever does."

"Be my guest, I've had enough of reflections for the rest of my life." Honoka vividly remembered being killed by one.

With a horrible creaking sound, the most of the wall collapsed. "There is a tunnel beyond. Can you see anyone, Pine?" Hearing that, Urara relaxed only enough to still be on guard but no longer paranoid.

A loud crash and part of the wall collapsed under Inori's punch. "We found them!" Looking quite relieved, Inori immediately sunk to her knees, exhausted. "Thank god. I don't know if I could have gone on for much longer." Seeing that Lemonade's chains were keeping the area lit, she let her sphere disperse.

Reika stepped through the hole right after that, seeing the others. "I see you all had the same idea. Are any of you injured?" Quite tired herself, Reika walked only slowly, helping Pine up. The other six quickly approached the two, Urara and Ako passing them and checking the tunnel they had left.

"I can't even see the end of it. How far did you go?" Urara didn't like to admit it but she was very impressed by the distance.

"A rough estimate would be about four or five hundred meters. I am excluding the initial room in that estimate." Turning to White and the others, Reika realized how bad the air was. "We might need to hurry with progressing. The air is getting very thin and we did not find any air pockets during our progress."

Time was running.

=== Dissonance ===

Having convinced Mai and Dream to send out a recon group,they had picked the fastest runners. Rin and Nao stood side by side near the entrance of the garden, spying into the darkness beyond. While Akane was very good at energy manipulation and attacking, in speed she clearly lost to Rin. "So why exactly is it pitch black just one step out this door? You know, since there is some kind of light inside here, shouldn't there also be some in the hallway?" Nao wasn't very good with places like this. Not directly afraid of it, but the things she was afraid of did tend to lurk right there.

"I'm more worried about the whole thing flattening us like pancakes." Using her power to create a blazing flame in the palm of her hand, she acted as vanguard. It took just one step and she was already being saved by Nao's attention to detail. Trying to step where there was nothing, Rin hadn't realized that the old hallway was replaced by a stairway. If not for the green Cure grabbing her arm and holding her back, she would have fallen down. "Uh... thanks. That would have hurt."

"Are we seriously gonna go down there?" The prospect of wandering around in an unknown place with god knows what possibly lurking in the dark, Nao wasn't so eager to go.

"Stop being a wimp and follow me." Going further down, the stairway was rather narrow, maybe enough for two people to walk next to each other, ending in a small balcony like platform that led to a second stairway. This repeated itself twice more for a total of four stairs. By the time they finally reached flat ground again and found another gate, Nao was rather nervous, unconsciously sticking to Rouge as close as she could.

Spying didn't help for it was all completely dark. Where had the convenient lighting from before gone? "I'm gonna put some lights on. Stand back. Blaze Sphere!" Throwing numerous small fiery spheres into the distance, they could see now. The hallway was completely different from before. To their left was another gate that led to more stairs, and the hallway in **yet** **another** gate, two rooms to one side and two to the other.

Walking up to the doors, they were made of fine wood, almost as if they were luxury goods. The handle to open it was smooth metal. But no matter how hard she tried, the handle didn't budge at all. "Are the doors on your side opening?" Looking over her shoulder, she saw an open door and no March so she took that as a yes.

Following her, she didn't need much light to recognize what a bathroom was. And it was quite a high class one. Not just a big shower, a sink, a toilet, a small mirror at the wall and an enormous bathtub, easily big enough for two people, there was also some weird kind of machine in the back. Getting closer to it, Rin felt that it was giving off heat. A heater! It was some kind of high class bath, completely different from the showers they had.

"Thinking of taking a dip?" Seeing March looking at the bathtub with big eyes, the green Cure instantly stepped away.

"Not now." Leaving, thankful that Rouge couldn't see her nervous face in the dim light, Nao went into the next room. It was exactly the same thing. Two baths for four rooms apparently. "It's the same in here!" Shouting, Nao figured that if bathtubs was the only thing they were gonna find, it wasn't scary at all.

"I'm going downstairs, taking the stairs at the back end." Not waiting for any answer, Rin took a few steps, only to hear March catch up with her in a frenzy. "I'm not in the mood to make fun of you for being afraid alone but if you're going to stick with me, at least stay with me all the time."

"I'm not afrai-" Nao almost shrieked when Rin suddenly put out her flames. "Okay, I might be a little bad with ghosts and stuff that lurks in dark places, so turn the light back on." She didn't like Rouge.

Doing so and walking further down without any other comment, Rin repeated the process from earlier, spreading fire all over the place. "Now it's eight rooms, four on each side. And more stairs. Go check if the stairs at the other end lead up to where we came from. I'm going to check the rooms." The doors were slightly different, not quite as well made. She couldn't say anything about the inside since the doors refused to budge. Already suspecting another bathroom, Rin was proven right.

It was still similar to the ones from above but everything was smaller. The shower was still larger than the ones they had used before and there was a normally sized bathtub, but there was no heater. Sink, mirror and toilet were present and looked largely the same.

"The stairs lead exactly to where we came from." Nao had come back from scouting and was quite relieved to find no monsters or anything alive even."

"I'm willing to bet we'll find more rooms and bathrooms downstairs, complete with another set of stairs down." Not even bothering to check the second room, it was almost guaranteed the same anyway, Rin grabbed March by her hand and pulled her along. Quickly descending the stairs, Rin was half off.

"Two and one, and this time they're pretty far apart. Bigger ones? No stairs, though. Gateways instead. Wanna check the one room there or the gateways?" Not even bothering to think about opening the doors on the left, the side where all the closed rooms above were, Rin focused on mapping out this place.

"Taking the room." Deciding within a heartbeat, Nao wasn't thrilled to check out pitch black gateways.

"See you in a bit. If I don't come back, just run."

"Don't say things like that!" That didn't help making Nao feel any more secure. The few flame spheres Rouge had left on the ground were no brighter than a small campfire each so it was a continuous courage test for Nao.

Rin ignored her complaint and found that one gateway lead in a room with three more. And she felt a little ridiculed just looking around. The not quite familiar stone plate was there, all three of them, spread out. The gateway behind her led back to the rooms. To her right rested one of the smaller stone plates, directly on top of a large black door.

The door in the gateway ahead was red, showing the largest stone plate. To her left was a blue door. None of the stone plates had any carvings on them. But she did notice that there were more than before, fifteen flat. "Guess Lantern and the others were expected after all."

Unable to make any of the doors budge at all, Rin returned to where she had left March, who just left the one of the doors to the right. "It's a shower room. Looks the same as the one everyone was racing for earlier. It's smaller, only two cabins, but it's the same, I can tell."

"So we got poor people bathrooms, middle class bathrooms and rich people bathrooms, conveniently all on different levels. I refuse to believe some mighty entity designed this. That is clearly someone's doing that understands people. Can't say I don't **like** it though."

"What about the gateway on the other end?" Nao pointed to the far end in front of her.

"Let's go." Pushing March in front of her, Rin already had a pretty good guess what was waiting for them.

"Should have bet on it. Three gateways. Left one is the dinner room plus kitchen, middle goes straight into nirvana, that means the labyrinth of rooms, and right... actually I have no idea." Right was the only side that led up some stairs. Following them, they walked at least five minutes before they both suspected an infinite stairway and a trap. Pushing ahead just a little more they finally emerged into what looked like a large dome, the whole place dimly lit by a very faintly yellow energy barrier cutting the dome in half. "I have no idea what this is for but we'll find out eventually. With all this walking around I think it's pretty safe to say we're out of trouble."

=== Dissonance ===

"Thank god we... found this room..." Urara was not the only one that was breathing hard. Luck was on their side. If not for that, they might have suffocated under the limitless tons of stone. The room wasn't sealed and seemingly connected to other places but it was difficult to tell without making someone go and look. "Everyone alive?"

"I am managing." Reika had overexerted herself on the last bit, hoping for a miracle. Ten minutes more and they might have been done for.

Nobody else bothered to answer, leaned against big rocks or pillars. A full five minutes passed in absolute silence, only huffing and puffing to be heard.

"This room... it should connect to the labyrinth. There should be a way to the base." Honoka was still recovering but forced herself up. She needed to see Nagisa, know that she was okay.

"We collapsed the entry point to the labyrinth. But I suppose we'll get through there quick enough with Beauty." Karen was impressed by her power.

"We don't know what the situation will be like at the base. Lemonade, can you take care of marking our trail?" Michiru was hoping that Mai and Saki were fine. She didn't know what to do if something had happened to them.

"If it's just that. Let's stop standing around and get going. We don't need to run so we can catch up on breathing on the way." Pulling Ako from her improvised bench, a broken pillar, Urara walked the back of the room where several sets of stairs converged.

Creating a never ending chain as she went on, the name labyrinth really was fitting. An endless array of rooms, hallways and stairs, much like what Rin and Marine must have seen when they did the first recon run two weeks ago. "Anyone else thinking that there has got to be some purpose to all of this?"

"From what Pine has told me, there seems to be a system in place that splits the present Cures into two equal teams, is that correct?" Reika had never let go of speaking incredibly formally and almost stoic when the topic was a serious affair.

"You sound like a robot. But yeah, that's right. We get split into two teams and duke it out in battles." Urara wasn't a fan of stoic types. Not purely stoic types that was.

"I suspect that our arrival has thrown this system in disarray. Out number has increased and so it will need to adjust. Could that not be the reason it underwent such a dramatic transmutation?" Reika looked around as she spoke, but there really was nothing to see.

"Sound theory. But there are some issues that prevent it from making it more than just a theory. For one, we are still together. We haven't been split up." Kaoru kept the theory in mind, considering that it was the closest thing to an explanation they had.

"Great job jinxing us." Urara wasn't in the best mood and that really started to show.

"There is no such thing as a jinx." Reika didn't believe in ghosts, especially not after a very annoying episode back when she was in middle school.

"Keep telling yourself that. And maybe you'll want to stop believing in magic too." Urara was hit hard on the back of her head. "Seriously, can you stop hitting me?"

"If you stop venting your bad mood on people that aren't in the least responsible and on top of that saved your life." Ako didn't like the yellow Cure when she was like this. It was the bottom of the barrel of her personality.

Unable to argue with that, Urara shut up and walked in silence. Karen was surprised that the tall black Cure had so much influence over her. Was it a unique type of charm? Or just physical attraction? Muse was quite good looking after all. But there was something bugging her. She couldn't quite place her finger on it, but there was something odd about Muse. But there were more important things to worry about.

"Down there." They had just passed a narrow hallway with multiple openings in the wall, both sides leading into complete darkness and potentially bottomless pits. Honoka had noticed the light source far in the distance, way below them. "I think it's worth the risk and go down there to check."

"Feels like I'm turning into public transportation. One lift, coming right up." Getting to the edge, Urara was overtaken by Reika, who simply created her unique road and started to slide down at breakneck speed. "I'm so pissed off right now." Lowering the chain, Urara contemplated just throwing one at Beauty, but Ako would be seriously pissed at her, so that wasn't really a good idea.

Using one of the walls between the openings as anchor, Urara proved that the chain was a secure way to get down by going ahead. "Goes down pretty damn far!" Shouting as loud as she could, she couldn't even see the upper most point where the chain vanished. "Damn, over fifty meters minimum. Pity Ako doesn't wear a skirt. This position..."

"Can you stop being fixated on my butt until we're somewhere private?" Trusting her partner, Ako had followed her right away instead of waiting for confirmation.

"I'll think about it." Seeing Ako's glare, Urara grinned. "Sorry, I don't think I'll be able to do it. It's too tempting." Dodging a purposely badly aimed slap, she grabbed her partners arm and pulled her back a few steps, just far enough for them to vanish in the dark, away from the chains dim light. "They can't see us and they're gonna be down here in a bit. Doesn't that excite you?"

Ako knew that denying it, lying, wasn't going to just go unnoticed but she still couldn't admit being a bit thrilled by the prospect of being found kissing or worse. "You know the answer to that."

Pulling her around, knowing exactly how much taller Ako was, the yellow Cure placed a fierce kiss on the girls lips. It lasted a few seconds before the black Cure resisted and pushed her away. It was impossible to tell but she just knew that Ako was blushing. "Stop making me repeat myself." Her voice was clearly a little shaken, as if she really had to convince herself that what she was saying was something she really meant.

A smug grin on her face, Urara licked over her lips. "Thanks for the meal." It was high time she got rid of her bad mood. And there was no better method than this.

"Are you some kind of harassment sucking vampire now?" Ako couldn't tell if she was playing along with it because she knew Urara was trying to improve her mood or if she was just doing it out of habit now.

Both of them stopped talking when White jumped down the last few meters. Using a chain to get down was safer than just jumping. Regardless of how strong they were, landing in some kind of abysmal pit wasn't going to be good for them and a big waste of time.

"The light is coming from that direction."

=== Dissonance ===

Rin and Nao had returned to the garden, telling everyone that it was safe outside. The complex and the entire base had changed drastically, rooms were locked and there was a mysterious dome connected to it now.

Next to the mirror that contained both Eclipse and Moonlight, both her team and Berry refused to budge even one centimeter. Erika was curious about the new base but no amount of curiosity would win over the friendship that connected her to Yuri.

Nozomi was nearby as well, staying there just in case something happened. Even though she was there for that purpose, it was incredibly difficult to say if she could even do anything if something really did happen. She knew what Nightmare had known but even the reflections had no idea what could happen in this scenario.

"Why do you meddle in the relationship Yuri has with my sister?" Erika couldn't stand letting things go unresolved. Ignoring the stern look on Tsubomi's face, Erika tried to be as peaceful as she could be, given the circumstances.

"Do you have any idea how lucky you are to find someone that matches you? Most people have to settle for less, some for much less. I can't do that, it's not in my character. And Yuri matches me."

"Look at you talking like you know everything about her. Yuri loves Momoka. Does she love you?"

"She loves someone who is going to get really hurt if she is ever attacked by an enemy of us Cures. You and Yuri can take a hit to the face from someone that breaks brick walls like they're made of cardboard. Can your sister?"

"Is that was this is all about? Her being worried about pulling Momoka into some sort of fight?" Erika was a little puzzled. The worry wasn't baseless but still...

"She lost her father, her fairy and even being a Cure for a time. You just told that Dream. It's really not that unusual for someone like that to worry about suffering even more losses."

"Yuri was often worried about her mother, even before she returned to being a Cure..." Tsubomi tried to keep her voice down, so only Erika could hear it.

"I know that!" Unintentionally shouting at her partner, Erika had problems keeping her temper in check. It had taken her time to really get along with Momoka and appreciate her as a loving sister. She didn't want her heart broken. "So what if she's worried about that! She can just protect her, and we're there too!"

"Who is there right now? Who protects her right now? Who guarantees you there isn't an enemy waiting for a moment to lay his hands on her? Can you protect her around the clock? What if the enemy is stronger than Yuri?"

Erika opened her mouth, closed it and opened it again but no words came out. Berry was making some valid points and she hated not being able to argue them. "That still doesn't mean you should steal Yuri away from Momoka!"

"Look, I understand if you hate me for taking Yuri away from your sister, but that isn't going to make me stop. For the first time I'm thinking about something that isn't my work more than anything else."

"I didn't take you for someone to believe in love at first sight."

"Who said anything about that? I'm not arrogant enough to think I know enough about her to say I love her. She's attractive, elegant, graceful, so she's physically desirable but that isn't enough for love. What I want is to be with her so I can love someone. Because I don't think I'm ever going to find someone like her again." Miki wasn't going to give up. This wasn't the first time there were big obstacles in her way. And she always pulled through.

"That sure is selfish of you, ruining the happiness of two others for your own."

"Your sister may be happy but what about Yuri? She might love her, so much even that she wants to give up her own happiness for a time to protect her. Look around you and tell me, how many of us Cures are in relationships with normal people? I can't think of anyone but Yuri and it shows. She is dealing with a lot. What do you think she feels like when she has to lie to your sister about where she was whenever she does something as Moonlight? I can't imagine it's a nice feeling. Trying to keep them together with considering what Yuri is really feeling isn't any less selfish!"

Glaring at each other and seemingly about to have a go at it, Tsubomi defused the situation by holding up her hand. "That's enough you two. It's up to Yuri in the end, right? Both of you have to accept whatever she decides."

"Tsubomi!" Erika was surprised that her partner wouldn't support her cause.

"Erika, I love you but I think you're being a bit overprotective of Momoka. She's an adult. We all are. Even if Yuri won't be with her anymore doesn't mean she'll be depressed and sad forever."

Lowering her head and facing the ground, Erika resolved herself to try and accept what would happen. Some things couldn't be solved by just effort and talent. "I give up. Just don't expect me to be all friendly with you if Yuri decides to date you!" Sticking out her tongue and getting up, Erika needed some time to cool off. Tsubomi quickly followed her, but not without bowing to Berry once.

"She just really loves her sister. She'll stop being hostile at some point, she isn't the type to hold grudges." Itsuki had been quiet for the entire discussion, not wanting to meddle in what looked like a rather personal argument.

"I would have preferred Yuri not to have a girlfriend already. It would save all of us a lot of trouble. It doesn't feel good taking Yuri from Marine's sister but I think she would have made that decision even without me eventually. Just don't tell her that."

"How did you grab Eclipse in all that chaos anyway?" Itsuki had yet not understood how Berry had managed that.

"When everything went to hell during Nightmare's attack I somehow managed to get away with Yuri. Maybe it was luck or maybe I was subconsciously drawn there but I ran right across Eclipse some distance away from the base. I understand why they left her there, probably under attack. It was pretty difficult to get away carrying both of them. They're as tall as I am after all."

"If you hadn't found her, she would've been absorbed by Nightmare. Did you fight off all the roots that came for her?"

"When I ran into a dead end with the roots right behind me, I just put them in the corner and destroyed those tentacles as many times as I had to. I don't know how many I destroyed but I knew I wouldn't last forever. So I destroyed part of the ceiling, grabbed them and hid. I don't know if it was luck or Dream but the roots stopped trying to get to her."

"I wonder how long she is going to be like that?" Hibiki felt the conversation go into a rather gloomy direction but she didn't quite know how to get it away from that. The situation was gloomy after all.

As if it was a command for Yuri to come out, an enormous crack sprung through the mirror, top to bottom, a screeching noise so loud and intense that it forced them on the ground, desperately trying to shield their ears. The air smelled of molten iron and fire, different to earlier and when the mirrors had first shown up.

"What the hell?!" Miki couldn't move, the noise reaching all the way to her core, shaking her mind and body. She had never experienced pain quite like that. The sound was ringing inside her head, her eyes starting to turn read. That wasn't just any noise, it was physically damaging her.

A second crack appeared and the noise skipped for half a second, only to return with double the force and added physical backlash. The mirror was now emitting an almost storm like wind, pushing the Cures away. The entire garden was shaken by the wind, trees bending, grass pushed to the ground, the water shaking and the Cures unable to stay even close to the object.

Several smaller cracks followed, the screeching noise turning into a horrible wail of terror, something that seemed to come straight out of a gate to the worst hell they could imagine. Silence that was no more real than the sudden silence a big bomb caused reached through the garden, vanquishing the wail for no more than a second.

With one last horrendous, inhuman noise that lasted several seconds, the mirror burst into thousands of shards violently enough to spread the glass more than a dozen meters in every direction, Moonlight or Eclipse falling out of the space in-between, weak but conscious, scratches and small cuts all over her arms and legs.

Miki could barely see through the red haze her eyes were showing her, but she recognized Yuri just about twenty meters away. Trying to get up was completely futile, her body refusing to do anything that resembled movement. "Yuri..."

Standing only for a brief moment, the silver Cure fell to her knees, unable to keep standing. She wasn't injured that badly physically but extremely exhausted. "My head..." Grabbing her forehead, Yuri's expression was quite a painful one. "What... what happened?"

"Yuri... it's you, right?" Miki was dragged herself over, holding her arm and limping a little. Forcing herself to walk, no matter how slowly, and ignore the dangerous warnings her muscles were trying to give, she still couldn't see very well through the red haze.

"Miki?" She was completely disorientated. "Where... am I? When is this? I..." Remembering the last thing from before her mind had sealed itself away out of fear, her eyes opened wide and she covered on the ground. For the blue Cure it was a shocking thing to see the proud and strong Yuri act like that. "No... I didn't kill them... I didn't kill them..." Repeating those four words over and over, she would not stop even when Miki knelt down next to her, grabbing and then holding her.

When shaking and talking did not work, Miki collected the last bit of strength she had left and slapped Yuri. The shock of suddenly being hit was enough to snap her out of her lingering delusion. "Miki?" It was always as if her mind was reset to the state of a minute ago. "How did I... get here?"

Fainting right after she asked that, Yuri still seemed far from fine. But she had recognized her. It was definitely not Eclipse. Relieved, the adrenaline faded and so did her consciousness. The red haze thickened and she passed out just sitting there, slowly rocking from one side to the other.

=== Dissonance ===

"See, I told you about jinxes." Urara slammed her fist against the energy barrier. They had come out in a huge dome. It was an empty space, like a upturned bowl with nothing inside. And someone shoved a large board inside the middle.

"Don't be ridiculous. We just have to go around or break through one of the walls." Kaoru wouldn't concede on the existence of something like jinxes from one coincidence.

"And collapse the whole dome. You heard it from me first." Urara shrugged and pointed at a few random spots at the walls. "Let's blast through there and there and there. To make sure we'll collapse the whole thing in one go."

Kaoru was really starting to feel pissed off now. And to make it even worse, doubt that it really would happen now, after that stupid woman said so, was popping up in the back of her mind. "So what would you have us do?"

"To use your ears." Pointing over her shoulder, towards the other side of the barrier, Urara hadn't missed it. The noise of people talking in the distance and running around. It was no more than faint echos and if not specifically looking for that, it was too easy to miss. "The others are on the other side of this thing."

"I am surprised you managed to notice that. I am trying to hear them and I still cannot make out anything out of the ordinary." Reika's hearing wasn't bad by any means but it was not exceptional either.

Only Ako and Karen seemed to be able to hear the noises, both of them giving each other a meaningful look. They knew Urara well enough to realize that she would use this to brag for a while. "So how do we get over there?"

"The easy way. We go back to where we came from. It's easy to break a couple walls and come out on the other side." Sometimes simple solutions were best. Judging by the distance they traveled and the directions they took they walked past the dome and almost around it from where they had started.

"It's worth a try. In the worst case scenario we just lose time." Inori was with Lemonade this time. Forcefully breaking through in a place like this should be their last resort.

"Speak of the devil, someone is coming up." Impatiently waiting for whoever was ascending the stairs to reach the top, Urara got as close to the barrier as she could.

Sighing the moment she saw who it was, Urara was at least thankful that Ako wasn't crazy in the same way as Rhythm. That Marine would show up wasn't exactly optimal. "Look who's here." Trying to be as nonchalant as possible, Urara enjoyed the surprised look on Erika's face.

"How did you get over there?"

"That's the first thing you ask? No 'you're alright!' or 'Thank god you're all okay'?" A little disappointed that her reaction, the situation got more bothersome when Blossom showed up as well, apparently chasing after her partner.

"I knew you would be alright. Can't think of anything but another Nightmare that would take you all down."

"Erika, wait for... everyone! You're alright!" Tsubomi didn't quite understand why Urara started laughing and several others showed at least smiles, one or two giggling. "What, what, did I say something weird?"

"No, just... anyway, I'm going out on a limb here and say you came here through the labyrinth, right?"

"Miss. The base was completely remodeled and that stairway connects right to the lowest floor. I think there is another path that goes straight into the labyrinth though." Forgetting why she was even here in the first place, to cool down from fighting with Berry, Erika felt quite relieved to see them all alive.

"The base was remodeled? Like, restructured?" Urara didn't quite know what iteration of remodeled Marine was using.

"The garden is on the fourth floor now. Below that are three floors of locked rooms and bathrooms. Kitchen and stuff is all on the first floor."

"Sounds like the designers of this place went and had a touch up course in architecture. What do you mean, locked rooms? We can't get into our own rooms?"

"I'm not sure those are even our rooms. They're locked but it would make sense I guess. What's on the other side of this?"

"Pointless labyrinth." Michiru didn't really feel like walking all the way back but it sure beat risking another cave in. Suffocating once a day was more than plenty for her.

"Not anymore." Honoka pointed to where the entrance had been. It didn't look any different until the white Cure threw a sphere of energy in the direction, revealing a stairway where there had been just a hallway before. "I don't believe an explanation is necessary."

"Wonderful, just wonderful. 'nother base, no doubt. So we're back to the two teams thing. Who was it that was talking about splitting us up again? Because I sure would like to teach that person about the influence of jinxes." Clenching her fist, Urara stepped towards Kaoru, ready to blow off some steam.

"We're six over here and they're twenty-five over there." Michiru quickly added up numbers, counting Moonlight and Eclipse as separate entities, not knowing that one of them had ceased to be.

"Do you two just not realize that spelling out the problems that stop us from being split up into two teams again is going to make exactly that happen? Are you doing it on purpose? Tell me, it's driving me nuts!" Urara's patience was quickly running out.

Her words didn't go unheard and within five seconds of her outburst, a brief painful sting hit the right hand of everyone present. Covering her eyes with the same hand, Urara became quiet for a few seconds, slowly starting to laugh, her voice getting louder and louder.

Grabbing her partners hand and quickly pulling her away from Bright and Windy, avoiding having her jump at them. Urara was not very pleased with that idea. "Let me go Ako! I'm going to stuff their big mouths with fist!"

"Don't be stupid. We're all exhausted as is, I don't need you to start a fight." Not letting go of Urara's hand, Ako held her right hand next to Urara's. "Different ones. If we are getting split up again I... want to spend the time we have until then together."

"Always playing hard to get and when-" Urara didn't even get to finish teasing her before the black Cure turned away in annoyance and let go of her.

"You know what, forget it. I must be crazy to think you would be serious for a moment." Whatever she was thinking of saying next became irrelevant to her the moment her partner embraced her from behind, both of Urara's arms tightly wrapped around her waist, her hair tickling Ako's neck.

A little distance away from those two, the remainder of the group had split into two, all those with the same symbols grouping together. Honoka, Inori and Reika formed the smaller group, the three of them a faintly glowing sun symbol on the back of their right hands.

"I don't think there is any doubt as to what is going on here." Honoka sighed and held her hand up so Karen, a few meters away, could see it. "Those with the sun symbol are likely the light team."

Holding up her own hand, Karen showed Honoka the equally faintly glowing crescent moon symbol on the backside of her own hand. "That makes those with the moon symbol the dark team."

They had barely finished talking when the barrier in the middle of the room flashed briefly and separated, now covering only both of the entrance points to the dome. "The odds of all of this being coincidence are minuscule. It appears that someone or something is observing us and acting accordingly." Reika looked towards the entrance they had come from. The moon symbol was shining brightly over the exit. "And that appears to be the side we will belong to. It seems likely that we will find a base beyond the exit."

"Honoka, try to leave through the moon gate. I bet it won't let you." Karen wasn't too happy with being split up again, especially if it meant being apart from Komachi.

"Is that really something we need to confirm? It's pretty obvious at this point." Honoka didn't want to walk into any incinerating barriers or something, even though it was unlikely to do anything but block her path.

Inori had walked over to Blossom and Marine in the mean time, the pink Cure clinging to her partner and making an annoyed face. "Different teams?" Walking up to them and starting a brief conversation, Inori figured that they all would be stuck in this quasi prison until the teams fully separated. That meant sending someone from the light team down and gathering all those with a moon symbol.

"I don't want to be separated from Erika!" She had finally gotten Erika back from Ember and now they were to be separated **again**? What did she do to deserve that?

"We don't know what this is going to be like now. It's no longer as simple as before so you might be able to get back together soon. Blossom, the others are all in the light base, right?"

"I don't think anyone wandered off into the labyrinth so they should be all there."

"We're not getting anywhere until we sorted this out. At least I believe so. I'm thankful it's not forcibly separating us without giving us some time."

Leaving the two, Tsubomi remembered why they were out here to begin with. "Should I go back and see if Yuri is doing okay?"

"No, stay with me. If we're going to be separated I want to spend the time until then with you." Grinning and kissing Tsubomi fiercely, Erika wasn't bothered at all by the fact that the others could see them.

=== Dissonance ===

"What about Berry and Yuri? They're out cold." All of the others had already noticed the two symbols that had appeared on their hands. Itsuki was talking to Inori while Hibiki was pouting a few meters away. She would end up on the other team. How unfair was that?

"Miki belongs to this side so we only need to take Moonlight. Miki won't like it but there isn't much we can do. She will have to switch teams first chance she gets."

"I'll take her then. Hibiki, are you coming?" Looking at her partner, Itsuki wasn't really worried. Hibiki got less credit than she deserved for being able to take care of herself. A few days on a different team wasn't going to kill her.

"It's stupid. Why do we have to get separated?"

"Just think about the time right after we get back together. You **know** what I'm talking about, right?" Ignoring the slightly funny look Inori was giving her, Itsuki enjoyed the blushing face of the younger girl.

"You're like a dirty old man." Complaining while smiling, Hibiki left with the yellow Cure without another complaint.

Checking the garden, nobody but Miki was left. Because of the lack of being able to enter rooms, she was sleeping on one of the benches. She'd be sore later but it beat sleeping on the ground.

Everyone else had moved to the dome already and it was high time she went there as well. Passing all three stairs and ascending the one that led to the dome, the atmosphere was quite heated. A lot of people were really annoyed that they were being split from their partner. But Inori was looking for someone as well. And it didn't take her long to find her.

"Love." In the quasi dark of the dome, it became relatively obvious who belonged to which side. A few minutes after the first Cures had gone to the dome, the moon symbol changed its color into a faint blue, the sun symbol a bright red. "What are you doing?" Finding her close friend tickling Setsuna, she figured that being apart was not going to make either of them all depressed.

"Setsuna and Ellen are going to the moon team so we're having fun for a bit before it's time." Switching from calling it the light and dark team, the reason they were in this place to begin with the origin of those names, to the sun and moon team seemed just more fitting, considering they were being separated based on those symbols.

"Miki and me are on the sun team too, so if you get too lonely we'll play with you." Noticing Ellen's surprised look, she quickly clarified things. "I didn't mean it like that, don't worry." Unable to stop herself from grinning at Ellen's habit of misunderstanding things.

Not too far behind her was the mood not quite as good. Akane was arguing with Nao while Reika tried to mediate between the two. Yayoi was with Miyuki, the two of them exchanging comments on everyone else around them. "This is going to be a great place to gather material." Pretending to laugh quietly like a villain, Yayoi received a scolding look from her assistant.

"You really shouldn't always use people you know as doujinshi material." Miyuki would never refuse to help with Yayoi's work but she felt a bit awkward when she looked over pages that clearly depicted characters, looking very much like her best friends, having sex.

"It makes it more **real**, Miyuki. Look over there, at Peach and her miniature harem! Don't you think they would make for a great work?" Saying those things with starry eyes always made Miyuki feel a bit embarrassed. She still remembered the always crying Yayoi from when she first transferred to their school and now...

"And over there, that white Cure with the red one? The white looks younger and she's totally clinging to her. I bet she's a yandere." Yayoi threw mangaka specific terms around like everyone in the world had to know them. Miyuki knew a lot, due to her working with Yayoi often, but she still didn't think it was a good idea to use them to actually talk about real people.

"Yandere are really crazy people, Yayoi. You shouldn't assume she's like that." Miyuki had read about them a little bit but since Yayoi rarely drew characters like that, she had little exposure to them.

Both of them looked up in confusion when something like a bell rung three times from the ceiling. There was no visible source of the sound though. "What was-" Miyuki didn't finish her sentence before the ground in the center of the area started to rise, everyone quickly backing away from it. The noise of stone moving made any attempt to talk, short of shouting in someone's ear, useless.

Rising up more than ten meters, the sides of the small elevated spot started to change again, transforming rough wall into neat and smooth stairs. Not quite finished yet, the elevation created a small table and two chairs on either side of the table, all made of the stone like material. As everyone had their attention focused on it, it was easy to notice two thick, identical books dropping from the ceiling and landing on the table.

Confusion was wide spread among the Cures until Honoka, for the sun team, and Karen, for the moon team, ascended either side of the elevation. Considering the events up until now, they thought it natural that this was meant for one representative of each side. The stairs bode no danger or trap and both girls arrived safely at the top. It was more spacious than they had assumed. Looking at the book, it had the word **'Guide'** written in thick golden letters on a red leather like binding.

"I'm starting to feel like I'm being made fun of." Honoka opened the book and was greeted by an actual index of contents. "This was definitely made by someone who knows human civilization."

"Organization of rooms... negotiation options... battle instructions..." Karen read the first three lines of the index. Quickly flipping ahead twenty pages to the negotiation options, she was greeted by a thorough explanation of what she assumed was the system that ran this place. The first two paragraphs alone mentioned many things she was sure they could not influence before. Trying to pick the book up, Karen was unable to remove it from the table. She could move it across the surface fine, open and close it easily but trying to take it seemed impossible.

"Honoka! Everything alright? What's with the books?!" Nagisa was shouting from below.

"Look." Taking a step back, Karen watched the center part of the table morph again, rising slowly until it appeared like a small wall, just high enough to prevent them from seeing each other should they sit down. But that was not all. What had been suspicious and theory was now proof. Words appeared on the small walls, slowly, as if someone carved them in by hand. There was something sentient, someone that understood humans and their minds, controlling the complex.

"_Familiarize yourself with the Guide. In one human hour, you will be put to use the knowledge you have gathered_." The words remained for roughly twenty seconds, more than enough to read them twice or thrice even. "_The time to separate is now. Gather all of your kind at the doorstop to your home. This place, the Audience Hall, will be meeting ground for all_." Another twenty seconds passed before the words erased themselves again.

Having messed with the system once and that resulting in a horrible battle that might well have cost some their lives, both Honoka and Karen were sure that it was not a good idea to resist the command, even though no threat had been mentioned.

"I know this is sudden but we need to hurry up with the team split. It is pretty clear now that someone is controlling this environment and it asked us separate. In one hour, something is going to happen and we need to know what we're dealing with then. I'm staying here with Aqua to read this book, which is a guide to everything around here."

Honoka could be quite loud when she needed to and there was little doubt that what she said was the truth. Despite a lot of complaints and general unhappiness, the Cures separated and went to their respective exit.

"Isn't Black on a different team? Shouldn't you go down?" Karen looked down and waved to Komachi, who had a gentle look on her face. A week ago she might have fretted about leaving Karen's side, but she knew that being separated for a while would only make her appreciate the blue Cure even more when they got back together.

"Nagisa often acts like a teenager but in situations like this she knows what to do. I can count on her. She'll be really clingy when she or I changed teams, though." Sitting down, Honoka started to read the guidebook.

Karen followed her example. They had one hour to learn as much as possible. It was well within reason to read the whole thing during that time. "It's quite different from the breakneck explanation we got when we first arrived, isn't it?" Karen tried to memorize everything she read. Considering the book could not be removed, if she had to come to the dome every time she needed to look something up, it would be quite bothersome. If she could even come back.

"I just hope things like Nightmare won't happen again." Honoka really had no intention of ever seeing something like that again.

=== Dissonance ===

Nagisa found herself a little depressed and pretty annoyed. After the whole mess with Saki and Mai, the reflections and everything, she ended up on a different team than Honoka. Looking around the base, Nagisa was the first to run into one of the new mechanisms. Having walked past most of the doors and just on her way to the garden, one of the doors on the third level reacted to her. Standing in front of the door that was further away from the stairway connecting the third level to the garden caused a symbol on the wall to lit up, right next to the wooden frame of the door. Glowing in a faint black light, it was an upturned heart inside a circle. It only appeared when she stood right in front of the door so she knew it had to belong to her.

Cautiously trying to open the door, she found herself actually able to do so. Without a creak, the door swung open and revealed a very comfortable room, completely unlike those she had before.

Easily four times as big as the previous rooms, a thick and fluffy carpet with a simple pattern covered the floor. Two beds, one at each far corner of the room, with a large but thin wooden screen between them, likely to grant privacy. Each bed had a reasonably sized drawer next to it, a chest at the foot end, and a large closet roughly at the middle point of the wall. The close corner of the room each had a chair and a small table in front of a big mirror. It was, by her standards, a luxurious room.

The same symbol she had seen on the outside was carved into the large wooden frame of the bed multiple times. It was her mark, definitely. An upturned heart wasn't that bad. At least it wasn't tacky.

Checking the other bed, Nagisa felt like she should recognize the other symbol. But more pressing than that was the room was clearly designed for two people, and not a couple at that. If she ended up sharing a room with someone she didn't know well... that would be really awkward.

Laying down on her bed, it was so incredibly comfortable, she could have just fallen asleep right away. The mattress was big and soft and even smelled nicely clean. The pillow was almost too big for just herself. "This is heaven."

The reaction of the Cure occupying a room one level below her wasn't all that different. Setsuna had found her room, a four-leaf clover with the card suit icon of the club being her mark. It was still at least one and a half times as big as the room she had before, the bed was much more comfortable and a bit bigger, she had a small closet and drawer. There was a nice, but small, carpet in front of her bed as well. Ellen wasn't with her, still trying to find her own room.

Judging by the number of rooms available it was pretty obvious that at least some of the rooms were designed for more than one person. Did the system simply anticipate that many Cures were in intimate relationships and thus slept in the same room? Or was there something else to it?

Putting the pillow, whose softness she very much liked, back on the bed, she left her room, noticing that the door closed automatically and her mark started to glow above the frame. Going to the upper level, she found Marine coming out of the room closest to the garden, a mark glowing brightly to the left of the frame as she left. Did the mark mean that the person living in the room was not home? That was certainly an obvious way to tell if someone slept in their own room.

Reaching the bottom floor, there was quite the turmoil. Spotting Ellen behind a group of arguing Cures, Setsuna could already guess what had happened there. Getting closer, the loudest Cure by far was Rouge, who was shouting at Sunshine. "And **you** don't find it awkward at all to sleep in the same room as me? Are you serious?"

Rin knew what had happened between Melody and Kanade and even though it was Kanade's own fault for being really stupid, she couldn't help but want to defend her in front of Melody's girlfriend. She was more annoyed at herself than anything else.

"Look, I don't care what you do with Kanade. It's none of my business. We just sleep in the same room. It's not like we have our partners with us." Itsuki couldn't care less about having to share a room with Rouge. Being separated from Hibiki did annoy her somewhat but there were some things that couldn't be helped. If anything, it was a good test of how much she longed to be with her.

"You are both behaving like children. Based on the marks, we have to share this room for sleep and other matters. Aqua has not returned from the dome so we do not know how to change rooms. You need to stop making an issue out of nothing." Michiru was quite annoyed that Kaoru had gotten her own room while she was stuck with those two.

Sneaking up to Ellen and quietly pulling her away from the mess, Setsuna wondered what that was all about. "What are they arguing about?"

"There are only two rooms down here. One for three and one for four. They're... well, they're quite simple." Ellen didn't want to be rude but the rooms really were very plain. The room for three resembled the rooms from before very closely. There was one normal bed and one bunk bed, accommodating two Cures. The room was at least twice as big as the rooms before though so it was not completely horrible. Beyond the beds and a very small table, there was nothing of note. The beds were plain but moderately comfortable.

The other room was truly bad on the other hand. Two bunk beds and the room was not any bigger than the room for three, possibly even smaller. The beds were not exactly comfortable and the ground was rougher than next door over. Compared to the rooms of the second level, the ones down on the bottom floor looked quite poor indeed.

Ellen opened the room she was supposed to live in and it was even worse than what Setsuna imagined. There was no way she could let Ellen sleep in a place like that. Not only was it cramped, but there was hardly any space. It was almost like a prison cell. "You're sleeping in my room." Grabbing her partners hand, Setsuna took her away from the argument that was being cooled by Muse's presence now. They had all seen what Silence did during the attack led by Poison. They had a certain respect of her now.

Nao and Yayoi both watched from a fair distance, the latter finally getting the courage together to walk past the doors and see if they reacted to her in some way. And just like she expected, as the new girls, she ended up in the worst room. Her mark, two lips forming a smile with a lightning bolt striking through them, was on the lower left side of the room. Disappointed that she was going to start out in the poor people room, Yayoi waved Nao over.

The green Cure's mark was also two lips forming a smile, with a tornado striking through them. Both of their marks were glowing in black light as they stood in front of it. Nao's symbol was the lower right. Going inside, they tried to have the mindset of making the most of it, but it was really hard to keep that up when confronted with a situation like that. "I wonder if the others had more luck." Nao didn't like the thought of Reika and Akane having to sleep in such a room. Miyuki had proven time and time again that she could sleep anywhere so that wasn't that big a problem.

"We just got here and haven't done anything useful so I think they're going to be all in the same boat as us." Yayoi was basing that on manga logic, since a lot of other things had already fallen in place with that.

The door that had closed behind them opened and a purple Cure they had seen only briefly before stepped into the room. "You two also got the short straw?" Kurumi already missed her own room. At least she had some privacy there.

"It could be worse. We could be sleeping in the garden." Yayoi thought about that for a few seconds. "Actually, depending on how cold it gets there that might not really be any worse."

"I'm March, she's Peace." Introducing herself and her teammate, Nao tried to be polite.

"Milky Rose, just call me Rose or Kurumi." Looking at the beds, Kurumi found her mark, a blade emerging from a rose, on the left upper bunk. "I hope I don't fall..."

"You've been here for a while, right? I totally forgot asking Nagisa this but... what do you do when you're not... uh, doing what you need to do?" Yayoi wasn't keen on just laying around all day.

"Until before we got into the mess with the reflections and Nightmare, we used to pass time by playing cards, enjoying the garden or playing other stuff. There is no TV or electricity here... although I think you could buy batteries."

"You buy things with... what was it called?" Nao had something specific she wanted as soon as possible.

"Favor. You get some after a battle. I only have about twenty left. I guess since both of you are completely new, you don't have any."

"Say... what do you do about clothes? I've only seen everyone walk around as Cure so far but that's not normally the case, right?" She wanted a change of clothes, especially a change of underwear. Best, six changes. And a washing machine. Nao was quite clean when it came to those things.

"We really do walk around as Cures all day. You get used to it really quickly since everyone does it. Clothes probably cut into your favor pool pretty badly so I haven't seen anyone do it."

"Nagisa or Peach sure won't need clothes. I bet they sleep naked, they got partners after all." Yayoi had a smug grin on her face. It made perfect doujinshi material.

Nao wanted to retort by saying that she didn't sleep naked with Reika or Akane but the more she thought about it the more she realized that she **did** sleep naked after having sex with either. Not saying anything, Nao just let her head hang.

=== Dissonance ===

"You're supposed to live in this piece of shit room? Wow Nozomi, you really pulled through there." Urara had already found her room, the one closest to the garden on the uppermost level. And she was sharing it with Luminous. Egret was one of the two in the room next door and she didn't know the other one yet.

"Don't say it like that. I didn't pick this!" A little devastated that she was going to spend the night in such a crammed and hopeless place, Nozomi took a little comfort in being able to meet three of the new Cures. They were all stuck in the four bed room as well.

"Oh my, it seems we've been put at the bottom of the comfort hierarchy." Reika was used to rough living standards. She couldn't count the instances of when she had slept just simply on the ground after being exhausted from chasing after criminals all day.

"This ain't funny Reika! Nao's gone 'n we're stuck in this room that smells like poverty!" Akane already longed for her soft bed at home. Having the top bunk over Reika, she felt like it was going to be really annoying to sleep with so many others in the same room. Not that she minded Miyuki or Reika, but that other pink Cure...

Leaving the room, trying to calm down a bit, Akane was followed by Miyuki. "You glanced at Dream a whole lot. You don't trust her?" Miyuki could be pretty sensible. She talked quietly enough to not let Dream hear her either.

"Ya saw her wreck everythin' didn't ya? She healed Yayoi's arm like that's the easiest thing in the world, too! Don't ye think she's a lil' too strong?"

"She doesn't look intimidating at all now, though."

"That's true but..."

"You should give her a chance. She seems like a really good person."

"That's only because you have rose colored glasses on, Miyuki."

"Meanie!" Turning around, she saw White come down the stairs from the dome. Judging by the speed of her walking, she was in a hurry.

Seeing the two of them, Honoka didn't bother to stop but instead shouted what she needed to say. "Happy, Sunny, get everyone you can find and tell them to come to the dinning room.

Time had flown by and little more than ten or fifteen minutes remained before the announced hour was over. At least her sense of time was telling her that. She really needed to trade some favor in for a clock.

Going around and rounding up everyone she found, it took no more than a few minutes to gather everyone together in the dinning hall. Up in front, some Cures sitting in the chairs, a few others standing, Honoka started to address everyone. "I'll start with a very important thing first. Most of what we got used to no longer applies. The entire system has been rebuilt which is what some of us experienced earlier."

"Who rebuilt it?" Urara wanted to kick the ass of whoever was responsible for this mess.

"We don't know. But it is something or someone that understands humans. I'll explain the system that governs who lives in which room first. The total count of favor ever earned in battle determines the quality of the rooms we live in. As some of you might have noticed, the bowls with favor are not in our rooms." Holding out her hand, her palm towards the ceiling, Honoka demonstrated the new process. A small leather bag materialized in her hand. "You simply think about wanting to hold your favor and the bag will appear. There are two values inscribed on the bag." Holding the bag up and showing two identical numbers, Honoka's bag dematerialized. "If you no longer need it, you simply think about that. The two numbers update upon summoning it and represent both current favor and favor accumulated in total."

"So the more someone fights, the better someone fights the more favor she gets and the better the room she gets. It's a giant rig to make us compete with each other over the best rooms, isn't it?" Urara was one of the few that were standing, her arms crossed and her expression annoyed.

"In essence, yes. However, the housing only updates every three battles and when someone changes teams. However, the housing only changes for those that change teams unless it is also the day the housing changes. There is no longer any restriction to fighting battles in a row. There is also the option to volunteer for a fight, however, that is restricted to one time every two days."

"It is trying to keep things fair." Mai was sitting close to Honoka, not too happy about this new turn of developments.

"The biggest in housing is that it is impossible to enter someone's room without their permission. Unless the Cure occupying the room unlocks the door, to which we are the keys ourselves, there is no way to break through."

"How come my total favor is equal to what I got now? I know I made more than this." Urara had already gotten the hang of making the bag appear and disappear at will.

"The total favor earned was likely initialized when the system was rebuilt. That covers the big changes regarding the housing. The next big change is regarding the negotiations. There are no restrictions as to who can hold them. One specific person could handle negotiations for the entirety of our stay here. Whoever holds negotiations will have their mark lit up on the stone tablet in front of the blue door."

"So where is the big change? Doesn't sound any different than usual." Urara kept asking, not patient enough to just sit around and wait for White to get to the point.

"In the options. According to the guide, we can negotiate many more details of how the battle is setup. Number of combatants, the battle area itself, a time limit, special rules and options. The guidebook contained a full list of options available and it filled over ten pages. Depending on what we chose, the favor earned will increase or decrease. A battle with the special rule 'Heightened Power' will give everyone participating a ten percent bonus on favor gain. A battle with the special rule 'Heightened Defense' will decrease the favor gained."

"So they exist to make us generate even more energy. How many of those special rules and options are there?" Inori was curious about the full extend. It did sound like it was going to be very complicated.

"There are over sixty. I was unable to memorize them all for now. One of the most important parts of the negotiation and battle changes is that there is an option to make a battle go through multiple rounds and the ability to substitute one participant for another by relinquishing the right to earn favor. It allows someone to take the place of a fighter, however, they will not be able to earn any favor. This can only be done once per non-combatant every three days."

"The winner being whoever wins two of three first or three of five? Something like that?" Love was just guessing at this point.

"Exactly like that. There are three options for this, two out of three, three out of five and five out of nine. That about covers the changes to the battle system. The last part is the exile and the exchange of team members."

"I have heard this mentioned before, but what specifically is 'the exile'?" Reika figured that she had not been told the full truth.

"A punishment room of sorts. You're haunted by your worst nightmares if you get stuck outside the bases during an exchange. At least that is what it used to be." Inori had not experienced it herself but there was no real need to.

"That no longer applies as it was. The current teams are an even number so the exile as is has been abolished. The exchange of members is now handled inside the big dome. In the case of multiple people that want to go, they have to pass through the labyrinth and only the first to reach the goal will change teams. In the case of no volunteers, a reverse of the race is held, the one to pass the goal last having to change teams. This applies independently of what the other team does."

Taking a quick break, Honoka knew that the next point would be an uncomfortable one. "The exile as it was before no longer exists. The exile will always be the one person that has gained the least amount of favor. The battles always start in the afternoon of a day and after being healed, the Cure that has gained the least amount of favor will be locked in exile until the next day starts. I imagine this to be roughly eight to ten hours as opposed to a full day as it was before. I'm sure we all feel this is unnecessary but whoever rebuilt this place thought otherwise. We can do little about it. While someone is in exile, their room remains with their team and they also remain part of their team. They are returned to their room after midnight."

Despite her expectations, there were not a lot of complaints. It was considerably shorter than before and it did instill the motivation to fight as hard as possible. "The dome will remain accessible. While the barrier has reappeared in the center of it, it is possible to go there and talk and see the members of the other team. Passing the barrier is impossible, though. There is one last thing that needs explaining and that is the option of alternative favor gain. It was a fairly complex system so I'll try to keep it as simple as possible.

"If both teams unanimously agree to enter a state of alternative favor gain, the entire complex will be converted for a unspecified period of time. In theory, it is impossible to say what exactly will happen but the guide implied that we will be going through notions that are not battling to generate energy and favor. It costs both teams and every member three quarters of their favor to initiate this and we won't be able to return to normal unless we do whatever is required to clear the initiated conversion. There is also a limit of doing this only once after every seven fights."

Miyuki was trying really hard to wrap her head around what White just said but she had trouble putting things together. Akane's confused expression told her that she was experiencing the same problem. It didn't come as a surprise that Reika seemed completely fine.

"To demonstrate this new system, Aqua and I will be holding the first negotiation. We were given small restrictions on what we can use. The combat participants are already decided. It is a seven versus seven battle. Those of you who occupy the rooms on the lowest floors, please prepare yourself."

"There is a problem with this, White. Miki is one of the people down here and so is Dream. Neither of them are in condition to fight." Love quickly put that out there, not wanting to see Miki get hurt even more.

"We will need two substitutes for them. Any volunteers?"

"I'll take Nozomi's place." Komachi, despite disliking the fighting, felt indebted to Nozomi for many things. One battle wasn't going to be any problem.

"Guess I'll take Miki's place then." Love was looking forward to fighting side by side with Inori again. It had been a while.

"That settles that." Honoka felt relieved that everything went over that easily. She had expected the new girls to make a big fuss upon learning of the exile but apparently they didn't quite understand what it was like. "I'm heading to the negotiation shortly. Considering that those who battle have very little favor to begin with, I will try to find conditions that improve the final gain."

"Don't turn it into a smash 'n mash fest." Urara threw that out before she turned around and headed towards the dome. If she could see Ako, maybe her mood would improve. Considering that she couldn't **touch** her, though, maybe it would also worsen it.

With little time left, Honoka left the other Cures to themselves, some returning to look at their rooms some more, others going to the dome or the garden, and proceeded to the blue gate. Her mark, a heart glowing in a gentle light, was illuminated on the stone plate, signaling that she was the one to handle negotiations next.

The different types of mist had been explained in the book as well. They could be summarized as battle enhancer, improved reasoning and heightened sense of urgency for red, blue and yellow, the last one present in the labyrinth runs to determine the people who had to switch teams.

Even the way to open the gate was outlined in the book. Putting her hand on the massive door, a bigger version of her mark appeared on it's center and vanished a few seconds later. The heavy wings of the door opening, Honoka could already feel the first touches of the blue mist in the air.

As if she had been teleported, and in fact she might have really been, Honoka found herself inside a small room that had looked very much like a generic meeting room for a directors board at any given company. A large table, several chairs. Only the energy barrier cutting through the table's middle was a little out of place.

As there was no sign of Karen yet, Honoka sat down in one of the surprisingly comfy chairs. Just as she did so, a large piece of the table's surface moved and revealed a small console, displaying many statistics. Despite that, they were fairly obvious.

It was all the data necessary for negotiation and the next battle. Trying to see if there was any wiring to the console, Honoka couldn't see anything. If there was something, it must run through the tables legs and into the ground. Considering it was possible to create a magical garden from nothing, a simple console powered by electricity or something else wasn't that much of a stretch.

A good five minutes passed before Karen showed up, looking slightly distressed. "One of the new Cures made a fuss just about after I explained the new exile. The green one."

"March. I was surprised that Sunny and Happy didn't. In general, everyone seemed to take the news pretty well."

"I wonder about that. It'll take time to sink in and when it does, I think a few will definitely complain and make a ruckus."

"Not if they're smart. There is nothing we can do about it anyway. Sit down, a console will pop up and show you the relevant data for the next negotiation."

Doing exactly what Honoka asked her to, Karen found the console to be slightly unintuitive and hard to use. "This lists the participants for each team... there is no data regarding terrain, rounds or special rules yet. A lot of things are grayed out, too. Why?"

"It is likely that those are advanced rules that require us being used to some of the less drastic ones. The way I understand the terrain data, we specify a handful of things and it will generate the battlefield for us."

"I'm starting to get some virtual reality vibes from this. Don't you?"

"Maybe. Even so, I much prefer this over being fed random battlefields, one more dangerous and absurd than the previous one."

"What should we do for the terrain?"

"We can't see what the final result will be, likely to avoid abuse of the substitute system, so let's use some of the increasing multipliers. If we pick swamp, ancient, natural hazard, and rain, it results in a twenty percent bonus just from the terrain."

"Natural hazard?"

"It is likely something like gas bubbles, oil, or tar."

"Might as well. I'm not sure what half of these special rules actually do. 'Arbitrary Dislocation of Fighters'? What does that mean?"

"The book did cover these. I remember reading about this one. It means that at random time intervals, people are teleported to random locations in the area. Considering we're using natural hazard and swamp, we shouldn't use this."

"I have the bad feeling that we're going to be yelled at after this."

"Let them yell, we'll be in the same boat eventually."

"Rose is fighting and she has some really nasty area attacks. Taking immunity to friendly fire sounds worthwhile."

"That puts us back down at five percent bonus."

"If we add proximity feedback damage, it adds up to plus twenty five."

"Lets pick 'Unlucky' as well to make that thirty." Honoka wanted to give them a decent chance to catch up with everyone else.

"I can see why this is called negotiation. Right now we're not considering that after today, we will both be trying to make our team win and as such pick conditions that suit those who volunteer to fight."

"Things like 'No Projectile Attacks' will make things very easy for Nagisa and Saki."

"They're deadly up close, that is almost cheating."

"Everything is fair in love and war. Well, jokes aside, anything else you want to add? Or should we leave things like this?"

"I think this is fine."

"We're done here then." Getting up, Honoka watched the console vanish back into the table. On each side of the wall was now a door, part of the wall having morphed during the talks. "If you find time, I'll see you later in the dome."

"Should I tell Black to come and see you? I'd appreciate it if you could ask Komachi the same."

"Thanks. She is probably moping right about now because I'm not around. But you'd never get her to admit that."

"Komachi probably misses me already as well." With a smile, the two Cures left, each heading back to their team.

=== Dissonance ===

"I'm not mentally ready for this!" Akane was trying to walk away from the battle but nobody was willing to substitute for her. She had Reika on her side, but given what White had told everyone, Nao was going to be on the other.

"You'll be fine." Komachi was taking Nozomi's part, who had complained that she was fit enough to fight herself only to have Lemonade ask her if she wanted to put that to the test and quickly change her mind, and was trying to calm the others down a little. White had just returned from the negotiation and told the fighters about the conditions.

"Are you okay, Miyuki?" Reika was a little worried that the kind spirited girl would be in trouble but that didn't seem to be the case. If anything, she seemed to take it reasonably well.

"Hm, yeah. It took a while to sink in but... everyone here is doing their best to adapt and get out of here soon. I don't want to be in the way. And I trust Nagisa. The way she talked about this, it's not really all bad."

"It always surprises me to see you act like this, mature and thoughtful."

"Excuse me for not being a child anymore!" Pretending to be offended, Miyuki watched the last two of their group join them at the middle gate, five marks already glowing brightly on the door.

Peach and another pink Cure, whose name she had learned just a few minutes ago, Blossom. A yellow Cure, Pine, clapped twice, trying to get everyone's attention. "Both Peach and I specialize in melee. I know Blossom utilizes both melee and ranged fighting while Mint specializes in defense. What do you three do best?"

Reika did not move even a single centimeter and created two large swords, one in each hand. "I specialize in armed combat. This includes both close range-" Making a brief break, dropping her swords and creating a long halberd, holding it with both hands. "and long range." Crushing the halberd, she created a long bow next, followed by a crossbow. "However, extremely long ranges such as a hundred meters and more are difficult."

"How about you two?" Inori wanted to get a good grasp of their battle styles to avoid chaos.

"Bombardment." Akane held her right hand up and created several small fireballs. "I can hit ya pretty hard too 'n getting' too close and I'll burn ya bad!" If she was going to do this, she was going to do it with a bang!

"I... don't really have any specific style. I can do a bit of everything." Miyuki had never found anything she was exceptionally good at.

"What'cha saying? Your ability is really unfair!" Akane complained right away, knowing how strong Miyuki's abilities were.

"But... it's only to pacify, not to beat someone."

"What does your ability do?" Inori usually didn't ask but since it was a reason to argue amongst friends, it had to be really unorthodox.

"Once upon a Time." Akane shrugged. "She's trappin' ya mind in a fairy tale. It ain't workin' if she wants to beat ya but justa stall time, there's no way outta it. But ya wake up right 'way if ye get hit or anythin'."

"We'll have to see how it goes." Inori couldn't quite imagine what Happy was really doing. It did sound similar to Miki's ability. Turning around and facing the door for a moment, it started to open, revealing a black hallway, traces of red mist leaking from the entrance. "Let's go."

Stepping through the gate into the hallway, Inori only had to walk a few meters before a second gate opened. The stench of sulfur and oil hit her like a fist to the face. Covering her mouth and passing through the second door, she was immediately drenched in cold rain. Looking up, she couldn't make out where the room ended but it looked like up above was just sky. A sky filled with clouds so dark that the rain coming down was as cold as ice.

The ground was sticky and slippery. The sulfur stench originated from several large bodies of tar and other substances often found in swamps. She hadn't expected the terrain to be that much like the specifications. And not only that, the natural hazards were likely bottomless pits of tar and marsh.

And she was reminded painfully that the battle had already started. With a single maneuver, Rouge had closed the distance between herself and Pine, able to spot the yellow Cure through the rain. "Flame Drill!" Combining her claws into one gigantic spike, Rin jumped above Pine, ready to toast her.

But luck wasn't on the side of the red Cure. Hitting Mint's shield with full force, her attack was repelled. Worse yet, a stinging pain was running through her entire body. But she could tell from their faces that Pine and Komachi experienced the same.

"Down!" Reika shouted a single order with such intensity that nobody dared question it. Kneeling in the mud, they first thought an enormous lightning bolt had struck the ground and ran it's course, but it was distinctively moving towards them. With a horrible sizzling sound, an enormous Chinese dragon rushed over their heads, incinerating all trees or boulders it touched. "Yayoi seems to be going all out from the get go. Akane, cover fire."

And the fire part was meant literally. Creating her glacier road, Reika immediately ascended far up into the clouds, unable to see anything. She could tell Yayoi's rough location from the origin point of the dragon though. Trying to listen for the sound of Akane's bombardment starting, she failed to notice that someone else had the idea of moving through the cloud cover.

Taking a powerful kick directly to her stomach, Reika was thrown off her road and ended up in free fall. She recognized the impact of that hit. Nao had anticipated her desire to act tactical and used her speed to get all the way up there.

"Celsius Emission!" Focusing both her hands towards the ground, Reika created a thin pillar of ice with such incredible speed that her fall was halted only seconds after being hit. Using the momentum of descending to her advantage, she created a second road off the pillar. "Frozen Valkyrie!" Shifting gears, Reika created an bulletproof armor made of extremely sturdy and durable ice, a round shield included. Sensing the movement in the clouds, she knew that Nao was using the old glacier road to get around. There was no competing with the green Cure when it came to speed. For just a split second, Reika was perplexed how little she cared about being Nao's lover at the time. All that was important was winning, beating the other team. A respectable influence she admitted.

"Needle Array!" Lifting the hand with the shield attached to it, Reika created several floating orbs that closely resembled a mass of spikes. "Array Burst!" Without a sound the orbs burst into dozens of needles, shooting through the dark clouds. Still unable to see anything, she listened intently for impact or deflection of the ice needles.

What she heard instead was an attack. Increasing her shield tenfold in size, Reika protected herself against a thunder blast that ripped apart the clouds below her. Looking through the temporary hole, she could see Yayoi, who was sizzling with energy.

Noticing the faint change in the clouds behind her, Reika turned and managed to block Nao's next kick with her free hand, able to grab the bare skin of the Cure. Whirling her around and throwing her upwards, Reika created six daggers, three in each hand, and threw them after her. While all but one missed, the last hit the shoulder of the green Cure, cutting deep into flesh.

The battle below those that was much more brutal and direct. Yayoi was faced with Akane, who kept pursuing her, turning the battlefield into a sea of flames. Jumping every few seconds and aiming at the yellow Cure, she launched multiplying fireballs that set everything they touched ablaze. Just about to corner her, Akane made contact with the physically strongest Cure she had ever met. Unable to block any better than simply hold her right arm in front of her face, Bright hit her with her full power. "Planet Shaker!"

As if the attack was executed in slow motion, it took half a second before Akane was sent flying by the all crushing impact of the punch. Smashed against a dead tree, the wooden construct was destroyed as Akane bounced off it.

Michiru was going after Sunny despite landing a direct hit already but was stopped short by Happy. Several pink energy circles acted as binds, locking her in place, unable to move more than fingers and toes. But she could tell that Happy was struggling to keep her in place.

The two of them in a temporary stale mate, Blossom and Beat were circling and chasing each other, unable to close the distance. Getting closer than a few meters caused unbelievable physical pain, like their muscles were going to be torn apart.

Blossom got the upper hand when Ellen was forced to change her route because of hazardous tar pits right in front of her. Jumping above the natural trap, Blossom had expected her, standing still on the ground, aiming at her. "Beat Barrier!" Creating a sphere of notes around her, Ellen was confused by the lack of impact. Had Blossom called her attack off?

Far from that, Tsubomi shot several projectiles high into the air above Ellen. If she could trap the Cure in the tar, she wasn't going to be a problem anymore. "Sakura Descent!" Changing herself a little to take on some of Ember's good qualities showed in her battle style as well.

Looking up too late, the blue Cure was already out of momentum to get away from the impeding smack down. With a tremendous impact, something hit her back, broke her barrier and threw her right towards Blossom. Looking back, she could only make out a pink costume and blond hair. Smashing into her enemy at full speed, both of them went down, the soaked ground acting like a well waxed slide.

Love had not seen Blossom on the other side of the tar pit but Beat's sphere was shinning through the rain, giving her all the visibility that she needed. With a dangerous terrain like this, the main issue became finding the enemy instead of breaking their defenses.

Whirling around the instant she felt her muscles scream out in pain and raising her leg, Peach blocked an incoming kick from Sunshine, who was head to toe covered in mud, giving her perfect camouflage in this weather. Forced back by the power of it, Love slightly moved to the side, escaping a follow-up punch targeted towards her chest. Grabbing the enemy's arm, using their own momentum against them, she tried to throw the yellow Cure. But it wasn't that easy.

Sunshine utilized her experience in martial arts, formed a hold on Peach's neck, trying to withstand the intense pain from being this close, and attempted to wrestle her down. She underestimated both power and skill of the pink Cure however, losing her footing when Peach kicked her ankle.

Both of them separated quickly, realizing that staying that close together was going to be much more dangerous than any Cure could be. Looking at her own hands, Love was bleeding from several small points, like she had stung herself with big needles. Trying to focus her attention back on Sunshine, she had lost track of her.

That became a secondary issue the moment the moment a massive fireball descended from the clouds, crashing into some kind of swamp and setting it ablaze. At the origin point of the fireball were Akane and Rin, surrounded by a sea of flames and steam. Akane was not used to fighting other Cures and Rin was having trouble getting close enough to cause damage without suffering from the proximity feedback damage.

"Meltdown!" Launching a single large projectile towards the new Cure, Akane escaped right through the blazing fire, unstressed by the heat and flames. She had experienced much worse in rush hour at her restaurant! Hiding behind a wall of fire, she could feel the temperature rise tremendously all of a sudden, most of the rain evaporating long before it hit the ground. With a loud scream, Rouge followed Sunny through the fire, spinning around her own axis in mid-air, creating a whirlwind of fire claws and downright blast furnace level temperatures.

Unable to react fast enough, Akane took several hits, each causing severe burning of her skin. Driving in a corner, the flames having obscured the way out, Akane was ready to defend herself until she could no longer stand. But Rin had other plans.

Jumping high above Sunny, Rin focused the ability she herself was the center of into one tiny point, forcibly extracting most of her energy. Both her claws and Hell breaking down, she held a single sphere, almost exactly the same size as a volleyball ball. "Receive **this!**"

Throwing it with her full might towards the enemy, Rin grabbed the branch of an old, dead tree to keep herself out of harms way. Akane, playing volleyball for many years, instinctively posed to receive the ball and return it. The warning signals her body was sending arrived in her head too late. The second the sphere touched her, she was enveloped and trapped into a ten meter radius sphere of intense flames and fire, similar to being thrown into a furnace.

Only lasting a few seconds, it was enough to completely knock out Akane. Her hair, skin and costume scorched, she was down for the count, laying on the ground completely unconscious, the smell of burning skin reaching all the way up to Rin.

The other red Cure was in trouble herself. Using an ability like that, she had become the target for everyone from the enemy team. And the first to arrive, of all people, was the ice controlling Cure, Beauty. Trying to use her ability again, she lacked the necessary energy reserves. Falling and trying to get away by pushing herself off the trunk of the tree, Rin was in a vastly inferior position to out-maneuver Reika.

Reaching the red Cure a few seconds before she could hit the ground and escape, Reika showed no mercy at all. "Freeze Lock!" Firing a single large bullet towards the ground, the emerging ice pillar partially encased Rouge, trapping her for just long enough to execute one of her stronger moves. Driving her glacier road, which was in dire condition having it's strength leeched away by the remainder of Akane's and Rin's battle, around Rouge once, Reika stopped and focused a few meters away. "Zero Celsius Armory!" Lifting her hand, the ice bridge around Rin broke into dozens of smaller parts, each morphing nearly instantly into some kind of weapons. Dozens of swords, lances, axes and other weapons were all pointing towards Rin, a sphere of weapons surrounding the red Cure. "Punishment!"

The power of Rin's scream from being impaled by dozens of blades reached even the furthest edge of the battlefield. Reika turned instantly when she felt the physical pain return but she could not put up any sort of defense. Being grabbed by her long hair, someone pulled her off her road. Unable to identify who it was based on their looks, she could tell by the touch of the hand that it was Nao.

Reika's breath escaped violently from her lungs when she was smashing against a rock formation with such speed that she left a deep imprint on it. And that was not the end of it. "Mach Drive, Colossus!" Unable to breathe, Reika couldn't move or defend herself under the barrage of hits, each amounting to little more than any normal punch would yet the sheer number causing great damage as a whole.

Nao's ability wasn't limited to just running fast. Given momentum she could create any kind of movement at high speed, including punching. The feedback of being so close to Reika was painful but she had to be feeling it too.

With the added stress of the proximity damage, Nao retreated earlier than she had wanted to, leaving a breathless Beauty pressed into the rock. Catching her breath for just one moment, March tensed up instantly, feeling an intense malice right behind her. Turning around, she was just in time to see the fist of a purple Cure approach. Even Nao could not escape something like that from a total standstill after being surprised.

"Adamant Crush!" Missing March's head by a slight margin, Kurumi still managed to hit her shoulder, the force enough to dislocate the green Cure's arm, making her scream out in pain. "Adamant Hammer!" Focusing her power into both arms, she had expected March to try and get away, hitting her in the back full force.

Nao could feel several bones break as she was literally smashed into the ground and bounced off it. Unable to breathe or even gasp, she felt Rose grab her right ankle and start to whirl her. The area turned into a blur, the purple Cure completely in control of her health now. No special technique used, Nao was sent flying towards the same rock formation Reika was at, hitting the blue Cure with her own body, the impact enough to break the sturdy boulder, both Cures flatly knocked out.

For all the skills they had, experienced was king in cross Cure battles. And Happy was about to learn that the hard way as well. Still chaining down Bright, Miyuki didn't know how to attack to beat someone who was so obviously much, much stronger physically than her.

Michiru was about fed up with the pink Cure, violently resisting the chains and finally breaking one around her leg. "Planet Stomp!" Hitting the ground so hard that the earth below her broke apart, the shock wave causing the entire landmass around her to shift like in a tectonic catastrophe, Happy was thrown off balance, her binds vanishing.

She lacked speed and finesse but she didn't need those things. Raw power could solve a great many things in battle. Instead of carefully plotting her path across the shifting pieces of land, Michiru simply smashed everything in her path to pieces, the weak mud no challenge to her power.

Miyuki had just regained her balance when she realized that Bright was about to reach her. "Happiness Bind!" Creating the binds as quickly as she could, they didn't work. Bright had too much momentum and destroyed the binds placed around her arms easily. Miyuki took a hit straight to the stomach, more than enough power behind it to lift her up in the air and sent her literally flying into the clouds.

Michiru paid the ultimate price for her victory. Turning around, she had barely enough time to raise her arms before a giant robot, a corporal construct made of electricity, simply stomped on her, the weight and power of the attack beyond anything she had ever suffered. Barely able to hold back the robot, she was double teamed by Peach.

"Heart Blast!" She wasn't as excellent with energy manipulation as her team mates, but it was still enough to cause significant damage. The burst of raw energy hit Bright and destroyed her balance, the giant robot crushing her into the ground. Not moving anymore, Michiru was knocked out, several bones broken.

Eager to end a battle in such horrible conditions, Love found herself on the receiving end of that ploy. Noticing the purple Cure behind her too late to dodge completely, the pink Cure let herself fall to the ground instantly, the powerful kick only strafing her shoulder instead of shattering her arm. Using both her hands to push herself up, Love used a low kick to push Rose off balance.

She was good at hand to hand combat, but fighting with someone that had bone breaking attacks wasn't going to be easy, especially not when visibility was at an all-time low, the footing was horrible and a giant electric robot was stomping around, attacking everything in sight.

The purple Cure couldn't stabilize her footing in time to avoid Peach's counter. Seeing no other choice, and already under the influence of the proximity damage, she decided to take Peach out even if it meant to go down herself. "Metal Temptation!" Similar to Abaddon, Milky Rose created innumerable metal fragments, these swirling around the two Cures like a slowly closing maelstrom, leaving no way out.

Love was already on course to enter hand to hand combat with the purple Cure, unable to change that in the tiny time frame she was allowed. "Heart..."

"Slash!" Kurumi was faster than Peach. Clapping her hands together as if she was smashing a fly, the fragments stopped and then started to act like short range blades, flying from one side to another. No cut was any worse than that of a moderately sharpened blade but the great number was devastating, both of them taking major damage. Falling flat on her face, Love could see that Kurumi was not any different, bleeding heavily and seemingly unconscious.

The battle was nearing it's end, despite quite a few Cures still being able to fight. Something that was about to change drastically. Controlling her greatest creation, something she had painstakingly drawn after watching too many episodes of a certain Gundam series, Yayoi was riding on top of it, feeling great. She had little chance to every give life to her bigger creations and even then she never got to see them in action.

Spotting Beat fighting two versus one, against a green and pink Cure, Yayoi remembered that one of the rules gave them immunity to friendly fire. It was a one-shot thing and she would be all out of steam after that, but... it would be incredibly cool. Yayoi's dedication to mecha rivaled those of hardcore fans with ease. "Double OO Raiser, **Legend**! Twin Lightning Particle Storm Exceed Overdrive!"

The robot, looking astonishingly like it's anime counterpart, came to a standstill, emitting golden particles from the engines attached to it's shoulders. The density of the particles quickly reaching dangerous levels, Yayoi had no problem where a normal person would've been electrocuted instantly.

Ellen noticed the impeding storm first but was tied down by Mint and Blossom tag teaming her, blocking her path with barriers and firing energy blasts and beams at her. To make matters worse, the second she found a way to escape, Sunshine and Pine showed up, Inori so overly dominating the fight that it looked like Sunshine was purposefully losing and luring her somewhere.

The short moment of when her attention had been focused on Sunshine, Ellen had maneuvered herself into a corner from which there was no escaping. Jumping up and trying to get past the barriers would make her a welcome target for Mint to lock her up completely and simply deprive her of oxygen until she collapsed.

Ready to blast her way free, even if it meant suffering the backlash of destroying the barriers, the blue Cure received a helping hand from Peace. An unshapely mass of electricity was floating high above them and they could hear the yellow Cure yell something.

The effect of the attack was completely out of the world. Enormous lightning bolts sizzled over the ground, destroying rocks, trees, electrocuting everything in a hundred meter radius like an enormous and unstoppable bomb that just went off. Unlike regular electricity the attack didn't dissipate after a second or two, it kept going for almost ten seconds. Ellen watched with slight worry as Pine, Blossom and Mint got hit by the bolts over and over again until it was finally over. The three Cures were on the ground, their bodies twitching from the overload, none of them moving. The air was full of the smell of burned flesh, a horrible stench.

With one final, catastrophic attack, Peace had decimated the the entire remainder of the enemy team. Underestimating her capabilities and power, none of them had thought her to be that strong and most of all merciless.

Yayoi was looking over the devastated area from atop a high rock, impressed and a little shocked. "I... overdid it a little... maybe?" Smiling awkwardly, Yayoi felt her consciousness slip for a moment. Blinking once, the area around her had changed drastically. She was looking at the bottom of a wooden frame. "Eh... what?" Feeling a somewhat uncomfortable bed below her, Yayoi was confused. She wasn't soaking wet anymore but she felt extremely exhausted. A raging headache was slowly making it's way to her forehead. "Where..." Slowly getting up, fighting the desire to lie back down as her whole body was aching the same way it did when she didn't sleep for three days because of deadlines, Yayoi realized that she was back in the shoddy room she was supposed to sleep in. "Nao?"

Peeking in the bed below her, she caught Nao with the shoulder part of her costume slipped off. Yayoi had an excellent view of Nao's quite copious cleavage. "Nao." Making her presence known one more time, she started to climb down, unable to take the punishment of hanging off the bed.

"Yayoi? My head still hurts... or rather, my whole body does... I don't know how... I'm even able to move. I remember taking an attack from that purple Cure and everything went dark..." Nao was completely confused. "I only got a small skin irritation where Reika... hit me with... a dagger..." Nao finally realized that she had put Reika quite through something.

Yayoi decided not to mention that she was likely going to be responsible for a lot of hair combing on the other team in the very near future. Making a groaning noise, Ellen got up as well. Her hair was a complete mess, standing away from her head in every direction. She might have been immune to the damage but the side effects were very vividly present. A single look at Beat told Nao all she needed to know about what Yayoi had done.

"That was horrible... Peace, you did that, right?" Looking at the yellow Cure, Ellen tried frantically to keep her hair down. "That thunder storm that crashed down. I bet the others are going to be really sore after that."

"I didn't want to believe you but I really can't find anything except a few bruises on me... is this how it always goes?" Nao would check under the show again when she had time. It seemed almost unreal. "I remember the fight but... when I was in there..."

"You didn't care about who those on the other team were to you, right?" Yayoi nodded. "I don't really feel bad either, it's kinda mysterious."

"At least based on those I was in, this was a pretty short battle. It didn't last much longer than ten minutes I think." Calling her favor bag, Ellen noticed that the values had gone up. "I got a hundred and thirty. That's... a lot. I didn't even fight that much."

Yayoi, impatient to find out how much she got, called her bag as well and looked at the number with slight confusion. "Is hundred and seventy-eight a lot?"

"I don't think anyone else ever got that much." Ellen was a little wary of Peace now, knowing that she definitely shouldn't underestimate her. "What was that... thing you made, anyway?"

"The Double OO Raiser Legend, a robot from an anime I like. Do you want to hear about it?" Getting into sparkly eyes mode again, Yayoi was quickly shot down.

"Maybe... maybe later." Rejecting the girl as carefully as she could, she didn't really care about anime and the likes. "But good work out there Peace, March." Getting up and thinking that even walking was a real chore after a battle, she just wanted to go back to sleep. "If you're hungry, there is likely dinner being made right now." With those parting words, she headed towards the dinning room herself, thinking she might find Setsuna there.

"Should we go?" The excitement having worn off, Yayoi was starting to feel pretty hungry. And very, very tired. "I wonder if all of them feel like this..."

"I'd think so. And yeah, let's get something to eat. I'll go to the dome after that and check if Reika or Akane are there."

Someone was already waiting for them outside their room. "Are you doing okay?" She had made it through the battle relatively unscathed, but Itsuki felt still exhausted. Leaving the influence of the red mist, it was always similar to coming off caffeine or a lot of sugar.

"I feel like I got run over." Nao thought that there were some really fearsome people around. She couldn't even imagine how strong some of them really were. She had only managed to take on Reika because she knew her weak point. The element of surprise.

"When you're beaten really badly you might be sleeping a bit longer and have an awful lot of bruises and pretty horridly sore muscles. But that is really an extreme case and I haven't seen anyone feel drained after a good night's rest. This place wants us to fight a lot. So it keeps us in top shape." Itsuki finished her explanation.

"I wasn't really believing it when I heard about it but... now that I went through it myself, I understand. Well, a bit." Nao still didn't like the fighting. But it wasn't something she would make an enormous fuss about.

"One last thing. You shouldn't hold it against someone if they beat you. It's... well I guess you could say it's a job of sorts. Something we need to do to go home at some point. I'm taking a shower, I still smell like swamp. I'll see you later or tomorrow." Waving them goodbye, Itsuki headed for the rather frugal shower rooms on the bottom level. She had the distinct feeling that trying to use one of the other rooms wasn't going to work out so well.

"They're all really looking out for us, right?" Yayoi could tell that her group was not unwelcome. If they were really going to be stuck there for a long time, a few new faces were always welcome.

"Makes me feel almost bad for not trusting them." The awkward atmosphere Nao created by saying that was removed right away by Yayoi's stomach growling. "Don't eat me."

"I won't! I just forget to eat pretty often!"

=== Dissonance ===

Akane was stuffing her face in an attempt to bury that memory of losing to Rouge under a lot of food and calories. Miyuki and Reika were sitting to either side of her, amused and a bit embarrassed at how riled up Akane was over losing. "I'll get her, I tell ya'll, I'll damn get her 'n pluck her damn grin from her face! Next time I'll win!"

"My, Akane, you really are eager to get back together with Rouge. I certainly hope **nobody** tells Nao about this or she might become jealous." Having returned to being a tease, Reika caused Akane to choke briefly on her food. The Cures sitting close, Luminous, Melody, Mint and Pine all laughed briefly, finding it pretty funny how caught up in her rivalry with Rin she had gotten.

"Don't ya have any pride? I can't letta show me up like that ! Ye don't want to get back at... who got you?"

"I will **get back** at the Cure that beat me in due time." Covering her mouth, Reika quietly added something that made Akane blush.

"Reika! That ain't funny!" Talking about cheating on Nao was something Akane couldn't forgive.

"Oh, but I'm sure Nao won't mind a little retribution."

"She'll sure mind if ye go 'n seduce some other girl! Who 's it 'nway?"

"I haven't mentioned any other girl." With a really daring smile, Reika pointed at her comrade. "Our girlfriend."

"What? Nao beat you? How did that happen?" Akane completely ignored the attention the others paid to her being toyed with by Beauty.

"She surprised me. I know Nao's strength well and so do you."

"How long did you train to be able to make weapons like that?" Inori was quite curious about the blue Cure. "I'd think weapons made of ice are very fragile."

"Ice **can** be very sturdy depending on it's composition." Reika felt too tired to explain in detail what she could do. "If you want me to tell you more about it, why don't we meet up for breakfast tomorrow. I think I'll go to bed early today, I'm awfully tired." The more tired and exhausted she was, the more her formal speech slipped towards the way she talked when teasing Akane or Miyuki.

"Too bad about losing your first battle." Inori still felt tingly all over from being hit by Peace's attack. "You could have warned us about Peace though."

"I... must say I was surprised to see that, too. And I must admit that I know very little about her ability." Reika couldn't decide if she regretted never asking or living happy with the knowledge that Yayoi would talk about it for hours without as much as taking a break.

"So what do you think of this place so far?" Hibiki liked to distract herself from thinking about Itsuki and she wasn't doing too badly.

"The rooms are a little... you know." Miyuki didn't want to say they sucked but the lower levels one definitely did. "But I get to sleep in the same room with my friends, so it's not bad." Miyuki always tried to find something positive about her situation.

"Before you joined up with us, everyone had their own room. They weren't really much better than the group rooms though, so, to be honest, I like this arrangement." Hikari figured that if she changed sides, or Kurumi did, they could still talk to each other without having to share a bed.

"Did couples just share a bed in one of their two rooms then?" Directing the question towards Hikari, Komachi answered for her, a little more familiar with that process. "The beds were big enough for two people if they slept close together, so yes, couples did sleep in one room. I think it might be a little problematic now since the only single rooms are the middle floor ones."

"The beds on the upper level are so big, I could probably fit Honoka and Nagisa in there next to me." Hikari was sharing a room with Lemonade, who hadn't said a single word to her since she found out.

"Hikari... you're given people weird ideas." Honoka looked rather awkward. Given her relationship with Nagisa and that she had never seen Hikari pursue any kind of romance on her own, she couldn't shake off the thought of a threesome. It was similar to when someone told someone else to not think about a specific thing. They would be unable to think about anything else.

"What ideas?" Looking completely innocent and a bit naive, Hikari simply had too pure a mind to immediately think of things like that.

"You got it rough, don'tcha?" Akane could sympathize with White a little. Miyuki wasn't quite as bad as Luminous, but there was also Yayoi and beware if she didn't know about her obsession with girls love. Everyone did. Keeping it a secret, that they knew about it, was at times pretty annoying. But Yayoi was the type to really freak out when her secrets were discovered.

The source of that knowledge was of course Miyuki, unable to keep her mouth shut. But that was part of what made her lovable. Yayoi on the other hand was lovable too but her obsession didn't contribute to that at all.

"You two get along a lot better than Rin and Karen used to." Taking Komachi's spot after she had gotten up, still plans for the evening, Nozomi wanted to get to know the new Cures a bit better. "Is it true that both of you date the blue Cure on your team? What was her name again? I can't remember."

"You're never going to stop being scatterbrained, do you, oh leader of mine?" Urara made no exceptions for Nozomi when it came to teasing people about their faults and quirks.

"Say, say... is she always that rude? She was making fun of me earlier, too..." Whispering to Nozomi, Miyuki had the feeling she would get along really well with her. They were both pink Cures after all!

"Most of the time. She seems to be in a really bad mood today, though."

"I guess all kinds of people can become Cures." Miyuki had always lived with the idea that only pure, nice and friendly people could become Cures. After all, those things all applied to her friends.

"She used to be really cute and trusting but a few years ago, she-" Nozomi stopped dead in her tracks when a hand grabbed the top of her head.

"Mind telling me what you're babbling about?" With a completely and obvious fake smile, one that radiated coldness, Urara stopped Nozomi from running her mouth again. The last thing she needed was **Happy** to go and have pity on her.

"Reika, she's scaring me..." Hiding behind the blue Cure, Miyuki felt a bit intimidated when Lemonade made a complete mess of Nozomi's hair, constantly scolding her not to tell others about people's pasts without their permission.

"Oh my. Maybe she'll open up to you if you try to make friends." Reika figured that while Urara might be not a friendly person, she wasn't violent. Nonetheless, she felt like she had just sent Miyuki on a suicide mission.

"You think so?" Miyuki was a little doubtful about it. She once believed everyone was a good person at their core, but after her run-in with transfer student from the Netherlands she wasn't so sure anymore.

"Of course. You just need to try." Reika didn't have a sadistic streak, it was more that she really believed that if anyone could befriend someone unfriendly, then it was Miyuki. There was just this overpowering feeling of sympathy towards the pink Cure.

Watching Miyuki approach Lemonade and try to the yellow Cure from scolding Dream was quite the sight. "Shouldn't we help her? Look, they're both squirming and looking for help now, one on each hand... you've really become devious Reika..." Akane watched her friend with a little bit of pity. She wasn't really being hurt and she should know better than to befriend just about anyone.

"I think she might actually get through to her. Look, she's being a bit gentler with Miyuki." Reika tried hard to hide her smile.

"You think so?" Looking at Reika, she could tell from her eyes. "Is what you wanted me to say, yes? I'm not falling for that again."

"I believe it is time for me to fall in my bed. I'd like to go and see Nao, but this wouldn't be the first time I don't see her for a day."

"We should keep you like this, tired and spend, at least you don't sound like a robot then."

"Is that so? I believe I'm just being polite."

"Don't force it, Reika. I know you almost as well as Nao does." That was one of the side effects of sharing a girlfriend. Akane knew that it worked both ways. Nao told Akane things about Reika and vice versa.

"My, you've become a spoilsport." Reika sighed briefly before she stood up and walked over to Lemonade to collect Miyuki. "Can we have you return her to us?"

"Just take her away! I don't need of her kind." Looking at Nozomi, Urara added with an annoyed expression. "One is enough work."

"Reika... you liar..." Miyuki was near tears when her friend finally got her out of Lemonade's clutches.

"She is already seeing you as someone equal to someone else that is part of her team. Shouldn't you be happy?"

"I'm not ultra happy." Pouting, even Miyuki had a limit of what she would believe.

Looking around, a few Cures had already left, having had a really long day and it was already deep in the night. Catching White before she left, Reika had one question she needed answered. "You said that there would be an exchange of team members after a battle, yes? And that someone would be trapped in exile."

"Yes. That is what would usually happen. However, this battle and the negotiation were a demonstration of how the system worked. We were told that the full system will only be ready tomorrow. Whoever scores lowest will be in exile and the team member exchange will begin tomorrow."

"I see."

"Anything else? I'm going back to my room. It's likely late in the night and I want to return to a normal schedule."

"No, have a good rest." Bowing slightly before turned away, Reika returned to Akane. "Miyuki, would you stop resting your head on the table? It's unbecoming of you."

"**But**... I tried really hard to be extra nice and she still ruined my hair."

"It takes time to befriend people. Not everyone opens up as easily when they're adults." Reika continued to remind Miyuki of this.

"I wish I had never become an adult." And Miyuki continued to pout.

Akane and Reika both sighed. "Akane, are you responsible for the light sources in the hallways?" Changing the topic, knowing that nothing useful would come out of Miyuki at this point.

"Oh, those orb thingy lamps? No, that ain't my work. I'm a chef, not a glassblower. They were already there when we got back from the dome. Ye didn't notice?"

"I noticed but didn't know if it was one of us who placed them. But it makes sense, the light in the hallways is dimming quickly. I expect them to turn off shortly."

"I'd like 'n go see Nao but... I'm really tired 'n I dunno how to contact her 'n everythin'. I just want to take a break now..." Yawning and quickly covering her mouth, she broke out in bashful laugh.

"Nao will be tired herself. Shall we take our Cinderella here and take her to the castle?"

"That's more of a shack than a castle. But yeah."

Each of them grabbing Miyuki by one arm, they carried her away, only two other Cures actually remaining behind them. Lemonade was getting herself comfortable with a drink and Dream was keeping her company. "She's acting like nothing happened..." Watching those two, Miyuki felt a little silly for getting angry over some hair ruffling. She would try harder next time.

=== Dissonance ===

"It hurts... why did I forget the door opens inwards..." Rubbing her forehead, Nao had left her room to go to the bathroom. It was almost pitch black in the hallway and she had trouble finding her way. Sleeping in underwear was one thing but leaving her room just in that was impossible. And dressing would wake up everyone else. Sneaking out in underwear and transforming right away, Nao was still uncomfortable, knowing that if she should transform back, she would be in just underwear.

Finding the bathroom with relative ease, but finding the approaching shadow not at all, Nao hit her head a second time and fell backwards. "Ouch... who?"

"Sunshine. You have a hard head." Itsuki was rubbing her forehead, just returning from the bathroom herself. "Bathroom too?"

"Had too many of the drinks at dinner."

"I know what you mean."

"Is it always this dark out here when everyone sleeps?"

"That hasn't changed." Getting up and holding her hand out to March, Itsuki wondered if her eyes had adjusted enough to even register her offer.

Noticing something in front of her, Nao tried to grab it, only upon contact realizing it was a hand. A warm glow started to emit from a different point, Sunshine's other hand. "I'll leave that here. It'll go out in five minutes or so." Dropping a small sphere that bathed just a bit of the hallway into a gentle light, Itsuki yawned loudly and scratched the back of her head. "Back to bed. Night, March."

"Night." Nao was grateful for the miniature lantern and headed into the bathroom.

Moments later, Yayoi almost woke Kurumi with her sleep talking. "No... not there... we can't..." Rolling over, trying to grab a big pillow that wasn't there, Yayoi rolled out of her bed and hit the ground hard. Just in time for Nao to come in through the door, already transformed back to avoid waking up her roommates with the light flash. "Yayoi?" Her eyes had gotten used to the darkness by now but it was still hard to see anything.

"My miracle peace body pillow...It's gone..." Still half asleep, the mangaka yawned, not bothering to cover her mouth at all. "Nao? Why are you in my room... and why is my floor so cold..."

"Just in your dream. Come, get up." Pulling Yayoi by her arm and shoving her in front of the small ladder, Nao really hoped Rose wouldn't wake up and see both of them in just underwear together. That would create a lot of misunderstandings for sure.

"Yes, yes..." Climbing the ladder and getting back into her bed the wrong way, her head rested directly on the mattress, the pillow pressed against her chest, tightly hugged.

"Night, Yayoi." Nao could have sworn that Yayoi replied something but it got lost in sleep drunken murmur. Getting back into bed and hoping that she didn't wake Rose, Nao did wonder where Beat had gone until she remembered that she was a couple with Passion, who was in one of the upper two levels.

Closing her eyes, she was almost fast asleep when Yayoi started to sleep talk briefly again.

"Miracle Peace... has arrived... sparkle sparkle justice..."

=== End of Event XXII ===

_The dark of the unknown room, the uncomfortable bed, the breathing of people around her, all meant nothing. She knew who was at fault. She knew who had caused the reflections to show up. Gritting her teeth so hard that it hurt, she promised herself to not let this go. She would make Dream pay for her stupidity._

**A/N: Info material for Dissonance can be found in my profile. Team and Relationship charts as well as a Map. If one of these is not uploaded yet, just be patient for a couple days.**


	23. Normalcy Rebound

**Dissonance**

_Event XXIII_

**Normalcy Rebound**

Yawning as she slowly opened her eyes, Love started to feel around in bed, looking for something. "Setsuna? Ellen?" A little confused and tired out, her whole body thoroughly resisted waking up, trying to force her back to sleep. "Ah... they're on the other team." Losing all her motivation to get up in the first place, Love turned over.

The room was completely silent beyond her own breathing and the bed felt awfully large and empty. "How long has it been since I woke up without Setsuna..." Even while they had traveled and worked at different times, they had always made time to see each other and come to bed when they could. "Don't feel like getting up..." Setsuna would scold her for lazy behavior like that but considering what she had gone through the day before, she felt very justified in staying under the bed cover.

The silence was becoming awkward quite fast. Turning over every couple minutes, she couldn't find any peace. "If at least one of them was here..." Love didn't feel lonely very easily but she did long for her partners that morning. Laying flat on her stomach, she started to think about what Setsuna and Ellen were doing. They were probably too overly faithful to have fun all alone. Giggling at the thought of both of them feeling bad, she heard someone sneeze in the room to the left.

Did someone catch a cold? Yawning again and pulling the cover over her head, Love tried to go back to sleep and ignore the nagging feeling that she wouldn't find a moment's rest like this. Thinking about what she would do without her partners, she did remember that both Bukki and Miki were on her side, reminding her of when she was just a teenager, doing Cure things for the first time.

"I can't believe that it's already been four years since then... " Smiling awkwardly, Love felt a bit stupid, talking to herself. It did give her the illusion that she wasn't alone though. Another sneeze, a very cute one. "Maybe I can ask Ellen's teammates about her a bit. I wonder what kind of food she likes." Not that she could cook a great many things, not unless varieties of hamburger counted.

A series of sneezes. It was starting to bug her. Holding on to the sheets, slowly crawling out of bed, giving a great impression of a ghost, Love knocked on the wall. If she could hear sneezes, it shouldn't be hard to hear knocking. "You alright?" She didn't really know who was in there. Trying to recall which emblem was on the wall, she couldn't remember a thing.

The knocking was returned and it was only a very quiet thud, barely audible. In a way, that put Love at ease. It would be quite embarrassing if Setsuna or Ellen started to get loud and someone was forced to listen in. Standing at the wall, she yawned again and closed her eyes for a split second. She was going back to sleep after all. Turning and crawling back into bed, the sheets covering all of her body including her head, Love slowly returned to the land of dreams.

The room next to hers, the one where no sneezing had come from, had a very cranky girl waking up. It had been less than a month since she had started sleeping in the same room as Itsuki and yet she was already waking up with a foul mood when she wasn't around. "Stupid system... Why'd it split me from Itsuki." That absolutely nobody else from her team was on this side was making things even worse. "Not like I'd talk to Kanade anyway." Pouting, Hibiki got angry with herself for even bringing it up. Itsuki had already told her she needed to stop being stubborn and holding on to grudges. That wasn't how mature people dealt with their issues. She knew that but it wasn't that easy to go against your own personality.

"Thinking about her only makes me even more annoyed!" Taking her pillow and using it to cover her face, Hibiki already dreaded having to spend the entire day without Itsuki. "I don't need to say anything about Kanade... I'm acting almost like her..." Noticing how attached she had gotten to Itsuki, Hibiki was a little startled. "Oh man... I guess this is what it means to be head over heels in love."

Quite conscious of how hard she had fallen for Itsuki, there were some things she wasn't happy with. For one, they lived quite far apart. Japan wasn't a small country by any stretch of the imagination and even though public transportation was affordable, she didn't even want to think about a long distance relationship.

"But can I really just up and go move in with Itsuki? Ah... I wish I could talk to her about this right now." Despite her usually carefree attitude, Hibiki did keep those things in mind and they weighed down on her mood, especially now that her flame wasn't with her.

And she wasn't the only one who was having those troubles. Urara was enjoying the comfortable bed of the luxurious room she had scored. Or she would have if not for being extremely bored. Luminous, on the other side of the room, was still sound asleep and she felt so lethargic that she couldn't even get herself to prank her a little. Just thinking about it made clear that the thrill would feel empty without Ako's nagging glare on her back.

Laying on her back, both hands behind her head, the yellow Cure was quite amazed. Years ago, before she had realized how evil and merciless the world really was, she had never thought she'd have trouble finding someone she would truly like. And after her make-over, she had expected the complete opposite. "So, what the hell do I do? It's fine while we're in here, but when we get out, she'll have to live as what, a fourteen year old? No way I'm getting away with that. Forget 'hello work,' it'll be 'hello prison' for me."

"If she's that young I'm gonna have to deal with her parents, too. Oh great, I can already hear them complaining and nagging about me. 'She's working as **what?** And she's **how old?**' All that stupid blah blah. Makes me want to just grab, tag, bag her and get out."

"What am I saying?" Turning over and exhaling deeply, Urara put two fingers to head forehead. "If I do that, Ako is gonna fry my ass. Maybe it's been a little too long since I had someone I care about." Slowly getting up, she was tired of laying in bed. "Luminous, you awake?"

Getting no answer, Urara got out of bed and peeked around the screen that separated their personal spaces. "Yo..." The girl was not even there. "I can't understand those types that get up this early." For a moment, she was thankful that Ako was punctual but not notoriously so.

Leaving her room, the door automatically locking and her emblem, two crossed chains behind a butterfly, starting to glow, she ran into someone. "Knocking helps." Seeing Berry stand in front of the door to the other third floor room, Urara couldn't help herself but comment. "You know, that thing you do when you want someone inside a room to know you're there, outside their room."

Miki wasn't going to play any stupid games with the blonde. "Morning to you too, Lemonade."

"Want me to knock for you? Are you one of those usually confident but then shy when it counts types?" Urara was intuitively expecting a slap to the back of her head yet nothing happened. "Ah right... Ako isn't here. Shit."

"No thanks." Miki only now took a look at Urara and had to try hard to not laugh. "And you might want to fix that hair of yours." Watching the blonde make a grimace and return to her room, Miki finally overcame her nervousness. That wasn't like her at all. Knocking twice and waiting for a few seconds, Egret opened the door. "Is Yuri still asleep?"

"She's," Mai turned and checked, "already out." She realized she had not even noticed that before now. "Probably to take a shower. Want me to tell her you are looking for her?"

Thinking for a second, Miki shook her head. "No, I'll find her myself. Thanks." Turning away, Miki left the white Cure to her own devices. Thinking that it was unlikely to find her in the garden this early, Miki listened in on whether the showers on the opposite side of the floor were being used. No dice.

Going down the stairs, Mint and Dream were both walking towards her, seemingly headed for the top level. "Morning." Miki was a little weirded out by how casually they responded with the same greeting. As if they were already completely used to living in this place. Sharing a room with Bukki and Blossom wasn't bad but the room quality left a lot to be desired.

Hearing the two girls chatting all the way down to the second floor, she noticed White just leaving her room, big black rings under her eyes. "Slept badly?" Waiting for her to come close to respond, Miki caught a glimpse of Inori coming down the stairs behind her and turned around to greet her as well. "Morning, Bukki."

Not surprised to see her friend already up, Inori returned the greeting. "Morning. Are you fine, walking around?"

"I feel like I could eat a bear whole but other than that I'm fine." She obviously couldn't eat a bear whole, given that all the excess calories would make her gain weight. Turning to the side, Inori walking two steps to stand next to her, Miki turned back to the white Cure that had made it over to where they stood. "You look terrible, Honoka."

"Thanks." Rubbing her forehead, Honoka sighed. "Feel like it, too." Looking at Pine and then back to Miki she looked even more tired than before. "Inori, do you feel like covering me on negotiations? I always take a day or two to adjust to sleeping in a new bed and..." Looking over her shoulder, Honoka sighed again, "I always end up losing sleep like that."

"If you do not mind,"Appearing like a ghost, Reika had approached the group from behind, the sleepy Honoka was startled upon finally noticing her. "I could take care of negotiations."

"Please do," feeling slightly unwell, Honoka decided that Beauty was more than capable to get some favorable terms for the team. "Coffee..."

Miki grinned and pointed towards the back, a sign that she was going to go too. "The elixir of life. I need one as well."

"Have any of you seen Love?" Inori wasn't a fan of coffee early in the morning although it was sometimes necessary for work.

"I think she might still be in the dinner hall." Reika remembered that Love was the real name of Peach and she had seen her earlier.

Turning to Reika, Inori smiled. "Alright, thanks. Miki, Honoka, let's go." Part of their conversation from the day before was still hanging in the air and she wanted to finish that. Watching Reika walk away, and greet a very cranky looking Melody on her way, Inori felt like she would get along with the new blue Cure.

"I heard you were coming out of the shower with Windy yesterday. Scouting a girlfriend, Bukki?" Miki wasn't exactly one to talk, with her going after Yuri and everything.

Grinning and slowly walking past her friend, Inori raised her index finger to her lips. "Wouldn't you like to know?"

Her mouth slightly open, Miki was surprised to see Bukki keep a secret from her. "But Windy of all people?"

"Don't badmouth her, Miki." Inori's expression was unchanged, still grinning and slowly walking, the other two following her.

Shaking her head, Miki smiled. "I'm not. So what's your relationship with her?"

"Hm...," Pretending to really need to think about it, Inori quickly turned around and faced Miki. "I'd say we're friends."

"Is this the same **friends** Love was with Setsuna?"

"No way." Inori almost started to laugh, just thinking about her trying to imitate Love. "You know I'm not like that. Nor are you, for the record."

"Yeah, you're right."

"You two..." Honoka was not quite friendly when she was sleep deprived, without Nagisa and still without coffee, too. "Can we get to the coffee room already?"

"Yeah, yeah." Miki was slightly amused, seeing the usually so composed Honoka like that.

The group stopped for a moment when someone else came up the stairs, letting them through. It were Happy and Blossom. Taking the opportunity, Miki held them up. "Blossom, have you seen Yuri?"

"She's having breakfast. She hasn't eaten in days, so she's really hungry." Tsubomi had been in the middle of a conversation with Miyuki. "I can't believe something like that happened."

"It did, it did. So when I got turned into a big robot, everyone tried to control me from the cockpit but only Reika really managed to do it." Miyuki liked to tell stories about the more silly experiences she had when dealing with the bad end kingdom.

"A.. giant robot?" Miki wasn't sure she heard right but she was a little worried that Happy might never stop talking if she asked. Getting shoved lightly by Honoka, Miki resumed walking. "Okay, okay, we'll get you your coffee. You're like a totally different person without Black around."

"What do you expect..." Yawning, Honoka let her head slightly hang. "I've been with Nagisa for half a decade, often day and night." Yawning again, Honoka lowered her voice slightly. "I need her."

Both Miki and Inori blushed after hearing that. "Is... is that so?" Miki couldn't find any other words.

The instant they reached the bottom of the stairs, someone flew around the corner and crashed into Inori, both going down to the ground. "Ah, I'm sorry! I was in a hurry 'n didn't check where I was goin'." They recognized the accent right away. "I'm real sorry!" Getting up and extending her hand to Inori, Akane felt pretty silly.

"Don't worry about it." Taking Sunny's hand, Inori got back up and got immediately pushed ahead by Honoka, who went on towards the kitchen on her own. "Why were you in such a hurry?"

Turning her head away, Akane laughed awkwardly. "I.. err.. no... no particular reason." Looking behind her, she quickly ran past them. "I'll have to go now. See ya later."

"Sunny! Come back and clean up your mess!" A petite shout from down the hallway caused Akane to dash up the stairs. A flushed and slightly angry Luminous showed up and followed the red Cure just a few seconds later.

"Seems like things are really back to normal now." Miki smiled a little, hoping that she would finally get to have a nice, long talk with Yuri.

"A little too normal maybe." Inori watched Luminous vanish around the corner in the middle of the stairs. "But I really don't mind."

=== Dissonance ===

"No."

"Why!?"

"No means no."

"But...!"

"Absolutely not."

"Stingy!"

"I'm not letting you do it."

Watching two blue Cures argue in the garden, one of them already a good friend of hers, Yayoi stood silently a few meters away. Erika was scurrying around Aqua, trying to get permission to hold the negotiations in her place. Aqua had already been chosen as indicated by the plates and Erika wanted to go in her stead.

"Just this once will be fine, yeah?"

"No."

"Please!"

"No."

"Why are you so hardhearted!?"

"Now look..." Sighing hard, Karen closed the novel she had been reading. "You and Peace **exploded** a hallway just yesterday. What exactly makes you think something like that would tell me you're suited to handle negotiations for the next fight."

"That's that and this is this." Erika saw no problem whatsoever. "So, come on, let me- ouch ouch ouch!" Getting dragged away by her ear, Erika had run out of time. "Tsubomi... you look scary..." Those words being met with a glare that told her to be quiet, Erika looked to her new friend. "Yayoi, help!" Wildly flailing with her arms, Erika tried to get away from her lover, with no success whatsoever.

Yayoi looked at Aqua and was immediately shot down. "You're in the same boat as her. I will hold negotiations and that is the end of that story." Closing her book and getting up, Karen noticed that March and Passion were walking down the path next to the pond.

"I never thought I'd meet someone else that was... well..." Scratching her cheek, Nao tried to find the right words, "in a relationship like me." Not quite satisfied with that way of saying it, Nao tried to think of something better. "Someone dating multiple people? No... that sounds really wrong..." She did tend to sometimes think out loud.

"We've only recently gotten together like that. I met Ellen when we were first on a team together and I was really worried that Love would be mad at me." Setsuna had, by sheer coincidence, ended up heading to the garden after breakfast at the same time as March and so they started talking.

"Heh..." Letting her eyes wander, not having had much chance to properly enjoy the garden, Nao was trying hard to get used to all the new faces and names. "She is younger than you, right? Ellen, I mean."

"About two years, yes. Are Sunny and Beauty both the same age as you?" Setsuna had long since grown used to making new friends quickly, just like Love.

"I'm actually the oldest on the team. I'm nineteen and so is Miyuki. The other three are eighteen and Akane and Reika are the youngest. Not that it makes much difference now." Sighing, Nao looked at her feet. "It bugs me more that I'm so much taller than them..."

"You **are** quite tall.. I think only Moonlight and Miki could compare. You might actually be as tall as Miki." If she had stood side to side with March, there would have been quite the difference. "Does it bother you in general?" Setsuna didn't quite know what to think, considering March looked even taller than she really was due to her ponytail.

"Well..." Nao thought about it briefly before answering. "It's usually very handy at work but it gets a little awkward when I'm with Akane because..." Her voice dying down as she was about to go into dangerously embarrassing territory, Nao blushed. "I'd be happy with a few centimeters less."

"I'm amazed that Sunny and Beauty get along despite only one of them being with you at the time."

"They had to get along... if you knew what kind of nonsense those two pulled to make me stay single..." Sighing, Nao stopped walking and sat down on a bench, watching the pond. "One time I had a date with this guy I met at a soccer game. A completely frenzied Reika showed up, claiming to not know me **and** be the actual girlfriend of my date. She was disguised but it was really obvious. How long does she think I've known her? It turned into a huge fiasco and my date just ran away, frenzy Reika after her."

"That's... horrible. Why would she do that?" Setsuna sat down next to March, a little concerned about Beauty. "Do they still do these things?"

"They stopped after I gave in and started going out with those two. Their methods were really horrible but I'm not mad anymore. I was quite angry when they sabotaged my every attempt to find a boyfriend, but knowing why they did it made it hard to stay mad."

"It's kind of amazing you would agree to date them after all that." Setsuna intuitively pulled away a few centimeters when she saw Nao's expression darken and a terrifying grin flit over her lips. "Ma... March?"

An equally terrifying giggle escaped Nao. "I paid them back in full for all the horrible things they put me through." Getting a hold of herself, she grinned. "I took the two of them for a training camp and put them through hell. Akane was unable to work for a week, so sore and exhausted was she."

"You had me worried there for a moment." Setsuna felt relieved and took a deep breath. "I thought you had them tied up or something."

Starting to laugh, Nao shook her head. "No, no. I'm not into stuff like that. I just thought that if they have that much extra energy, I would **help** them use it up."

Not too far from them was Yayoi, crouching and rapidly drawing sketches, a thin line of drool running from the corner of her mouth, her eyes lit up like stars, murmuring words to herself. "You're so naughty Nao... heh... heh... you got Akane already... oh you naughty... pushing her down like that... so forceful..."

The yellow Cure didn't notice that she was in plain view for the two girls that were jogging through the garden. "Shouldn't we tell her she is in plain view for everyone but those two?" Saki had felt a little frustrated after waking up without Mai and asked Nagisa out for some exercise.

"She'll be fine. I'm more worried about you. Ever since we that mishap you and Mai... I feel responsible for that." Nagisa almost fell when Saki punched her shoulder. "Ouch! What was that for?"

"Being stupid. I ended up with Honoka, too, and you two didn't end up having problems. And I think most of it is because of Wither." Saki slowed down a little as they reached the flower hill.

"Honoka **was** saying that she hasn't forgotten about it... I'm probably not gonna get any for a while." Matching Saki's speed, Nagisa kept up easily.

"Welcome to my world right now. Well, not like we can even see them outside the dome." With a sigh, she looked at Nagisa and grinned. "Well," Pointing at her friend, "Worst case scenario and I'll come to you." Saki took the joke a little too far.

"That's not funny, Saki." increasing her speed and getting ahead, Nagisa didn't want to listen to talk like that. Her loyalty to Honoka was peerless.

"Nagisa!" Catching up, Saki short her an apologetic look. "I'm sorry. I'm just frustrated that I can't do anything for Mai."

"Things will be back to normal soon. You and Mai have been together for so long, I really doubt there is anything that could separate you two for long." Speeding up a little more, Nagisa decided to lift the mood a little. "You know what?" Looking at Saki, Nagisa grinned wide. "Beat me to the dome and I'll think about **comforting** you." Taking off at max speed, Saki was left in the dust.

"Geez, and you tell **me** it's not funny!" Sprinting after Nagisa, Saki almost ran over Yayoi, who had seemingly finished drawing, a bit of drool running from her mouth. "Sorry!"

=== Dissonance ===

"What happened to you, Nozomi?" Miyuki was fidgeting while Luminous was placing a band aid over the last of Dream's bruises. "It looks like someone beat you up."

"I must have slipped and fell down the stairs." Miyuki smiled and then immediately flinched from the pain, Luminous looking a bit worried. "I'm a bit of a klutz." Sitting on her bed, several others were in the room. Beside Miyuki and Hikari, there was Komachi and also Urara, both of them hurrying to Nozomi's side when they heard she was found unconscious at the bottom stairs of level one.

Standing a bit in the back and whispering to just Komachi, Urara was suspicious of this. "She's a Cure. Injuries like that aren't just from falling down stairs. We can endure getting slammed into reinforced brick walls."

"You think someone did this to her?" Komachi couldn't think of anyone that would want to harm Nozomi like that. "Maybe it's an aftereffect from her battle with Nightmare."

"Could be. Even if we asked her, she'd just deny it so we don't worry. But I think we should keep an eye on her." Urara looked at Miyuki. "I don't trust the new girls yet. The way she's all worried about Nozomi only makes her more suspicious."

Komachi took a long look at Miyuki, who was apparently very concerned for her new friend. "She seems like a good person, though."

"If it's not her or one of the newcomers, I got one more guess. Remember, who was the angriest with Dream, other than Rin, after she blew the battle right when Beat went insane in exile?"

Komachi tried to remember, putting her palm against her chin. Urara got bored of waiting and simply told her. "Moonlight. She went through hell because of the reflections. What if she blames Nozomi for it? Nightmare was the one that caused the most trouble, so it'd make sense to pin it on her original."

Her eyes revealed how worried Komachi was, hearing Urara suspect other Cures of violence like that. But she couldn't quench the doubt that there might be some truth to it. That thing that had happened in the garden, when they merged Moonlight and her reflection...

"In any case..." Urara took a step towards the door, stopping briefly, talking only loud enough for Komachi to hear her. "I'm going to keep an eye on her. If someone is attacking Nozomi for some bullshit reason, I'm going to hang them up to dry."

Komachi couldn't shake off the doubt that Urara was not joking and would literally hang them up somewhere. Watching Happy and Nozomi laugh, Miyuki looking relieved that the other pink Cure was fine, she found it hard to believe that the girl would secretly hurt Nozomi.

Luminous walked out the door, going to put away the first aid kid she had bought for favor just a while ago, and witnessed an ugly scene. Sunny was standing in the middle of the hallway, petrified, with Urara standing next to her, a scornful look in her eyes. Noticing Luminous, Lemonade left, leaving a slightly frightened Sunny behind.

"What's up with her? Lookin' like she's gonna bury me alive or somethin'." She had felt a heavy chill run down her back when the yellow Cure glared at her. "Does she think we got anythin' to do with Dream fallin' down stairs or somethin'?"

"She'll calm down soon. Just do not provoke her, okay?" Hikari didn't want to have any feuds going on between Cures. But it did bother her. Dream's injuries were more like she had been thrown down the stairs with a lot of force.

"It ain't good pinnin' this on us just 'cause we're new." Akane didn't like that attitude but she knew better than to start of a fight with someone like that. Going into the room and jabbing Miyuki on the head, Akane gave her a worrying look. "What'cha doin' getting' ya self into trouble 'ready?"

"I didn't do anything, Akane! I just left for the toilet and when I came back, Nozomi was all battered, lying at the bottom of the stairs." Miyuki wasn't stupid. She could see how it was easy to suspect her. "If not for Nozomi we would still be in... in... what's the word?"

"Stasis? Reika explained it to you yesterday. Twice!" Akane only remembered because she had listened to it twice as well.

"Yes, that! I'm really grateful she got us out! Why would I want to hurt her?!"

"Miyuki." Nozomi interrupted their conversation. "I just missed a stair. It couldn't remember and took a wrong step and boom. I can be a bit of a klutz at times." A pleading look to Komachi and the green Cure didn't correct her on the 'bit' part of being a klutz.

=== Dissonance ===

"Yuri!" Miki called out to her crush. "Finally found you!" After hearing about the bizarre action with Dream, she put one and one together and wanted to get to Yuri before anyone else did.

"I was making myself scarce. I still have to sort out things in my head." Standing in the very back of the garden, Yuri was calmly watching a small patch of flowers that had a special meaning for her.

Now that she had finally tracked down the girl she had chased after so long, Miki was a little at a loss for words. "We started out on different teams, then the whole deal with the reflections happened... I think this is the first time we meet face to face without some kind of invisible wall to separate us."

Yuri chuckled. "Just don't jump me." Crouching down and looking at the beautiful white flowers, Yuri felt confronted with feelings and issues she would have liked to forget for just a little while longer. She remembered everything up to when she was sent into exile and there was just an enormous blank right after. "I heard it was a pretty horrible. The reflection issue. Makes me think having this enormous hole in my memories is not all that bad."

"You don't remember anything?" Stepping forward and crouching next to Yuri, she saw that it was Lilies that she had been looking at. Smiling at the obvious relation, Miki kept her eyes on the flowers. "About the reflections, the exile, the chaos that Nightmare caused?"

Shaking her head, Yuri looked slightly up. "Say Miki," Making a meaningful pause and turning to the blue Cure, Yuri had a look in her eyes that Miki had never seen before. "Tsubomi told me what you had to do to get me back. Thanks."

"You seem different, Yuri. Is it because of Eclipse?" Miki sat down, carefully avoiding pushing down the flowers when she stretched out her legs.

"Maybe. Or maybe I'm just fed up with everything that has happened in my life. It keeps derailing from one catastrophe into another. And maybe I'm thinking that only because of Eclipse."

"That's," Grinning a little, Miki pulled on Yuri's arm, forcing her to sit down. "not something you should really care about. I'm just glad you're okay."

"Do you still want to go out with me?" Yuri couldn't and didn't want to decide if she was happy or bothered by having parts of Eclipse's personality shine through her own.

Without even a hint of embarrassment, Miki nodded twice. "You know the answer to that and still asked. Very unlike you."

"I'll blame it on Eclipse." Taking a deep breath, Yuri's eyes wandered to her right, starting at Miki's long legs, up to her slender waist and decent bust, to her long hair and pretty face. "Wearing anything in normal form?"

"Not right now. The clothes I had got lost with my old room." She had changed countless times in front of other models and assistants so it didn't really bother her to admit it.

"Well," Just following a whim, Yuri leaned against Miki's shoulder. "that's fine then." Remaining silent for a couple minutes, Yuri smiled softly after. "Ask me out one more time."

"You're my ideal woman and I like you. I want you to go out with me." Not moving at all, letting Yuri remain in the idle position she was in, Miki confessed her feelings as if it was nothing special. "I'm sorry if that sounds a bit dry."

"I'm fine with that." Grabbing Miki's hand, Yuri exhaled once deeply, thinking just one thing.** Sorry, Momoka. But we don't live in the same world. **"And I like my drinks dry, no worries there."

"You're different from before. More... how do I put this..." Miki tried hard to think of words that weren't offensive. "More easygoing. You don't seem to worry as much."

Smiling and pushing a bit against Miki, Yuri was well aware of the change. "Only worrying about things and never acting only gets me pulled into one mess after another. I like Momoka but I should never have agreed to date her. It drove me crazy, worrying that some new enemy could end up taking her hostage or killing her. And it sometimes even interfered with her work and my studies."

"I think I like you even better this way. I thought you worried too much about things instead of just doing what you want."

"Without Eclipse I would probably still act like that. But I don't mind being a little bit more decisive about issues. I feel bad for Momoka and Erika is gonna throw a tantrum but it's my life. If Momoka knew how much sleep I was losing just over being with her, she probably wouldn't be happy being with me."

"Speaking of sleep... mind letting me just sleep in the same bed as you? I'm down in the trash room with Buki, Pine, and Blossom."

"Rejected. Not today."

"Was worth a try. I wonder what we're going to have lined up for fighting today. The participation board should be lit up by now."

"Miki." Yuri could feel the blue haired girl shiver a little. Letting herself fall back into the grass, Yuri looked up at the tall girl sitting next to her. She wondered what kissing her would be like. Grabbing Miki's left arm and pulling, forcing her off balance, Yuri wanted to find out. Right there.

=== Dissonance ===

Karen could feel the pressure, those eyes watching her every motion, closely examining her every reaction and action. Did blinking reveal she was not pleased with Beauty's choice of terrain? Did her breathing become faster just skimming the numbers, recalling what every single one was? Did Beauty realize the implication of those differences? "Awfully observant, are we not?" Trying to distract Beauty with some empty phrases, careful to not reveal that she was feeling the pressure the other blue Cure was putting on her.

Their eyes met, a single sign of a confident smile on Aqua's lips, a long blink, a hint of even the tiniest of grins, Reika found herself to be surprisingly pushed far beyond what she expected to have to deal with. "Please, I am merely judging if you are enjoying this as much as I." She did not enjoy it one bit. She had noticed early that she was smarter than Aqua but it was impossible to say by how much. It could have been leagues and yet also only steps. And what kept her worried was that indomitable posture, that unscalable spirit that refused to give in even after over thirty minutes of talking. Laying out bait with rules that would be unfavorable for her own team, conceding and retreating, pushing then and imposing new rules, rejecting suggestions and conceding again, words flowing back and forth. And it was still far from over.

"This will not work at all. You should be well aware that both teams have to approve **Magnetic Repel** before it can be put in play. You have not yet consulted me on whether I will concede on this or not." Karen pushed back on Beauty's latest set of suggestions, knowing full well that **Magnetic Repel** would be a very handy rule to have in effect. "I'm willing to, just this once, let you owe me and demand no concession in exchange. However, if you desire** Lethal Risk**, we shall take **Restoration** in exchange." Unless a rule that was possible to apply to just one team was approved by both, the other team could not take it as well. Forcing her off the rule served no practical purpose since it would mean having to compromise. And she didn't want to take Lethal Risk herself.

Reika was impressed that Aqua had managed to push that hard. By quickly closing the matter with an assumed approval of her going along with **Magnetic Repel**, Reika found that her trap had backfired, the otherwise disadvantageous rule to her now formally applied and confirmed. Retreating now would severely weaken her situation as the aggressor in the negotiation. After fixing the terrain, **Retaliation** and **Master**, she had figured that Aqua would be easy to corner and play to her whim. A grave mistake to underestimate her. "Very well. You can have **Restoration**." **Restoration** would be troublesome if her team prolonged the battle, but no such thing would happen with the weight of offense her own team could bring in.

The way she worded that put Karen on the defensive again. It was like Beauty was continuously a step ahead. She gave in too easily. Was there a downside to number forty-four, **Restoration**? Or was she simply confident enough that their team could take hers with such ease that a prolonged battle was not going to be a possibility? Was that her reason for combining **Lethal Risk **and** Master**? "I have yet to understand why you desire **Retaliation** to be included with these other rules. It seems unlikely to have any effect, considering we have just agreed on **Magnetic Repel**." Aqua tried a careful push, gauging what Beauty was planning.

And she jumped right into a trap. "If you dislike it, we do not need to use it. All things considered you are probably right." Giving up this easily on her proposition would make it seem like she had planned to abandon it to begin with, bait to force another compromise. But in reality, she wanted that rule. Not badly, but it would be helpful. Weaken an enemy, leave them where one of their allies might find them and deal the finishing blow when they are close. A simple trap but guaranteed to work since Cures value friendship very highly. **Magnetic Repel** took time to kick in, especially with Cures moving at high speeds.

"No. I just saw no use in having it. If you want it, please, be my guest." Karen had her suspicions about whether Beauty really wanted the rule or not. It was difficult to tell. Her expression was stoic, as if it was frozen solid and she did not exhibit any suspicious movements. There was something odd about it. What was it? What was she missing? Something about **Retaliation** that she had forgotten?

Reika did not miss the that Aqua tensed up slightly, likely frantically trying to think about **Retaliation**. The way she had presented the rule and acted, she had made it look like it required both teams to agree upon it's use when in fact it was as detailed as letting each team decide on how many members it will use the rule. Not specifying this would simply cause the system to use it on everyone. "Now then, this leaves two more items on our agency. Number fifty-six, **Legacy Blast,** proposed by you, and number sixty-eight, **Equivalent Exchange,** proposed by me. I am willing to grant you exclusive use of **Legacy Blast **for the use of **Equivalent Exchange**." Not letting Aqua take enough time to recall the error she had made with **Retaliation**, Reika pushed ahead, forcing a quick decision on Aqua in her confused and cornered state.

"I will have to think about this." She needed time. Beauty was pushing her too hard. Legacy Blast was undoubtedly going to be a great asset for her own team, but if Beauty was so quick to back out of using it herself, there was something fishy about it. Another trap? Should she grant her rights to use Legacy Blast as well and demand a compromise for agreeing additionally on Equivalent Exchange? But what should she chose?

"Well, I expected you to recognize a fair proposal. It seems I might have overestimated you." A clever argument. If Aqua retreated on the proposal now, she would be even more on the defensive than before and if she wanted to turn things around she had little choice but to agree.

"A fair proposal does not include one side getting an advantage while the other does not." Karen had dealt with a fair share of high society due to her line of work. She could recognize an obvious pitfall if she saw one. The only way out was to distract from the point at hand. "To regain equality between our teams, I propose the inclusion of rule thirty-one, **Invincibility Cage**."

"That will do nothing to restore equal proportions of advantage and disadvantage. We do not mind you owing us a favor, so please, pay no mind to your advantage of having Legacy Blast solely." Reika was starting to feel like Aqua had the potential to out-do her if she kept going for a long time.

"Well then." Karen was tired. While high society employed the concept of saying nothing with many words and cleverly talking your way in and out of things, a single opponent was rarely this smart. After her offer was shot down, she would just settle to end it quickly before Beauty got even more the upper hand. "I accept the use of Equivalent Exchange."

"Then we are done here." Reika got what she wanted but not without having to compromise. She did not anticipate the other side picking out Restoration and forcing Magnetic Repel through her trap. Noticing her little finger twitching a periodically, Reika was sure that Aqua did not accomplish everything she had set out to. "I am looking forward to the results, Aqua."

"So do I." Forcing a smile, feeling that she had lost this match but not without landing a couple of heavy blows to Beauty's strategy, Karen wanted to go up against Beauty again. A battle of minds was much more entertaining than she had thought. Stepping on the teleportation plate first, Karen vanished, leaving behind a slightly annoyed Reika.

"You are an interesting person, Cure Aqua." Reika felt satisfied. It had been a long time since she met someone who could stand up to her in an intellectual match. She would like to go up against Honoka if possible. Maybe she should switch teams.

=== Dissonance ===

"Kanade." There was a certain seriousness that would not tolerate disobedience in how she pronounced her name.

"What is it, Rin?" Naivety in Kanade's voice.

"Let go." Breathing a sigh of relief when Kanade finally let go of her arm, Rin felt a little sorry for herself. She wasn't cold-hearted enough to leave Kanade on her own and watch her self-destruct but it was a bit annoying. Her next thought was to cut the 'bit'. "I meant for more than five seconds."

"Why didn't you come up to my room? I forgot about the new rooms when I woke up and panicked a little." Kanade was trying her hardest to be aware of when she was acting impulsively from her issues. Since Rin had already told her about a dozen times to stop clinging to her in just the last two hours, she wasn't exactly doing great.

"Short answer, I was too tired. After all that yesterday and then going into a fight on top of that, I just wanted to sleep. And you would have kept me awake, no doubt." Making a mess out of Kanade's hair with her right hand, Rin kept walking towards the kitchen, feeling a bit peckish.

"Because I'm so irresistible?" Putting on her best smile, Kanade tried to appeal to Rin. She didn't want to spend another night alone. "Ouch! That's mean, Rin!" The red Cure flicked her forehead.

"Don't be so conceited. It's true but that doesn't mean you're supposed to go tooting your own horn." Rin didn't feel any embarrassment over freely admitting how attractive Kanade was to her. "And that's why I stayed down in my own room. I really wasn't in any condition to make out or have sex with you." Just as she said that, Kanade right by her side, Luminous and Egret walked past those two, the former's face slightly red, clearly having overheard what she said.

"I still don't know what I'm supposed to do about helping you get over your issues. Maybe I'll ask Karen-" Rin stopped talking and turned her head. "Kanade?" Sighing hard, Rin patted her head, the blonde having ran up to her and hug her from behind. "You're not gonna get better if you're afraid of people getting to know you. And I'm not smart enough figuring this out on my own." Rin felt a bit of pity for herself, admitting that.

"Can't you try?" Kanade hid her face on Rin's back. Remaining there and holding on to the red Cure, she suddenly felt her legs go up in the air. Instead of crashing to the ground from the loss, she was caught by her arm. "Rin! No violence!"

"No clinging!" Rin fired back and helped Kanade up. "Let's get to the kitchen." Waiting for Kanade to walk by her side, no hand holding or clinging allowed, Rin sighed. "I'll try."

With a certain glee in her eyes, Kanade was completely fixated on Rin until said girl grabbed her arm and pulled her over, holding the blonde in her arms. "Ah, not in the hallway~!" Kanade was having trouble keeping her head out of the clouds that morning.

"Next time I let you walk into the wall." Letting go of the smaller girl, Rin passed the doorway and headed into the dinner room. Kanade was left behind, watching at the solid wall she had almost walked into.

Finding both Bright and Windy in the dinner room, talking over some snacks, was unexpected for Rin. Ignoring the pleas of Kanade for her to wait, she kept walking and vanished into the kitchen, the white Cure right on her track.

"I'm not sure it is a wise decision to rely on Pine." Michiru didn't quite believe her capable of helping out. "If we want someone to help us, we should ask one that is known for their emotions."

"Michiru, don't be silly. How many of the others do you think will be able to explain things to us? Not to mention, we are not exactly everyone's favorite conversation partner. I was lucky that Inori invited me in."

"The offer only stands for you, doesn't it? What am I to do?" Putting her elbow on the table and sulking a little, Michiru didn't agree with just Kaoru getting Pine to help her.

"Why are you taking so much issue with this? What ever stopped either of us from sharing her knowledge with the other?" Kaoru was not going to pass on the offer. If Inori was generous enough to help her without asking for compensation, it would likely be rude to reject her.

"It just doesn't sit well with me. I can't quite say why exactly but the more I think about it the more I dislike it." Michiru scuffled through her hair, trying to make sense of what she was saying. "Disregard what I said. I'm clearly not in condition to think clearly."

"Chances like this do not come often, so I didn't plan on letting it go unused. Don't look so frustrated Michiru." Taking her sisters hand, Kaoru put on a smile. Something she had learned from Mai. "We always wanted to be more like normal people and this is our chance."

"You're right. But Pine is on the other team right now, isn't she? Do you intend to participate in the exchange today?" Something else she didn't like, being separated from Kaoru. The day was shaping up to be a rather annoying one.

"Yes." Kaoru looked at the clock that hung above the window that connected the kitchen and dinner hall, something the team received for winning the last battle. It had come as a surprise that there had been a material reward on top of extra team favor. "It is about time for me to leave. Michiru," Looking at her sister, she smiled briefly. "You'll be okay on your own for a day or two, right?"

"I'm the one that always does the heavy work. I'm more worried about you. But at least Mai is on the other side." Standing up and catching a glimpse of Rouge in the kitchen, holding Rhythm at distance by simply putting her hand against her blonde's forehead, she hoped things would stay peaceful for now.

But that was far from what was about to happen. Accompanying her sister to the exchange gate, there was a whole mob in front of it. Saki was there, as well as Aqua, Black, Marine, Rose, March and Sunshine. Half the team was going to compete to make it over to the other side. With the threat of exile gone, there was no more reluctance of participating.

"You two too? Jeez, nobody likes it here, do they?" Erika joked, a bit worried by the sheer number of participants.

"Is anyone else coming?" Karen was no less worried than Marine. "Bright, Windy, are you two participating as well?" Karen felt not very comfortable with both Black and Bloom doing stretching exercises in the back, clearly fired up.

"Michiru is not. I will." Kaoru stepped forward and forced her way through the others to Saki. "You're going too, Saki?" Michiru left behind, quickly retreated, unwilling to get caught in the chaos of when the exchange started.

"The rules are simple. Whoever finds and enters the golden portal inside the labyrinth beyond the exchange gate will transfer to the other team. Everyone else will be warped out the moment someone transfers. Our labyrinth is separate from that of the light team, so you don't have to worry about running into others, not from this team. Purposefully attacking each other with the intent to knock them out is punished by the system by warping you out immediately." Karen cleverly left out that smaller offenses, such as pushing someone out of the way or using them as stepping stone, or even holding them up with tricks and chains, was well within the rules. She wanted to get back together with Komachi after all.

"So fastest wins." Erika felt a lot more confident now. Black and Bloom were strong in a fight but she could easily out-run them. Aqua, Itsuki and Rose would be easy as well. The main problem would be March, who looked awfully confident. "Tsubomi, wait for me~!" Doing a few stretches herself, Erika started laughing. "Feels a lot like a school sports festival."

"Don't even start talking about bread eating contests." Kurumi remembered a very embarrassing event she would have liked to forever bury in her memories. Walking over to Sunshine, Kurumi was curious about March. "You're the only one of us here that saw March fight. Is she fast?"

"Don't know how fast she's in long term but she did leave a very speedy impression during the fight." Itsuki didn't like the idea of cheating at events like this but the desire to get back to Hibiki was fighting on equal grounds with her pride of always playing fair.

With a slowly intensifying light, the exchange gate was slowly swinging open, revealing a small room with glowing floor tiles. Erika was the first to push herself through the still opening doors, vanishing the instant she stepped on the glowing tiles. The others following her as quickly as they could, they all found themselves on top of a vast tower, a single stair case leading downwards into a jungle of paths between even more enormous towers.

A thick energy field was preventing them from leaving. "We even get a countdown. Amazing!" Erika pointed at the big golden number that was visible in each cardinal direction. "Five... four...!" Going for a quick start, Erika didn't even thinking about walking down. She would just jump right off and then just figure something out.

The energy barrier vanished the instant the golden number hit zero, vanishing as well, and the Cures immediately separated. Black and Bloom took off with full force, jumping off the edge of the tower and using their sheer physical power to slam their fists into the tower a few dozen meters away, climbing it like it was the easiest thing in the world.

Kurumi took the opposite route and simply went down the stairs together with Aqua, reminded a lot of when they used to fight together. Sunshine took a route similar to Black and Bloom but utilized the power of her legs, jumping from wall to wall to gain height rapidly. Marine took the simplest way of all and just jumped off the edge, heading for the ground.

Windy and March remained on top of the tower. "Not going to run?" Kaoru was slightly confused as to why the green Cure wouldn't move but she had her own issues to deal with. Assessing the situation, she tried to pinpoint all the likely places the portal would be, hoping that taking the high ground was an error and the portal was hidden in or around one of the hundreds of buildings at the ground.

"I'm giving them a handicap. It wouldn't be fair otherwise. How about you?" Nao was extremely confident in her speed and that there was nobody in the world that could out-run her in Cure form. Being able to kick up a tornado wasn't just for show.

Kaoru ignored Nao and continued to make mental notes of the route she would take. The rules didn't mention that they had to leave the area intact, which was helpful. "Storm Cutter!" Emitting a dangerously sharp wind blade towards one of the smaller towers, Kaoru felt satisfied seeing it get cut in half. The material was different from the one used for the bases. Taking a powerful leap and just barely making it on top of the tower she had cut, Kaoru continued that way, forming her own path.

Nao was left behind on her own and figured that she had waited long enough. "I'll better get going. Reika and Akane are going to be mad if I screw up. Gale Roam!" Miniature gusts and tornado forming around Nao's wrists and ankles, she was quite happy to have mastered this ability. Running fast was one thing. But running the way she did, was much better. Taking off and simply running off the edge, Nao used the air like her own private road, capable of kicking off the air currents she created herself, allowing her to almost fly, air running.

Black and Bloom had just scaled the highest tower, working as a team, going to decide with rock-paper-scissors who was going to enter the portal when they found it. Being friends for such a long time paid off after all. Seeing March literally race through the air as if she was on a newly cleaned track made them yell out in frustration. "Unfair!" "That's cheating!" "Get down here, you..!"

Shooting through the air, each step kicking her forwards with the power of an enormous gust of wind, she could see some of the others on the ground, frantically looking around. The purple Cure, Rose, was not exactly looking but rather demolishing everything in her path. There was an at least twenty meter wide path of demolished buildings where she had gone. "Don't ever want to be in her way..."

On top of a nearby tower, covered in bruises, Erika was watching the green Cure use the air like it was her own private highway. With stars in her eyes, she promised herself to find a way to copy that ability. But for now, she had a race to win. Putting her hands together and facing the ground, Erika took a deep breath. The words she shouted after left an echo that reached all the way up March. "Marine Beam!"

Using the emitting water from her hands as a lift, similar to a geyser, Marine shot herself far up into the sky, right where March was. A second was all it took for the blue Cure to attach herself to the new girl like a parasite. "Got you!" The words out of reach had no meaning whatsoever for Erika.

"Get off me!" Hopping around, slowing down and gaining height, Nao tried to get the pesky little Cure off her back. But the more the struggled the tighter Erika's hold got. A nifty little trick she had learned from Itsuki a while back. "What are you, an ape? Get off me already!"

"Not happening!" One arm around Nao's throat, the other going just under her breasts, both legs wrapped around her waist, there was no way for March to get her off, short of attacking her enough to get disqualified. And Erika knew that.

"Have it your way! Tempest High!" Increasing the force around her ankles enormously and ceasing those around her wrists, Nao kicked off the air so hard that Erika couldn't even see from the wind's sheer blowing force.

March was able to attain a maximum speed of nearly three thousand kilometers per hour for just a few minutes before she exhausted herself. The ultimate sprint in Cure form, designed for shot bursts only or when danger warranted moving that fast. Reaching a tower and kicking off again, the construct was obliterated by the backlash of the air current, as if a tornado had taken a big bite out of it.

And Erika couldn't handle the pressure. Unable to hold on, she let go of March, falling to the ground, only a speck in the distance by the time Nao had turned her head around. Grinning, she quickly realized that it was a very bad idea to use Tempest High indoors. The impact of smashing into a tower at such high speed completely destroyed the building, the explosion of her impact shooting off bricks in every direction.

Seeing Erika fall, Itsuki decided to be a good friends foremost and a victor later, using a cluster of buildings and their walls to catch the blue Cure, whose hair would need a lot of care to return to normal. She looked like Frankenstein's bride.

Just as Itsuki was about to land she noticed a rapidly louder growing noise. Getting out of the way just in time, the wall of one of the builders exploded with such force that even the fragments turned to dust. "Earth Bomb!" Bloom came shooting out of the dust cloud, flying all the way across the gap between buildings, "Earth Hammer!", and breaking right through the next wall. A split second later, a wall further away suffered the same fate, Black being responsible for the destruction this time around.

"They're almost walking demolition devices... " Letting Erika down, the poor girl completely out of it after being taken for a ride on the world's fastest express, Itsuki was about to resume her search when she suddenly found herself back in the starting room. "Huh?" Within a second, seven more Cures showed up. "Someone found the portal already?"

Nao was covered in dust, and so were Nagisa and Saki. They were all there, excluding Kurumi. "No way! Rose got there first? Of all the people! She doesn't even have a partner waiting for her!" Nagisa was falling on her knees, shocked by her sudden loss. "Unbelievable!"

"That did not even last ten minutes..." Kaoru would have to change tactics if the exchange could finish that quickly.

=== Dissonance ===

"Hikari!" Kurumi had already reunited with her friend. She felt a little bad for all the others that didn't get to go back to their partners but it was every girl for herself in the exchange race!

Hugging the purple Cure, Hikari felt relieved to have her back. She had felt a little lonely without her around. And the kitchen clean up was taking a lot longer without her, too. "Good to see you."

"So, while we have gotten Milky Rose, the other team now counts Melody among their ranks. I have to say I am relieved to have her with us. She is very strong, is she not?" Reika was still in business mode, not quite in the mood to relax yet. The battle was still ahead of them.

"Rose is a real asset in battle **and** in the kitchen." Love was sitting in-between Reika and Honoka, the three of them just passing the item until the battle with telling old stories. "Melody was pretty lucky to get into the portal first. If Buki hadn't crashed into Egret causing both of them to go down, she wouldn't have made it."

"An enormous hallway with several floors and ramps connecting them seems hardly fair. But tomorrow is another day. I'm more worried about who is going to end up in exile later." Honoka saw no reason to participate herself. She wasn't exactly very fast and Nagisa would try to come over anyway.

Just as she thought about that, Mai walked into the dinning hall, her fingers rubbing the left side of her forehead. "That Pine has one hard head... Ah," Noticing her old friend, she waved at her. "Honoka, I was looking for you."

"Are you feeling okay? From what I hear you and Pine really hit your heads." Honoka wasn't very worried. They were Cures after all. A bit more sturdy than the average person, to put it lightly.

"Yes," Nodding and sitting down next to Honoka, Mai looked at the tired out Peach and figured that she was disappointed she didn't get to go. "I was just at the dome and met Saki. She tried to come over but didn't make it. They had eight people participating over there!"

"That's one more than our side. Not surprising, considering how many couples the system split up. It's almost cruel." Love wasn't very happy about spending another day away from Setsuna and Ellen. "Say, Rose gets the room Melody was in until the next room assignment after the battle tomorrow, right?".

"According to the guide book, yes." Reika could see where this was going. "If one from the lower rooms changes with one of the upper rooms, they get access to the high quality facilities without actually qualifying for their use through battling." It was one way to bypass the accumulation of favor but a rather risky and random one.

Just outside the dinning hall, Miki was explaining the new system to Yuri, who had slept through all of it. Unexpectedly, Yuri was a lot more open about the relationship they now had than she expected. Holding hands and walking close together, they gave no doubt the image of a couple. "The exile is now something the lowest scoring participant of a battle is subject to, so as long as you fight seriously there is no way you'll ever end up there again." Miki was well aware of how strong Yuri was.

"Seems a lot of things changed while I was unconscious. Most changed for the better though. Being able to see and talk to the people on the other team for a fee is really useful." Looking over her shoulder, Yuri noticed Tsubomi following her and Miki. "We're being tailed." Grinning as she said that, she kept walking normally, hand in hand with her new partner. "Don't look, you'll give it away I noticed. It's just Tsubomi."

Miki sighed, "When she tells Marine," and rolled eyes, "We'll have another fight on our hands."

"Leave Erika to me. She is really close to Momoka but that doesn't mean she has any right to decide what I'm allowed to do or not. She has no idea how hard it was for me to let go." Yuri squeezed Miki's hand, feeling already exhausted when thinking about having to deal with an angry Erika. The girl could be so very stubborn it was a pain. Maybe she would ask Tsubomi to keep a lid on her.

Miki tried to turn at the junction, towards the dome, while Yuri kept going straight, towards the labyrinth. "We're not going up?" Following Yuri without waiting for an answer, she didn't really mind where they were going. It felt good to simply be with the girl she liked. And considering how long it had taken her to get to this point, she felt like she deserved to feel that way.

"I've been out for a while. I want to test if there are any problems with my body and powers." Noticing Miki's overplayed lewd stare, Yuri laughed. "Stop it with the fake pervert look. It doesn't suit you."

In the distance, the edge of the entrance to the labyrinth, Tsubomi was still following them. After meeting Erika at the dome, her partner had asked her to keep an eye on Yuri. "Erika is gonna make another fuss if she hears about this..." Closing her eyes for a few seconds and just imagining Yuri and Erika fighting, Tsubomi felt very annoyed. Why couldn't they just respect each others commitment and decisions? Looking up, both Yuri and Miki were gone without a trace.

Stepping out from her hiding spot, that really was not doing a very good job of hiding her because of the pink costume, Tsubomi couldn't see them anywhere. Did they run off quickly so she would lose them? Taking another step forward, Tsubomi felt an ice cold chill run down her back. Something incredibly dangerous was right behind her. That was the last thing she felt before everything around her went black in an instant.

=== Dissonance ===

"She can't remember. She only felt something dangerous behind her and lost consciousness." Komachi had found Tsubomi laying flat on the ground right at the labyrinth entrance and taken her to the dinning hall, unable to find either Pine or Berry, the two that occupied the same room as Blossom.

"If there is something creeping around it is doing a very good job at hiding." Urara had no doubt that this was the work of the same perpetrator as the one that had hit Nozomi earlier. "And it's strong. It had to knock out Blossom in one go and be quick enough to vanish before Nozomi realized what was going on."

Egret, Peach, White and Beauty were present as well. "Do you think it's a reflection that somehow survived?" Honoka put out the worst case scenario right away. "But why just push her down stairs and knock Blossom out? Especially, leave them for us to find. It seems contradictory to do that if it wanted to really hurt someone."

"No," Mai shook her head. The theory didn't line up. "The mirrors are all gone, so I don't think a reflection is the source of this."

"A new entity that is unrelated to previous incidents? Have you encountered any native species in this space before?" Reika wasn't moved in either way at the prospect of something, that could very much be classified as alien, lurking around, just out of their sight.

Honoka waved her hand and rejected the idea of aliens. "This space only exists for us." Summoning her favor bag, she took out a coin as if to symbolize that fact. "There are no resources of any kind here that a living being could use for nourishment. Much less something sentient enough to specifically do what has happened to Dream and Blossom."

Urara wasn't in the most patient mood. "So, one of our own went and beat them up. Isn't that the most logical option then?" She didn't like the stares of White and Egret but Beauty seemed to seriously consider that option.

"Is there anyone that harbors a grudge against both Dream and Blossom?" Reika didn't know better and was surprised to meet the same cold glare that Lemonade had received before. "That shall suffice as answer. In any case, we will have to postpone this investigation until later. Fifteen minutes remain until the battle."

Urara was in an even worse mood than before now. "This better not turn into some kind of horror movie where we come back and find the base deserted." Reminding herself of Bright and Windy, she covered her face with her hand. Hopefully she didn't jinx it.

=== Dissonance ===

"You remember all the special rules, Kanade?" Rin was pumped to go and let off some steam after the disgraceful loss against Sunny the day before.

"Magnetic Repel, Restoration, Legacy Blast, Retaliation, Equivalent Exchange and Master. Who went to negotiation that we ended up with so many?" Kanade had only memorized the core principle of each rule as Aqua had explained them before.

"Karen, I mean Aqua, did. She was up against Beauty. To be honest I don't mind some of these. Magnetic Repel is going to be really useful for you two." Looking at the third member of their party, Beat, Rin was hopeful that the other side wasn't full of people utilizing ranged attacks.

"I'll do my best." Ellen was a little nervous about fighting with so many special rules applied. Legacy Blast would make her attacks more threatening, Restoration would help her recover, Magnetic Repel kept others away. And if she managed to take out the captain of the enemy team first...

"You'll be fine, Ellen." Setsuna was there to see her partner off. "If Love is in the battle, don't think too much about it. She'd be more angry if you held back because of that." Kissing the blue Cure on her forehead, Setsuna stepped back, the battle gate slowly opening.

Rin put up her fist. "Time to kick their asses."

Stepping through the gate, Rin immediately wanted to go back. "Cold! It's so fucking cold! Who the hell settled on a goddamn Blizzard!?" Creating her fire claws and rapidly heating up, she grabbed Kanade and held her close. They were in the midst of a forest, tall trees in every direction, the wind blowing ice cold in their face, rapidly accumulating snow on their clothes and skin.

Looking around, there was no sign of the enemy. "I'll check the area." Ellen jumped as high as she could just passing the highest trees. The sky was darkened by the snow clouds and the blizzard made it difficult to see anything in the distance. Checking every direction, it was just a gigantic forest in every direction. Landing back down, found Rouge standing amidst a lush green field that had been hidden below the snow. Kanade was standing a few meters next to her, visibly comfortable with the temperatures now. "No sign of anything in any direction. But it's really hard to see anythi-" The explosion right below her feet threw her high into the air, a massive white energy pillar reaching into the air. Upside down in the air, she realized that there was one Cure that had perfect camouflage for a setting like this. White was crouching on one of the top branches of a nearby tree, her white and blue costume, the black hair, she was hardly visible at all.

Honoka raised her hand one more time. "Whitelight Illumination!" Targeting Rouge this time, the blast missed by a few centimeters, the red Cure cautious enough to not stand still. But she had accomplished what she had set out to do. Retreating into the dark distance of the blizzard, Honoka was grateful her costume covered most of her skin.

"The mark is up. My turn." Urara saw the white light marks from a few dozen meters distance if only because they were pillars of light, sticking out in the dark like a sore thumb. Jumping from tree to tree, Urara prepared to unleash a golden hell on the enemy team. But instead it was her who ran right into hell. The blizzard obscuring them until she was too close, Urara found herself surrounded by countless blue notes. "Shit! Chain Prison!" Creating a protective shell like a caterpillar, Urara was still damaged badly by the explosion. She shouldn't have accepted to be on the receiving end of Lethal Risk.

Opening the prison, Urara found herself targeted by Rouge. But Urara knew well how to take advantage of the rules. Flinging a chain towards Rin, she hit her ankle and pulled her in close. The Magnetic Repel kicked in immediately, pushing them apart, forcing the chain to violently jerk on Rin's limb. Whistling, a sign that the plan had changed, Urara was flung back even further as Rin kept being pulled towards her by the chain and repelled by the Magnetic Force.

Four silhouettes appeared right around the point where Urara was going to end up in a second. They were completely white, almost translucent. "Cardinal Harmony!" The moment Urara passed the silhouettes, they fired. A shot from every cardinal direction, Urara managed to fight off two by cutting the chain that held Rin and using her arms to deflect the shots. The other two still hit and Urara could feel the effect of Lethal Risk once again. It was like dynamite was exploding right next to her body. Coughing up blood, she gasped for air. She was never going to put up with that rule ever again.

She had only taken two attacks and was already at the verge of losing. At least she wasn't the master of the team. Noticing Rhythm down on the ground, just about to catch Rin, Urara decided to pay her back in full. Another whistle from behind her signaled that reinforcements were on the way. Shooting a chain to the ground and aiming for the white Cure, Rin saw the attack coming, pulling herself around and in harms way, the chain tightly attaching itself to her throat and pulling her up high into the air.

Falling down, Urara could see that she wasn't going to fight much longer. What had looked like snow covered bushes and flowers were simply innumerable amounts of white and pale yellow notes, a minefield right below her. Throwing chains at the trees and preventing herself from crashing into it, Urara breathed a sigh of relief.

"Explosive Harmony!" With a click of her fingers, Kanade detonated every single note simultaneously, creating a massive explosion, hitting the yellow Cure and the area with enough force to destroy the trees she was using to prevent herself from falling. Kanade wasn't an excellent close range fighter but she was versatile in how she could use her energy attacks. And her only weakness, a lack of energy itself, was covered by Legacy Blast and Restoration.

Hearing a creaking noise, Kanade turned around too slowly to notice that the enemy had sacrificed one team member to spring a devastating trap. What the trap was she only realized when the freezing blade had already pierced her stomach, emerging from her back. Using Lemonade as bait and using White to split the team apart, Reika had used the snow and ice to move almost invisible through the area, sneaking up on Rhythm and impaling her with a glaive. Dropping to the ground and coloring the snow red, there was little doubt that she could still fight. Not only was Reika the master of the team and had doubled all of her abilities with that, she was also the benefactor of the Lethal Risk bonus, double all damage she did to the opponent. A quadruple damage impaling would knock out all but the most sturdy. And using a mid-range weapon, she was able to just get close enough before Magnetic Repel forced her away. As the first attack, she was not yet subject to equivalent exchange, able to deal fatal damage with a single attack. As Beauty jumped away, all the remaining energy Rhythm had stored caused an explosion powerful enough to knockout the badly wounded Lemonade, a second explosion following, devastating the area. Everything according to plan.

Honoka had the clear advantage with Magnetic Repel in play. Or so she had thought. Rouge was proving to be a surprisingly difficult enemy, able to launch projectiles of concentrated heat, setting even the snow covered trees wide ablaze. "Meltdown!" Shooting another projectile at White, Rin realized that she could not keep up shooting these without the special rules aiding her.

Seeing and hearing the two violent explosions in the distance, Honoka dropped down between the trees, still in sight of Rouge, preparing her counter attack. "Grand Whitelight..."

Rin wouldn't give her time to pull out a big attack. She couldn't underestimate White, not with Lethal Risk and Master in place. A single hit could be the end of her. Beat seemed to have survived the first energy attack but that was no indication she would be as lucky. Extending her fire claws to their maximum range and activating her Hell ability, Rin quickly charged the claws with as much energy as time permitted. "Flaming Cross Slash!" Slashing the air in front of her, the claws vanished and turned into corporal fire blades, rapidly approaching White, who was still charging her attack.

Rin couldn't tell for sure if the attack hit as the snow on the ground turned into vapor, obscuring anything that happened. A second later, a massive explosion ruptured the ground, breaking several trees. "Retaliation? I hit her. Hah, take that!" Rin was so euphoric that she didn't notice the approaching danger from behind.

"Grand Whitelight Assault!" Honoka was high in the end above Rouge, almost invisible to the naked eye, the dark and the snow masking her presence yet again. The energy she focused bursting into fifteen different beams, every single one erratically changed vectors every second, leaving Rin completely unable to defend.

"Beat Heaven!" Spawning innumerable blue notes, the white beams lost force with every note they destroyed in their way. Ellen had jumped into the open space between White and Rouge, protecting her team leader from getting knocked out.

"Thanks, Beat-" Rin felt something protrude from her chest. Looking down, blood was gushing out of a wide open wound that a icy blade left. Turning her head around, she saw Beauty, who had impaled her with one of her weapons. Even with double her usual resistance, it was too much. Judging by the torn costume Beauty was wearing, she had taken the full force of her Fire Slash earlier to get enough damage for equivalent exchange. Losing consciousness quickly, Beauty pulled the blade out of her body and let her drop to the ground. "Arms of a Legion!" Reika had been right in her assumption that the Master was completely restored from knockout. Despite losing all her energy in retaliation, she had recovered completely due to the one-time only effect of Master.

Ellen found herself surrounded, in mid-air, by dozens of swords, daggers, spears and weapons she didn't know. "Execution!" Beauty's command came almost simultaneously with White retreating and heading for the ground, no doubt going after Rouge, ready to blast her away the second she recovered. Ellen had no way to prevent that. The weapons didn't impale but cut her. Losing blood rapidly from the equally rapidly increasing number of wounds, Ellen couldn't do anything. She had walked right into a trap.

The explosion in the sky was the signal for Honoka to start the last phase of the plan. Waiting on the ground for Beauty, she grit her teeth. The plan was solid and well thought out, she could not argue with that. Particularly Reika's ability to successfully deduce the enemy team composition based on Rose's information on the exchange and their existing roster had been an enormous asset. But it was still a rather brutal plan.

Reika landed right next to Honoka and the unconscious Rouge, who was about to rise once more. There was a delay of about fifteen seconds between being knocked out fully and reviving. White had counted the seconds and deployed accordingly many beams with her assault. Reika took position and nodded. There were only a few more seconds. Transforming the glaive into a sword, Reika slashed Honoka, causing a large wound all the way from her shoulder to her waist.

Spitting up blood, Honoka could feel that she was going to be knocked out within seconds. There was a brief delay between knockout and the retaliation effect kicking in and that was their winning strategy. Honoka alone could not suffer enough damage for equivalent exchange to beat down Rouge. And her beating up Beauty was too risky. A slight miscalculation in her energy output and she would lose the battle.

Grabbing Honoka by her right arm, Reika waited for her vision to go blank. At the same time as Honoka's consciousness faded, Rin regained hers, trying to pull herself up. The second she started to move, something hit her back and forced her down into the snow again.

Reika had no time to get away far enough and instead deployed a different type of arms, an enormous two-handed kite shield that was almost twice her own size, capable of withstanding powerful plastic explosive.

But even she couldn't have imagined how much energy Honoka had. The explosion did not just blow away the snow but the ground as well, creating a several meter deep crater, as if someone had detonated a bomb designed to demolish entire buildings.

The dust did not even get a chance to cover her sight. Teleported back into her room, Reika knew that they had won. It was absurd to think that anyone could withstand an explosion like that at point blank with no defense whatsoever. She felt sore and exhausted despite how quick the battle had ended. But she felt satisfied. Cures were not exempt to her strategies, she was sure of that now.

=== Dissonance ===

Sounds inside her head, her vision blurred as if her eyes were stained glass, her body numb as if she was drugged, she could feel her limbs move all on their own. Two... things stood in front of her. Were they people?

"Ellen, amazing!" "Ellen, that's wonderful!" No matter how dizzy, injured, hurt or numb she was, she'd recognize those voices everywhere. Love, Setsuna. They had come to help her. But as she tried to open her mouth to thank them, the words that left her were completely different. Mystics words, enchanted with magic.

"Now, finish them, Seiren. Finish those pesky Cures." Ellen's mind was racing. The voice of Mephisto, giving her orders she would never obey. But her mind and body were no longer her own. Her vision slowly cleared and what she saw felt like a nail being hammered into her heart. Peach and Passion, bleeding from eyes, nose, mouth and ears, happily dancing to her tune, to her song. But she did not recognize that hymn. "Put your all into your concert, the last one the world will ever hear!"

And Ellen turned, dancing over the cold snow at her feet, her arms and legs covered in injuries and open, gaffing wounds. There was no doubt as to why she could no longer move her body. Because it was not hers. She was merely a soul, trapped inside a corpse, unable to leave, forced to witness what grotesque acts her body would commit, listening to the tune of a master that had long since supposedly been freed from darkness.

And what she saw behind her caused the mind that was trapped to go into shock. A carpet of bones and corpses, clothes she recognized as all those Cures she had befriended, their bodies long rotted away. And now she realized. The coldness of the ground was not snow. It was the lack of warmth that her body no longer had. Cursed to sing and murder, not even allowed to die. "Aren't you happy?! The sacrifice of millions have made those you hold dear the most into another undead puppet, forever listening to your eternal dance!" Mephisto's voice echoed in her ears, repeating itself endlessly, just like her song.

The white ground she had thought snow was nothing but the finely ground remains of what had once been the population of the dead land she stood in. Then now she realized where she was. The ruins of what had to be Major Land. A hymn eternal in duration and deadly in effect, played and sung by a corpse whose only wish was to preserve the two she loved, and yet they would suffer for all eternity as she continued to dance.

=== Dissonance ===

"We won. Almost everything went exactly as I planned." Reika summoned her bag and took out three coins, each with a ten in the corner. "Here, Lemonade." Throwing the coins to Lemonade, that had been the yellow Cure's price for taking the degrading effect of Lethal Risk, enabling the grander scheme to work.

Urara immediately turned one of the coins into a bottle of high quality whiskey and a small glass. Sitting down with an unhappy expression, she opened the bottle and had a drink, first order of business. "I don't like to admit it but it sure did go the way you said. And that with the bits and pieces of info you got from me and Melody earlier."

Honoka was there as well, together with Komachi and Inori. "Let's get to the issue of Dream and Blossom."

Taking a second drink, Urara exhaled deeply, feeling just a bit better after getting bombed by Rhythm of all people."Is there anything we can do to begin with? Not to step on anyone's toes but we don't know who or what attacked them if they were really attacked to begin with. What are we gonna do, ask everyone for an alibi? That will just turn into a witch hunt."

Komachi sat down next to Urara and smiled. "Feels odd that you are the voice of reason." Looking at Honoka, Komachi had to agree with her friend. "But she's right. Suspecting each other won't get us anywhere. If anything, it'll make matters worse."

Urara turned around, the bottle left on the table but the glass in hand. "But doing nothing and just wait is no solution, too." Looking to White and Beauty, she expected them to have some kind of idea.

"Dream was alone when she fell or was pushed. Blossom was also alone based on what people told me. Unless someone is lying about their whereabouts, they were both alone." Assuming that Honoka had gotten to the same conclusion, Reika let her finish what she was trying to say.

Giving an appreciative nod to Reika, Honoka continued where the blue Cure had left off. "Move in groups of minimum two at all times. If the attacks stop then we either scared off whatever is lurking out there or it is really one of us. We should wait until we have concrete proof for either of those things." Looking to her side, Rose was starting to put dishes on the table. "What is for dinner today?"

Delighted, Komachi's face lit up. "Pancakes. I asked her earlier if she has ever done them and she said she wouldn't mind making them." Pancakes counted among her favorite foods. "I'll go help Kurumi."

Honoka couldn't help but laugh. "At least someone is happy." Turning to Reika, Honoka still had business to attend to. "I'm going to the dome and hope that someone goes and gets Nagisa to show her face. I also want to know who ended up in exile. They'll get out at midnight so in a bit more than six hours from now." A lot faster than before, when it had been a full day.

Lifted her glass, Urara didn't even bother to face her. "Knock yourself out." And she was going to do just that to herself, emptying her fourth glass by now. She was already feeling a bit drunk. "This expensive stuff really hits the spot."

=== Dissonance ===

The mood on the other team wasn't quite as light. Nobody could really blame them for losing against the combined forces of Reika, Urara and Honoka. That Beat had ended up as the lowest scoring member despite a basically fifty percent bonus across the team had been pretty ill received by Passion, who wasn't able to work up much of an appetite because of that.

Rubbing the spot where she had been impaled, Rin was still complaining, even now, at dinner. "It still hurts and my skin is all irritated there. Beauty is scary as hell." Sitting right across March, Rin didn't care in the slightest that they were partners.

"It's best to never underestimate Reika in a fight. Isn't that so, Yayoi?" Giving the yellow Cure next to her a knowing look, Yayoi dropped her fork, with spaghetti on them, and started to break out in cold sweat. "She asked Reika on a sparring session once. She couldn't sit or lay down without feeling the countless bruises all over her body."

Yayoi sunk into her chair. "Reika takes fighting way too seriously!"

Rin clicked her tongue. "No kidding. She stabbed Kanade and then she stabbed me. Both instant knockouts. What kind of mind thinks up a plan like that?" Annihilating her second plate, Rin leaned back, stuffed to the brim and still feeling unsatisfied. "First I draw with Sunny and then I get my ass handed to me bad by Beauty."

Kanade was a little depressed she had been the first one to go out. "I didn't notice her until she had me. I'm sorry, Rin." Just playing with a few noddles on her fork, Kanade glanced at the red Cure she thought of as her partner now.

"Don't be silly. She faked White getting blown up and let herself get knocked out just to stab me." Petting Kanade's head, Rin felt a bit better. "Eat up or you'll never grow."

Kanade wouldn't take that. "Mine are bigger than yours." The petting got a lot harder and wilder when Rin's expression turned to a rather annoyed one.

"I can't tell if you two get along or not." Yayoi had finished eating and was just playing with her spoon now.

Rin left the white Cure alone and sunk back into her chair, feeling lazy and sleepy, now that her stomach was full. "We do, she just got a really bad habit of being annoying." Grinning at Kanade's pouting expression, Rin nodded Kanade's dish.

Picking up where she had left off, Kanade murmured a few words "Yeah, yeah... I'm eating already." and continued to eat until she was full.

"Excuse me." The red Cure that had sat right next to Nao, Passion, had left her food almost untouched and left the table on her own.

There was something about her that worried Nao. "Is she not feeling well? She didn't look sick to me."

"Her partner, Beat, is in exile. I don't know why she ended up scoring the lowest but... you're partners with Beauty, right? Imagine if you were on the same team and she got stuck there." Rin wasn't usually one to bother with things like that but she felt like she should explain since she had been the captain of the team Beat belonged to.

Looking after the red Cure, Nao wanted to cheer her up somehow but didn't know how.

=== Dissonance ===

She shouldn't have eaten so much. Waking up in the middle of the night and having to go to the bathroom was not exactly her idea of a good night's rest. Leaving the bathroom, Komachi felt a lot better. Seeing the light of what was most likely a candle burning at the end of the hallway, her being on the second floor, Komachi went to investigate.

Just as she had reached the stairs the candle had moved down to the first floor. Following it, she had a really bad feeling about it. Was that whoever had attacked the others? The lights were dimmed so far that she could barely see in front of her. Calling out would give her away and as long as there was doubt that someone on the team was responsible for the attacks, she had to find out who was creeping around that late at night.

Seeing the light pass the gate to the dinning hall, she figured that it was just someone going for a late night snack and almost turned around. Taking a few steps forward, Komachi lost sight of the light source. There was no light coming from any of the three directions. It was just complete darkness all around.

Where had it gone? Would someone really put out the light to possibly fall over any of the chairs or the table? And going into the labyrinth or dome that late at night? She couldn't think of anyone that would do that.

Turning around and about to go back to her own room, Komachi felt petrified. There was... something... indescribable dangerous right behind her, about to grab her, about to... about to...

The cold sweat and the fear instilled by whatever was right behind her was beyond anything she had ever experienced. That was no mere fear of being hurt or killed. Something was attacking her mind directly, scaring her enough to prevent her from turning around. A warm breath was hitting the back of her head and she could feel that there was something right behind her, close enough to feel their body warmth in the cold of the corridor. Unable to move, Komachi slowly opened her mouth, trying to scream.

But before she could do so, the paralysis broke. And she fell out of bed. "A... dream?" Putting it aside as nightmare would've been easy if not for how realistic it had been. She still had goosebumps and felt cold. **Something** was out there. And it was scaring her badly. "Karen..."

=== End of Event XXIII ===


	24. Fancy Business

**Dissonance**

_Event XXIV_

**Fancy Business**

Ellen was a nervous wreck when she was released from exile, stuttering inane and ineligible things. Setsuna had been there when she came out, having waited for hours. The blue Cure reacted to her presence with nothing but immense fright and fear, backing off into a corner, yelling, screaming and crying.

But that didn't faze Setsuna at all. Grabbing her partner, hugging her until she calmed down, she then took her back to their shared room. The lingering effects were just as bad as before but, thankfully, they seemed to wear off faster now. Whether that was due to Ellen having been subject to the exile horrors once before already or not, she couldn't say.

"You're safe now, Ellen." The words had an almost magical effect on the purple haired girl. Setsuna couldn't tell if she simply recognized her voice or actually understood her, yet, the girl held on to her as tightly as she could, no longer crying or shaking. Come morning, Setsuna was sure she would recover.

The morning however, was so incredibly different from what Setsuna had expected. Entering the dinning hall, she was greeted by many a Cure that was but sitting there as civilian, wearing brand new clothing, happily chatting about her own and the clothes of others. Waking up early that morning, Ellen had felt quite a bit better thanks to Setsuna staying with her all night. Enjoying just laying there in Setsuna's arms, she was back to sleep within minutes. And Setsuna saw no reason to wake her until quite a bit later.

"Morning, Passion." Hibiki completely walked past the red Cure in an orange jump suit, completely nonchalant about it. Several Cures were in their civilian forms all of a sudden. The main issue of why everyone stuck to their Cure outfit was that their normal clothes had long since been ruined or dirtied beyond being able to walk around in them.

"Did you trade in favor for these?" Following Hibiki, who was walking straight towards Sunshine, who also wore a new jump suit, yellow with black stripes. "Did everyone just decide to get some new clothes with the new system?"

"We found a better way to get our hands on them. Erika opened up shop. She makes clothes for a living, it's cheaper for her to get the materials and turn them into clothes than for us to get them directly for favor. It feels so good to actually walk around normally. I was getting a little tired of the pink hair."

"A shop? So you pay with favor?" Setsuna didn't dislike the idea of being able to walk around normally at all. She only hoped it wouldn't be too pricey. She wasn't among those with multiple hundred favor.

"I wonder if we shouldn't call it something else. It's a bit silly to just call it that at this stage." Having reached the place where Itsuki sat, vanquishing the breakfast that Rhythm and, after much begging and whining of Rhythm's, Rouge had prepared, Hibiki bowed down and kissed her partner on the cheek. "You're gonna get fat."

"And I still won't be as heavy as you." Quickly dodging the attack of her lover by lowering her head, Itsuki laughed briefly and then turning to Setsuna. "Morning, Passion." Dodging a second attack, Itsuki shot a warning look. "Save your energy. I haven't gotten a real workout as normal human in a while. I'm gonna drive you like an animal after breakfast."

"You're on! If you can't beat me after talking like that, you're buying me a second outfit." Hibiki wasn't exactly well off, having not fought under the new system yet. Not that Itsuki was loaded but after talking big like that, she deserved some potential punishment.

"No way that'll happen. Did you forget who of us is always about to faint after sex? It surely isn't m-" Breaking off her sentence midway, she dodged another lightning fast slap from Hibiki, grabbing her arm and kissing her hand. "You still need to train some to have a chance of hitting me."

"I sure had no trouble hitting **on** you..." More whispering to herself than actually responding, Hibiki blushed a little. Remembering Setsuna, she turned around and found the red Cure to be missing. Looking around briefly, she found her talking to Aqua, who was wearing a light blue summer dress. "I wish I had some kind of skill I could profit from."

"No selling yourself to anyone but me. I got a long time lease on your body." Itsuki joked again and let herself purposely get hit, laughing as Hibiki started to pout.

Learning that Marine had created a small room on level two, right above the hall that connected the hallway on level one with the dinning hall and the stairs that led to the dome, Setsuna planned to pay her a visit later. Not right then because the blue Cure had just entered the room, wearing one of her favorite outfits, a white multilayer skirt and a turquoise top, a yellow ribbon printed on front.

From the looks of it, she was more than just a little tired out. Just as she sat down, she exhaled deeply and her head hit the table. Yayoi, who was still in her Cure outfit and sitting right next to Erika, was poking her cheek a few times before she got an annoyed moan out of her friend. Nao was quick to put a hold to that. "Leave her. She looks like she was up all night."

"Pin pon, correct." Erika slightly raised her head and looked at Yayoi who only now realized the big black bags under Erika's eyes. "Not having Tsubomi help me... really tires me out..."

Yayoi caught on right away, got a little closer and whispered. "Eye candy while working?"

Just showing a thumbs up to her friend, Erika grinned and put her head back on the table, just exhausted. "Gimme half an hour..."

"Why did you even come down when you're this tir-" The loud growl of Erika's stomach made abundantly clear why. Taking her own breakfast, which she had barely touched yet, and shoving it over to Erika, the mangaka stood up and headed to the kitchen to get herself a new set.

"Tsubomi... feed me..." Nagging at thin air, Erika sighed when she remembered that her partner wasn't around. Grabbing the toast with egg on it and shoving it into her mouth, all at once, Erika didn't even think about where the food had come from.

"It was a really good idea to open up a shop. I can't even imagine walking around as Cure for weeks non-stop." Nao remembered how very uncomfortable she had been in there, being as tall as she was she had towered over everyone else. And thanks to the limited space, it had been cramped as is, without there being five or six people in there at once.

Her mouth so full with food that it was hard to say if she was actually using words or just gesture noises at all, Erika blurted out a few things about her shop, oblivious that nobody in the universe excluding Tsubomi would have been able to understand her right there.

"It's a pity that the other team can't visit your shop. Reika probably has no issues being Beauty all the time but I can see Akane having some difficulties..."

Feeling a bit better, now that she had eaten, Erika leaned back into her chair, still tired out from pulling an all-night working session. The last time she had done that was when Tsubomi had fallen ill and she had been on her own all of a sudden. "I'll make clothes on demand as well, so if you want something specific, just tell me. There's nothing I can't make!" Erika was more than just confident in her abilities as a designer.

"A spacesuit!" Yayoi had returned to the table, carrying a new tray loaded with food.

"Y-Yeah! I could do even that." Hoping that nobody would ever get the insane idea of ordering one, Erika wasn't quite sure that a spacesuit still qualified as clothing to begin with.

"I think I'll focus on having at least underwear to change every day first." Nao was big on cleanliness. Even with two washing machines present now, something the team had quickly decided to buy after Erika had opened shop, she should own at least five or six sets. She couldn't throw all her favor out that quickly so she was thinking of volunteering for the battle later that day.

"I'm gonna sleep. I'll open the shop when I wake up, if anyone asks." Just closing her eyes right there on the spot, she couldn't see the confused looks of Yayoi and Nao.

"Nao, can you get her to her room?" Yayoi wasn't going to abandon her breakfast a second time. Even when she was under stress for a deadline, she never went a day without eating at least something before work.

Quickly emptying the rest of coffee in her cup, Nao grabbed her tray and stood up. "Let me put this away." Walking past Erika, she realized the girl was already sound asleep. In a chair. Right in the middle of the noisy dinning hall. "Her sleep I want to have." Nao had a light sleep, waking up every time Reika stayed over at her place and accidentally took control of the blanket, leaving her a bit cold.

The sight of Nao carrying Erika was, at the very least in Yayoi's eyes, more than hilarious. The height difference made them look like older and younger sister at best, mother and child at worst. Nao herself was quite aware of that as well, hurrying out of the room before anyone else caught on to why Yayoi was about to roll under the table from laughing too hard.

"It feels so good to be actually out of Cure form after all that." Nagisa was relaxing in her seat, feeling quite full. Three empty trays were stacked to her right, next to two more empty ones that belonged to Saki, who was sitting next to her, both of them sporting jump suits they had bought earlier that morning. "I'm sure Honoka would scold me if she knew that this is the first thing I bought."

"Doesn't anyone else feel uncomfortable that Marine just happened to have bra sizes fitting everyone?" Saki surely didn't mind having some actual underwear on for a change and being in civilian form without being butt naked was quite the comfortable treat now.

"She was pretty fixated on the sizes of everyone when I first ran into her on our first day here." Nagisa remembered that because it had been a pretty odd experience. "And to be honest, I don't mind. It's just clothes. You're so cute when you're embarrassed, Saki."

"You're creepy when you talk like that." Looking down on herself, Saki was a bit annoyed that they ended up going with a partner look. There were only three kinds of jump suits, black, orange and yellow, as if she had been forgotten.

"Are you good for getting a real work out? It's not as fun when we're Cures because... well." Nagisa didn't feel like explaining the obvious.

"You're going to die, Nagisa." Stretching her arms up in the air, Saki taunted her friend a little. "Did you forget what sort of training I've been doing prior to coming here?"

"It's been two weeks without that. And I don't lazy around as couch potato either. Honoka would have my hide if I did."

Saki's smirk grew wider and wider. "Loser buys the other one some pants and a jacket." If Nagisa was that confident, she would surely take her bet on.

Nagisa didn't like to be taken lightly. "You'll regret that. I've been eying those black pants in the corner earlier. They looked pretty expensive."

"At least this gives everyone a place to spend their money. I'll just call 'em **coins** from now on, because still calling it favor sounds like we're retarded." Rin had listened in on their conversation, sitting to Nagisa's left, still in Cure form. She didn't have time to get to Erika's shop due to Kanade dragging her into the kitchen to make breakfast. Admirably though, the white Cure had managed to completely focus on work, without clinging to Rin at all. It was probably something missing from her everyday life, the working with food.

"You two are the top holders of fav-" Rudely interrupted by Rin saying 'coins', Nagisa realized that it was as good a name as any. "of coins. Happy? You should have enough to get several outfits. Just don't clear out the shop." Nagisa wasn't poor either but Rouge had twice her money right now.

Kanade, who had shown amazing restraint even after preparing breakfast, leaned against the table, looking past Rin, at Nagisa. "How much did you two pay for those?"

Saki answered instead of Nagisa. "Fifteen plus ten for underwear."

A smile quickly formed on Kanade's lips. Looking up at her partner, she didn't even have to ask. "I'll come with you. I'm sick of walking around like this, too. I don't think I'll really find something I want to buy, though."

Kanade realized that she had never seen Rin as normal civilian in any way except when they slept with each other and not even always then. Thinking about that, she didn't know much about her private life or past either. Starting to feel bad, of all people Sunshine showed up next to Bloom, Hibiki right behind her.

Their eyes met for just a second before Hibiki averted her eyes and ignored her former friend. Lowering her head and just staring at the table, Kanade felt Rin pat her head. "Stop moping."

"You two are going for a run after this, right?" Noticing their attire, Itsuki had put one and one together. "I was planning to get some exercise of my own, together with Hibiki. Mind if we join you two?"

Looking to her friend, Saki saw no reason to object. "The more the merrier. Right, Nagisa?"

"You're going to be so sorry after this, Saki." Nagisa didn't know if she should bring up the bet again, now that they had four people going. But Itsuki took care of that for her.

"We had a bet going that whoever scores last buys the other one an outfit. Since we're four, how about the last two pay the first two?" Itsuki hoped that Hibiki was up to the task. Black and Bloom were their seniors in a way and at least in a fight they would have been very hard pressed to win.

"Sounds good to me. I like getting presents." Trusting in her long and harsh training, Saki was sure she would be one of the winners.

=== Dissonance ===

The morning had brought good and bad news. The good news was that Marine had opened a clothing store on the other side, raising expectations to finally get out of Cure form for a while and walk around like normal people.

The bad news was not publicly known and only shared between Komachi, Urara, Honoka and Reika. There was definitely something lurking in or just outside the base. Falling out of bed had left Komachi confused whether she had dreamed it all up or not. But coming next morning that doubt was gone. Only noticing when she had sat down to comb her hair, there was part of it that was unnaturally cut off.

"So, some**thing** is out there. I'll say this now. If I find it, I'm going to bury it alive. After breaking all limbs it may or may not have." Urara was leaned against the wall at the back of the room. They had occupied the small hall that connected the hallway to the portals.

"You're getting more cranky every day." Honoka was slightly annoyed by Lemonade's worsening attitude. Not like any of them here was at fault that Muse was on the other side.

Stepping forward and blocking Urara's view of Honoka, Komachi directed the conversation back to the topic at hand. "Urara aside, I know I didn't just imagine whatever that was. The way it was breathing down my neck and how it cut my hair... I almost want to say it's not something human."

"Several of us have weapons that can cut hair. Pine, Rose and me, to give an example." Reika wasn't happy that she was suddenly becoming a prime suspect. Being one of the new arrivals and also one of those that had access to weapons, it would make a lot of sense to accuse her. "I'm unsure if anyone can confirm that I was present in my room the entire night."

"Nobody is saying you did it. Feeling guilty?" Urara was getting a harsh glare from Mint and turned away. "I can't be bothered theorizing about this. If you find whatever it is, give me a call and I take it apart. Into tiny little pieces." Walking away with a very sullen face, Urara almost ran over Egret, who didn't say anything after seeing the expression on the yellow Cure's face.

"What is with **her**? She's always been a bit bad but this is ridiculous." Honoka couldn't stand it when someone acted like that.

Komachi didn't know how much she should say. It was pretty common knowledge that Muse and Urara were together so, that much, she could explain. "She's probably missing Muse. They barely left each other's sight before this."

"So?" Honoka still didn't have a lot of sympathy for her. "Nagisa is on the other side as well. So are Saki and Karen. I don't see any of us making such a fuss."

"Could the unknown entity be a remnant from the incident you explained to me when we first met?" Reika tried to get them back to thinking about the important issue.

"The mirrors were all destroyed when Moonlight's exploded. And nobody has been behaving unusual." Honoka was grateful that that was over with.

Reika felt that she was on the right track, despite that. "Is there any possibility of one of the reflections having replaced their original, concealing their identity until now? What about reflections based on my team?"

"There were no mirrors for you girls so I doubt they even existed to begin with. And... Nightmare ate all of the reflections except Eclipse. That's why all the mirrors broke when the last reflection was killed." The more Reika questioned the events, the more Honoka started to doubt that her logic was really as absolute as she thought. Could there be a chance that a reflection had survived by taking the originals place? But which? Moonlight? According to Berry, she could not have attacked Blossom because she never left her sight. "The more I think about this the more I don't like it. If it's not a reflection, where did **it** come from?"

"Honoka, I just remembered something. Didn't we use the favor system a while ago to ask about things such as being able to evade the exile? It's a long shot but should we try to ask it about this?" Solving this issue was important. Komachi wouldn't admit it to anyone but Karen, but she was having trouble sleeping while something potentially dangerous was out there.

"It's worth a try." Materializing her bag, Honoka simply focused for a moment. There was no noticeable decrease in size but the sound of coins moving was briefly heard. "Is there a reflection remaining?"

The answer came in the form of small letters made of smoke, raising from Honoka's fingertips. The first answer was unsatisfactory. '**Yes and No**'. "I'll rephrase. Does a reflection beside Eclipse have any remains in this space?" The next answer was much more helpful. '**No**'. "It's kind of limiting that it only answers with yes or not."

"Try to ask for the identity of the entity that has been attacking Cures." Reika suggested a quick and easy solution to their problem. Following Reika's advice, Honoka got a most useless answer. '**Everyone**'.

"Considering we are doing battle every day, this is true but... that is not what I wanted to know. What is the identity of the entity that is assaulting Cures outside of the scheduled battle parts?" The last question, as Honoka saw no reason to continue after getting yet another unsatisfactory answer, had the most confusing answer of them all. '**Everyone**'.

Letting the bag vanish, Honoka sighed. "This is getting us nowhere. The system is too alien to properly answer questions like that. For all we know it could be seeing arguments and related things as assault. We'll be bankrupt before we find out this way." Twenty favor come and gone.

"There are several simple options to try and lure out the entity is causing this, but all of them might result in simply wasting our time. I have an idea that will help me discern the identity of the assailant, however, it will take some time to prepare." Reika didn't like that plan very much and she kept the details a secret on purpose, as everyone else would like it even less.

Honoka sighed again, "Fine," just before turning around and looking out into the hallway. "Just catch whatever is doing it. If its some kind of monster, we'll let Lemonade loose on it." Honoka didn't enjoy the thought of virtually executing some kind of being that might only be attacking them because of territorial instincts.

Their conference was rudely interrupted when Miyuki burst into the hall, looking for someone. "She's not here either... Reika, have you seen Nozomi?" Realizing just after she had asked that Reika likely didn't know their real names yet, she decided to clear that up. "I mean Cu-"

"I haven't seen Dream today yet." Reika had excellent memory. It was easy for her to memorize a few names.

Honoka simply shook her head when the pink Cure looked at her. Komachi was polite enough to give a response. "I haven't seen her either."

"That's odd... I searched the entire base, garden to dome and asked everyone. Nobody has seen her." Miyuki did not realize that her words rang a dozen alarm bells for the three other Cures in the room. "She is not in her room either. I wonder where she has gone?" Walking off with a disappointed face, Miyuki was met by Akane, who was assisting her in searching for Nozomi.

The question had become something else for the others. Not where had she gone. But what had taken her. They didn't need to say it out loud. "This is bad. If this thing is strong enough to abduct Dream then it's strong enough to take any of us." Komachi got unusually serious. Nozomi was still very strong, if not one of the strongest Cures even, so that left everyone on the base vulnerable.

"We should not jump to conclusions and make the assumption that she has been taken. The possibility that she went out into the labyrinth without anyone knowing exists as well. As well as the possibility that she is in the garden, hidden from Miyuki." Reika didn't like to assume the worst case scenario but she couldn't dismiss it at this point.

"Who was hit after Dream?" Honoka hadn't bothered to remember the exact chain of attacks.

Komachi was the first to answer and immediately take off. "Blossom."

=== Dissonance ===

"Why... you... monsters..." Nagisa was bend over debris, her sides, chest, stomach, legs and feet a world of pain. Right next to her was Hibiki, who could not even talk anymore, just laying flat on her back, sweating enough to have streams running down her face and neck. Both of them felt like they had just traversed a hell that should not be crossed by any sane person.

Itsuki sat next to Hibiki, impressed that she was still alive. "I warned you didn't I? But you did good keeping up until the end. An untrained person would have fainted halfway in."

"We worked them pretty hard. Fifteen kilometers jogging, parcours for another five kilometers, push-ups, sit-ups. I would have liked to do swimming, too, but we can't really do that here." Saki was sweating like an animal as well, every single centimeter of her body aching from the workout. She was the only one still standing.

"I'll ask Marine to just flood a big room for us next time." Itsuki had no doubt that the short girl would agree to do that. "But I never thought I'd come across someone who is so much fitter than me. I can't walk another step."

"Nagisa knew what she was in for and still challenged me." Saki walked over to her friend, grabbed her hand and pulled her up. "You did pretty good, Nagisa. A bit more and you could have beaten Itsuki."

"You two... aren't human..." Nagisa started to cough and sat back on the ground, desperately trying to swipe the sweat off her forehead, failing terribly. It was like trying to empty an ocean with a single bucket.

Stretching, Saki looked towards the hallway that led back to the base. "I really needed this. Was a lot of fun to not do it alone. Thanks for joining up." Getting only lukewarm reactions from the two beaten girls and a satisfied grin from Itsuki, Saki helped the yellow Cure up. "I don't think those two will make the trip back. Ready for the last part of our workout?" Grabbing and putting Nagisa on her back, Saki waited for Itsuki to get her partner.

"Seeing you makes me feel lazy." Itsuki trained quite a lot because of her job and yet she didn't hold a candle to Saki. The four had grown rather familiar with each other after going through exercise hell together. "Don't pass out now Hibiki. There's a shower waiting for us."

"You shower together?" Saki knew that those two were together but she didn't know them that well. Carrying a panting and sweaty Nagisa demanded that she distracted herself with something else.

Being of the same mindset as Saki in that very moment, Itsuki welcomed the conversation. "You're partners with Egret, right? You two don't?"

"When we're pressed for time, we do. But other than that, not really." Seeing Itsuki's smirk, Saki grinned. "I prefer the bed anyway."

Letting out a disappointed sigh, Itsuki missed her old room. "I need to get into a better room. The beds in the first floor room are really bad. It would hurt more than anything trying to fit two people in one of those." Returning to a smug grin, she watched Hibiki from the corner of her eyes. "And Hibiki would wake up everyone else."

"You're not any better." Her voice hoarse, Hibiki's response was too faint to be heard by Saki.

"You're from different teams, right? How does that work out for you?" Saki wanted to get away from the sex topic for now. It was a bit uncomfortable while she was carrying around Nagisa.

That was a topic Itsuki didn't like much. "You probably know about the issues between her and Rhythm. I really don't want to go into details about that. I guess my team really has no real issues with who I date. Tsubomi used to like me this way a few years ago but she seems really happy with Erika now. And Yuri... I don't know if she and Berry got something going on or not. She really deserves to have a bit happiness in her life."

"What about the others from her team?" Taking a corner and briefly unsure which way to go, Saki remembered a debris formation and took the right road.

"Beat and Muse? They're... weird, I guess? Beat is somehow part of the thing between Peach and Passion now and Muse... I don't even know."

"So what are you gonna do when we all get out of here?" Saki disregarded the possibility that they were not going to get out at all. A certain level of optimism was necessary in a place like that.

Itsuki's mood took a bit of a dive. "I don't really know. I can't move away because of my job and all of Hibiki's friends are where she lives. Long distance relationships never go well and..."

Feeling bad for making Itsuki think about depressing stuff, Saki quickly changed the topic. "We're almost back. I can't wait to hit the showers. And to get out of those shoes." Only some of them still owned the shoes they had worn when arriving. Those who didn't had to invest into regular shoes with favor. Of those four, only Nagisa and Hibiki still had theirs.

"It's pretty expensive to get new shoes. I paid fifteen for these and it's just regular sneakers. Living here is starting to be expensive..."

Both of them were ripped straight out of their conversation when something shook the ground strong enough to make them topple. "What the hell was **that**?" Putting Nagisa down, Saki jumped to her feet. Before she could even guess where it had come from, a second quake almost pulsed through the ground, forcing her to hold on to the wall. Turning to Cure form immediately, Saki feared that their break from horrible danger was already over.

"Itsuki, can you tell where it's coming from?" Looking around, Bloom found it odd that there were no explosions or sounds that generally came from a fight. The third quake followed right after she had finished that line of thought and she could see the direction the shock wave traveled. It was coming from somewhere down the hallway.

Itsuki, now transformed as well, went ahead, boasting higher speed than Bloom. Leaving Hibiki behind seemed a little risky, but they would be able to at least handle escaping on their own if something really attacked. Rushing into a large hall, Itsuki felt all of the wind taken right out of her sails.

"Once more!" A cutesy voice, belonging to a short Cure, was issuing a command.

An annoyed sigh followed. "How are you not yet satisfied?" Michiru, quite unable to comprehend logically how she had ended up helping out Marine and Peace. She was getting compensated for it, yes, but still, she should have inquired about the nature of the 'help' they had asked for. "This makes twenty-seven tries." The lack of foresight was really coming back to her now. She would have liked to blame it on Kaoru trying to go off on her own but that would've been irrational and childish. If she was irritated because Kaoru was pursuing her own agenda for now, then that was solely a personal problem. Then again, that very train of thought what was posed the big problem to them. Furthermore-

"Erika, ready?" Creating her sketchbook, Yayoi waited for Erika to copy her ability. "It's great that it copies it entirely, so I don't have to re-draw it constantly. Makes testing and adjustments much simpler. Thank you so much!"

Tipping the drawn shield with her finger, Erika showed a smug grin and only noticed Itsuki, who looked alarmed to say the least, after creating the Aegis twenty-eight time. "Hey, Itsuki! What's wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost!" Shouting through the hall, both Peace and Bright noticed her now as well. Neither felt the need to say something but Yayoi at least waved.

Both Itsuki and Saki watched in amazement when a massive electrical shield became corporal in the middle of the room. "That made the shock waves?" Bloom felt a bit stupid now.

"I know what you mean..." Shaking her head, Sunshine turned around and back into a civilian. "Let's go. God knows I don't want to be pulled into whatever Erika is doing." Walking down the hallway, Itsuki feared that it might end in another exploded room or similar.

"Then, try again please, Bright." Having made adjustments to the shield again, Yayoi had, with a stroke of genius that had been supplied by Erika, found a way to make her battle armaments more permanent. Instead of drawing it on a single page and summoning it, she took out the page, traced the drawing and put the trace back in her sketchbook. But for that to be useful, she only wanted to use proven creations. The shield of everlasting protecting, Aegis, was first on her list. She really needed some way to protect herself.

Taking cover behind a massive piece of debris that had come from a large pillar, Erika and Yayoi had a blast playing and developing Yayoi's ability.

Taking a step forward, raising her first and collecting energy inside until her fist resembled a red glowing sphere, Michiru unleashed her most powerful punching attack against the slightly over two meter tall and wide shield. The impact didn't just shake the ground but seemingly also the air and everything inside the room. Withstanding the enormous power for a few seconds, reflecting pieces of the attack in random directions, the shield burst after a few seconds. Bright had been thrown through the air and flown upside down into a wall above one of the exists. "Are you satisfied now?" Michiru's tone was becoming audibly annoyed.

"I almost have it! I think maybe three or four more tries!" Yayoi was completely ruthless when it came to perfecting a drawing.

Erika, upon seeing Bright's annoyed face, laughed loudly enough to let even Saki and Itsuki far down the hallway hear her. "That laugh is the sign to get away, really far and very quickly. I wish she'd use her smarts for things other than to inconvenience other people." Having reached the point where they left behind their partners, Itsuki found Hibiki and Nagisa leaned against the wall and each other, yawning and looking half-dead. "I have returned, princess."

"Ye may escort me to my dwelling." Trying to look as snobbish as possible, Hibiki earned roaring laughter in return.

"Quarters, Hibiki, not dwelling. You're not a cave troll, are you?" Itsuki could barely contain herself and started laughing even harder when Hibiki blushed furiously upon realizing her mistake, immediately pouting. "I'll take my princess home then, Saki. You and Nagisa gonna be alright?" Picking up Hibiki, not without making a quiet remark about how her arms were already so very tired that she couldn't guarantee she'd be able to bear such a heavy burden all the way home, Itsuki watched Saki and Nagisa just wave, telling the lovebirds to leave.

After, in utter futility due to her lack of strength, worn out as she was, trying to punch Itsuki in the shoulder, Hibiki calmed down a little and got quiet. It took her a few minutes of being carried around until her embarrassment reached it's peak. "How long are you gonna carry me like this?" Her face was slightly red as she said it.

"All the way home. You may have said so jokingly and while I don't have the white horse and armor, I'm your dashing knight and you're my beloved princess." Able to say those things with a straight face was one of Itsuki's good points, at least in Hibiki's eyes.

"Wh... wha..." Stuttering in response, Hibiki hid her face. "Stupid. Moron. Doofus. Blockhead."

"A real princess would call me 'imbecile'."

"Imbecile." Hibiki repeated after her partner just before resting her head against Itsuki's shoulder, her face closely resembling a tomato.

=== Dissonance ===

"I can't believe you!" Rose was shouting at Dream, who had finally been found, completely unhurt. "And you, I thought you had searched the garden?!" Directing her annoyance at Miyuki, who was making a long face.

"Buuuuut, when I got up there, I looked around and I didn't see her!" Facing the ground, she conceded on maybe not being thorough enough. "Maybe I got a little distracted by the pond. But only maybe!"

"You two..." Honoka's face closely resembled that of an unspeakable terror. "Do you know how much trouble you have caused?"

For the past hour, the entire base had been in high alert, searching for Dream and Blossom, the latter being found very quickly inside her room, reading a book. Of all people, it was Urara who found the missing Cure, sound asleep among the branches of one of the trees. The explanation she had been given was that the weather in the garden had been great and she wanted a quick nap before going for breakfast.

Miyuki and Nozomi, clinging to each other in fear of whatever punishment White might be hiding, looked apologetic and quickly lowered their head. "Yes. We're very sorry." Speaking in unison, they could still feel the cold glares from several others.

"You **will volunteer** for the battle, **won't you**?" Honoka's voice left no doubt that they would face a horrible punishment if they tried to refuse. Quickly nodding, they felt miserable now. They both disliked fighting. "**Good**." Honoka walked away without another word, leaving not only the two punished Cures slightly afraid.

"I don't want to get on her bad side." Akane was wondering just what kind of hell awaited the person that really made her mad.

Urara, who stood right behind the red Cure, looked at Komachi, who was following after White. "If you think that was bad, you don't want to see Mint angry. She's a demon in disguise."

"White scares me more." Nozomi had never experienced an unforgiving glare like that. She knew that White wouldn't get violent or anything like that, but the way she talked when angry was so intimidating, she didn't dare to speak up.

"This brings us back to square one on who the mysterious assailant is." Honoka couldn't believe how paranoid she had become.

Komachi had caught up with White was now walking by her side. "Do we really have no choice but to wait?" She felt irritated. Of course she didn't want Dream to be hurt, but the lingering threat of something being out there wasn't good for her sanity.

"Dream. Then Blossom and you. I can't think of anything you three would have in common that would make you all a target." Putting her index finger to her forehead, she tried hard to think of something that would help track down the perpetrator. She stopped after noticing that Komachi was no longer by her side all of a sudden. "Komachi?"

Looking around, there was no sign of her. The hallway only offered doors to the low class rooms and facilities. And they had been right in the middle of it. "Mint!" Raising her voice, Honoka got no answer. A few seconds passed and someone peeked around the corner. It was Rose.

"Why are you shouting?" She had been on her way to the kitchen after visiting the garden with Hikari.

"Have you seen Mint? She was with me a second ago and now there is no trace of her." Unlike with Dream, she now had serious cause to be alarmed.

"I've just come down from upstairs, so I haven't seen anyone but Dream and Happy, sorry. I'll tell Komachi to go find you when I see her." Looking to the side, she said something in a normal voice and Honoka couldn't hear it. "I'll see you later!"

Honoka was confused. "What..." Looking around, she had trouble comprehending what was happening. People didn't just vanish into thin air. "What is going on in this place?"

Quickly checking the two bathrooms and making sure that the doors to the lower rooms were locked, she could count out Komachi just going into one of them. A feeling she didn't like was creeping up to her. Fear. Facing the reflections had been different. It was an enemy she could fight, she could see and logically explain. Patterns and reason, to a degree, were a given when dealing with them. They wanted something. But she couldn't explain this in any way or form. That scared her. The complete unknown.

Thinking about it and gradually becoming more and more nervous, she felt something hit the back of her head hard enough to make her vision go triple and blurry. Unable to even stand up, she went down, face forward falling to the ground. Catching a glimpse of whatever hit her from the corner of her eye, she could only tell that it was someone around her own height. Then it all went dark.

=== Dissonance ===

"You saw **who** go into the negotiation portal?" Miki had just come across Inori, who had happened to take a walk out of sheer boredom.

Inori took a step back. "Calm down Miki. How bad can it be?" And a second and third step upon seeing Miki's horrified face. "M... Miki? You're scaring me."

"That woman... she is evil. As evil as it gets while being a Cure. Her personality is like that of a dark lord!" Raising her hands to her head, Miki foresaw her own doom. She was one of the participants for the day's battle and **Lemonade** of all people was now handling the negotiation? She would go through hell. Absolute hell. Guaranteed. "I'm dead. Yuri and me are so dead. It'll be some hellish trial with depths of abominable evils lurking at every corner."

"You're exaggerating, Miki." Inori suddenly wasn't comfortable being next to Miki anymore. "She still has to deal with what the rules offer. There won't be anything like that."

"She'll make the worst of it." Miki was genuinely horrified of what she would have to face. Lemonade had always been someone who wasn't very nice and quick to be upset but it had gotten worse drastically since she'd been split from Muse. Earlier, when she had found Dream, she dragged the poor girl around like some kind of spider that took away it's prey.

"You'll be fine." Inori really hoped that those words would hold true.

Miki was not the only one that was in distress over Lemonade being at the negotiation. Kaoru was tough and capable of handling just about anyone, but the hostility that was virtually oozing from Lemonade was making her uncomfortable to say the least.

"Got something to say, huh?" Urara was completely out of order. Being apart from Ako after getting so used to having her with her had been much worse than she expected, and that only further pissed her off. Realizing that worsened her mood yet again. It was a downspiral of worsening moods. At the point she was at now, she was ready to hang someone up to dry just to vent some stress. "Sit that damn ass of yours down, so I can get this over with. Why the fuck did Komachi even ask me to do this? Fuck."

She had dealt with difficult people before but this wasn't so much **dealing** with one as avoiding her blowing up. She had barely sat down when Lemonade flung a set of locational data at her. "Go and pick one of the damn advantages since I took care of the location. Hurry it up, the air smells like cardboard in here."

Kaoru was quite capable of dealing with anyone in a logical and rational fashion. But that was completely useless if the person was not adhering to those things. And Lemonade certainly wasn't. "We will take condition twenty-nine then, Sturdy. Our team receives only half damage from everything."

"Why are you explaining it to me? Do I look like an idiot to you? Do I?" Urara's eyes were half-closed and fixated on Kaoru's neck, giving the blue haired Cure a very bad feeling. "This is a drag. I'll just pick something at random."

Kaoru reacted before she could think about what to say. The yellow Cure's behavior was annoying her now. "That is not how the-"

"I don't care! Not my fault the others fucked up and didn't send someone who isn't in a mood to burn down fucking Troy. Now get on with it." Scrolling through the list and picking out two random items, Urara got more annoyed, mostly with herself, and the situation with each passing second. The main issue was herself. She had so totally fallen for Ako and now it had already come back to bite her. When exactly had she become so attached? Hadn't she told herself not to rely on others like that ever again? But just thinking of pulling out made her feel like complete shit. There was no way she could go on normally if she tried to cut off her relationship with Ako. And that too added to her being annoyed. Why was she so scared of being attached? Because she had gotten hurt really badly once in the past? Because there were so many problems with dating her, none of which she really wanted to face?

As the blonde slammed her fist against the energy barrier that separated the two Cures, Kaoru instinctively backed up a few centimeters. "Fuck! What happened to making up my goddamn mind?!" Standing up and kicking the wall a few times, Urara only stopped when she was out of breath and immediate rage. "You. Go pick the rest of the options. I don't care. Just get something." Sitting down on the ground and leaning against the cold wall, Urara felt she literally had to cool her head. Losing her cool like that really wasn't like her.

Debating Lemonade's choices wasn't exactly an option at that point anymore. Kaoru looked at what she had picked and thankfully it was nothing too disastrous. Number eighteen and fifty-three, Magnetic Force Pull and Chaotic Intent, both conditions that promoted the use of close combat. The combatants were March, Melody, Michiru, Muse and Sunshine. The location would severely hinder Michiru because of her lack of speed so she had to do something about that. As far as she knew, at least three of those five were quite capable in close combat situations, making Lemonade's decisions not entirely bad ones. Looking over at the yellow Cure, she could see her gently banging her head against the wall, murmuring things to herself.

Looking at the console, Kaoru noticed something that Aqua had not mentioned. In the bottom left corner was a tiny red line that read 'Maximum Options Available' and had an equally tiny five after it. So there was a restriction to the sheer number of rules picked per fight? She found it odd that Aqua hadn't mentioned that.

Between the three rules, two of which Lemonade had set, she still had two to go. It was less a negotiation as simply avoiding catastrophic results at this point. With someone like that, negotiations had broken down before they had even started.

Considering what she knew about the people participating that day, she decided to pick one of the options that most drastically changed the flow of battle. There were several, late in the rule book, options that offered a complete physical transformation. She was intrigued by the options but didn't know the full effect of it as the description had been very brief and simple. Still, given the location Lemonade had picked, it was a reasonable decision.

Picking option seventy-six, Heaven and Hell Dive, she also took sixty-four, Century Negate, essentially giving everyone twice as much time to react. It was something she chose purely to aid her sister. As soon as she picked the fifth option, the screen changed and asked for confirmation. "You need to press the confirmation button."

Getting up with an annoyed groan, Urara pressed the button and quickly turned around. "Can I get the hell out of here now?"

Kaoru was no less annoyed but hid it well. Acting up now would only worsen the issue for the girls on the other side. Not saying anything, she felt like she had pretty much lost. Not only had the location been decided without her consent but two rules had been laid down as well, none of which she could argue due to the way the light team's negotiator acted. She had ended up with just two rules of her own choosing, beyond the advantage 'granted' to her by Lemonade. She hoped Lemonade would never hold negotiations ever again.

About to leave via the portal, Kaoru felt something threatening from the other side. Had Lemonade snapped now? But it was different from the pressure she had exerted earlier. It was more of an... evil presence. She could tell that much. By the time she decided to turn around, Lemonade was nowhere to be seen.

=== Dissonance ===

"...onoka... Honoka... okay... Honoka?" She could hear someone call her name but she couldn't put whose voice it was. Opening her eyes, the light of the room seemed as blindingly bright as the sun itself. Covering her eyes, she felt a big bump on her forehead. "How do you feel?" She could put the voice now. It was Mint.

"What's going on?" The last thing she remembered was something heavy hitting her on the back of her head. So why was a bump on her forehead? And why was Komachi with her? Hadn't she vanished without a trace?

"I don't know. You just fell down all of a sudden while we were walking. When I picked you up, you already had a big bump on your forehead. I got you to my room since I couldn't get in yours. How do you feel?" Komachi was worried. Hits to the head could be very dangerous and there was no explanation what had hit her to begin with.

"Like I ran into a wall. My head is on fire." What hurt more than the physical pain was her inability to even remotely explain what was happening. "So I just keeled over all of a sudden? I remember you vanishing, seeing Rose and then getting knocked out by something." It was the obvious conclusion that Rose knocked her out but she didn't want to accuse her before she had some kind of proof it really happened.

"You must have imagined that." Shaking her head, Komachi looked up. "I saw Kurumi and Luminous coming down from the garden just as I carried you up. Kurumi couldn't have been down there."

"It only gets more and more confusing. I think its safe to say that whatever hit you, also hit me just now.." Rubbing her forehead, she hoped the bump would go away before Nagisa came over to their team. She'd make a fuss.

"You've been unconscious for three hours, Honoka. Negotiations are already done. I asked Urara to stand in for me since she was the first one I saw after picking you up." Komachi stepped away from the bed and sat down on a chair, breathing a sigh of relief.

"Not exactly your best choice. But at least someone went. What time is it now?" Slowly getting up, Honoka felt exhausted for some reason. And she felt irritated, incredibly so even.

"The exchange runs are about to start. I don't want to be late so I'm going now. Can you stand?" Extending her hand to the white Cure, Komachi was hoping to finally see Karen again, not just through the barrier in the dome.

Getting up on her own, Honoka felt fine if irritated and a bit dizzy. And hungry. "I'm going to the kitchen to grab something to eat. I hope you make it to the other side. Nagisa is going to try and get over here."

Opening her door, Komachi waited for Honoka to go first. "You talked to her through the dome?" Following after the older Cure, Komachi closed the door and watched it lock itself.

Smiling briefly, Honoka dismissed that idea with a hand wave. "I don't need to. It's what she'd do in this situation. I've been with her every day for almost seven years. I know how she thinks."

"I wish Karen and I could understand each other that well." Passing the corner to the stairway, Komachi briefly thought she saw someone go up the stairs to the garden but when she turned around not seeing anyone.

"Give it some time. Nagisa is a bit simple minded, making it easy to figure her out." Reaching level two, Honoka branched off from Komachi, walking towards her own room. "Good luck in the race. I'm going to get something from my room."

"If I lose, I'll see you later." Going down to the first level, she could already see three others lined up for the exchange. Egret, Blossom, Lemonade and Pine. She could already feel her confidence wavering, since two of them used a combat style that focused a whole lot on speed alone.

Blossom was talking to Egret while Pine was stretching in a corner by herself. "Kind of like a sports festival, isn't it?" Lemonade was leaned against a wall, her expression telling everyone else to stay away from her.

"There is no penalty for not winning after all. I like this a lot more than the way it was before." Mai wasn't against some physical activity. She preferred jogging, unlike her partner, who was more into hardcore training.

Just as Komachi wanted to get ready, the gates opened, signaling the start of the exchange. Lemonade entered ahead of everyone else, Blossom and Egret were second to enter, followed by Mint and then Pine. The second they stepped through the gate, they could feel a massive storm blowing against them. It took all of them except Komachi several seconds to have their eyes adjust to the sheer force the wind was blowing at them.

When they finally saw where they were, the wind itself was no longer a surprise. A seemingly bottomless shaft, twenty meters of a perfect square and eight Cures in completely free fall. Nagisa, Saki and Kaoru were the participants from the dark team.

Assuming that the gateways were all the way at the distant bottom of the shaft, Komachi quickly realized the rules of this race. To get down the fastest was not the way to win. To get down first and still be able to move after the inevitable impact. Falling that far and at such a high speed wasn't going to be without danger even for physically strong Cures like Bloom or Black.

But she had an enormous advantage. The seven others watched in confusion when Mint rushed past them, head first into the depths, a full nosedive. The others realized a few seconds too late that she could simply barrier her fall out before the impact.

Inori was the first to get creative with the scenario and used her body to slowly fall towards the outer wall. Once close enough, she tried to align herself with the stony surface, with mediocre success. Getting repelled by the sheer speed she had, her third attempt finally succeeded. Losing a lot of time with her plan, she was now starting to catch up, running downwards on the completely vertical wall. It was just a matter of launching herself off the surface repeatedly to gradually diminish her speed before the end.

Urara had followed Komachi's move and had taken a straight nose dive down, knowing that no matter what, she could halt herself with her chains. Seeing that they were both participating, Mai and Saki got closer, plotting which of them would aim to win. Nagisa and Tsubomi lacked the necessary abilities to profit from the situation the same way Pine, Lemonade or Mint did. Kaoru stayed close to Mai and Saki, seeing that Pine had a high likelihood of winning thus not requiring her to try hard at all.

It wasn't until almost two full minutes had passed that the stage revealed it's real challenge. Mint was the furthest along and encountered the threat first. Pillars, debris and massive stone cubes were floating in seemingly zero gravity all over the shaft now. And with that, Black, Blossom and Bloom were back in the race. Where the others had to put effort into avoiding the debris carefully to avoid ending up as pancakes on their surface, Black and Bloom simply smashed through the first few with raw power, Blossom using their wind shadow to effortlessly take the shortcut they created.

Komachi reinforced her barrier and smashed right through a massive pillar, the impact flinging her through the shaft like the ball in a pinball machine. Lemonade was more skilled about it and used her chains like a pull rope, anchoring them further downwards and pull herself in that direction. But she lost time because of it. Pine had to jump walls, losing most of her acceleration, every time one of the stone cubes was in her way, unable to slice through something that big and heavy.

Egret was side by side with Blossom, the two of them following Black and Bloom, the only ones able to take the straight part down. "Blacklight Impale!" Nagisa emitted a physical version of Honoka's energy pierce attack, hitting the solid cube right in front of her, making it burst into thousand little fragments.

Despite the early advantages it was an extremely close race. Lemonade had already overtaken Mint and Pine had landed a lucky streak of no obstacles in her path, catching up to those two. Windy, having remained in the back even behind Blossom and Egret, was now putting effort in despite her early judgment. Racing past Black and effortlessly slicing through any and all debris, she focused solely on the path Pine was in.

Noticing that Kaoru was effectively boosting her and not trying to win herself, Inori sacrificed control for speed and accelerated to her top speed, rushing past Lemonade and Mint in an instant. But there was something she had not taken into account. Just as she passed another cube that was cleanly cut in half, she instantly realized that she was out of the race. The shaft had suddenly a solid, fence-like structure in it, splitting into four tunnels in the center. There was no way she would be able to properly aim for one of those at the speed she was going. Afraid that she would break every single bone in her body if she hit a solid wall at her speed, she instinctively turned around and launched a hand blade against Kaoru, who was now aware of the situation as well. Realizing that it was an attempt to get disqualified, she let the knife hit her shoulder. Pine vanished instantly in a blinding flash of light.

Komachi took the lower left tunnel with Urara following right after her, each tunnel another perfect square but only a tenth of the bigger shaft. Saki, followed by Mai, took the upper right tunnel, Nagisa, followed by Tsubomi the upper left. Kaoru, wounded, took the tunnel nobody else had taken and found herself immediately in absolute darkness. While the shaft had been magically lit and provided clear sight even dozens of meters away, the tunnels were as dark as the night.

"Mai?!" Shouting, a necessity due to the wind, Saki tried to make sure that her partner was still behind her. If it looked like they might both win, Saki would launch a weak attack against someone else or Mai herself if necessary.

"Here!" Answering from what seemed like miles away, the white Cure had trouble not hitting the walls. There was something wrong with the gravitation of the tunnel, seemingly pulling her into random directions every second.

Komachi and Urara had little trouble with that, the former wrapped into a skin-tight protective barrier, the latter wearing her chains as armor, providing indestructible protection. Hitting the wall with bare skin at their speeds would have taken skin and tissue off all the way to the bone.

"You okay?!" Despite being rivals in the race, Nagisa was still worried about Blossom. She was younger and shorter, making Nagisa worry.

"I'm fine!" The answer came from the space directly next to Nagisa. "I'm going on ahead!" Taking her chance to get past Black and hoping that the tunnels were the last part of the race, Tsubomi took a nosedive into the unknown, paying critical attention to how the wind behaved. Finally seeing the light of the exit, Tsubomi's race was met by an untimely end. Shooting out of the tunnels and right against a large part of debris, Tsubomi vanished in a flash of light a microsecond before she hit the wall.

Witnessing that, Nagisa was at least relieved that the system would warp them out just before they suffered damage. Smashing the debris and making it through it, she saw Windy quite a distance ahead, with Lemonade and Mint shooting out of their tunnel and catching up to her rapidly.

Kaoru noticed it first, because of the way the debris was floating around. They were still falling but the tunnels had simply reversed gravity at the end. Shooting past the debris she had already destroyed, Kaoru figured that the exit was also the entrance. What a mistake to not have looked behind herself at the start!

Just as she tried to accelerate, she saw something dangerous happen right above her. One of Lemonade's chains had destroyed debris instead of acting as a hold, catapulting the yellow cure full force against her teammate, both of them disappearing in a flash of light just a blink before hitting the outer wall of the shaft at the insane speed they were going at.

Having her attention focused on those two had become a fatal mistake for Kaoru. The destroyed debris had collided with a large pillar that was now on direct collision course with her. Slashing it in two, she used too much force, the wind slicer going completely through it and hitting Black. Enveloped in blinding light, both Black and Windy vanished on the spot. With only a second delay, not enough for Mai and Saki to comprehend what had happened, those last two vanished as well.

=== Dissonance ===

"Noooo! What a failure!" Saki was walking in circle, repeatedly flinging her arms in the air and loudly complaining. In the end, she and Mai had effectively simply swapped teams due to everyone else becoming disqualified. By process of elimination, they were the only valid participants left and thus taken as victor. "Why did everyone else get disqualified? Such misfortune!" Lamenting on and on, she was the laugh of the hour.

"You two... you were always a bit too quick with deciding things. You should have cleared which one of you switches teams." Honoka was fairly amused by what had happened. A little disappointed that Nagisa was still on the other side, too.

"Honoka, it's not funny! Nagisa talked me into participating! Just in case Mai didn't win! Ah, why did I listen to her?!" Komachi's halfhearted attempts to get Saki to cool down were all but futile since she couldn't help but smile and barely manage to hold in her laughter.

Inori was a bit disappointed but couldn't help but find it funny how things ended up. After hearing that people got warped out just short of turning into pancake she had felt very bad for Kaoru and went to the dome to apologize. While Kaoru didn't mind, she felt grateful for the apology. After some talking, she hit the topic of Lemonade and Inori explained that she was even worse now. Calling Muse to the dome and subsequently getting Lemonade there had been their shared plan.

The situation on the other team was much more lively and hilarious. Nagisa kept apologizing to Mai for talking Saki into participating and Mai kept telling her it was fine only to look slightly sullen right after, starting the cycle anew. The chaotic duo, Erika and Yayoi, had both started to roll on the floor, laughing so hard that they had to be carried off by Itsuki and Nao respectively. Hibiki, who stayed behind, had a very hard time not laughing as well.

"I'm really, really, really sorry!" Nagisa kept going on and on about it, unconsciously rubbing it further and further in Mai's face that the situation was even worse than before now. The very situation brought back the uncomfortable memories of that one-night switch they had involuntarily done. Nagisa felt double the guilt because of that.

"Okay, okay, give it a rest. It was funny for the first twenty minutes but it's seriously starting to be annoying." Rin had watched the scene with shrinking interest. She was lucky that Kanade had ended up on the same team right away or else she might be in the same boat as all those that essentially lost their chance for nothing.

"After today's battle, rooms will be shuffled, right?" Setsuna was sitting on the table together with Ellen, who was almost back to normal. Asking Setsuna with a bright red face to not let her go that night was the last thing that stuck with her from the exile. And Setsuna was happy to oblige. She was hoping that either of them would get a level three room so they could more easily sleep together.

"Last chance to rack up some coins. Not that I'd need it." Rin was pretty sure that she would make it into the top four. And that was all she needed. "I'll just get some more tomorrow. Gotta stay at the top."

Karen was quick to put a damper on Rin's ego. "Don't be so condescending, Rin. If the conditions are right, it's possible to score over two-hundred in one go. Don't whine if you end up with a middle class room." Sitting two seats down from Setsuna, Karen was enjoying a cup of tea.

"Yes, yes. Let me brag while I can, I worked for it. I got my ass busted pretty hard by Beauty for it." Rin got up and, to her surprise, Kanade did not follow her and continued to munch away on some cookies she had baked earlier. Rin was impressed she was able to focus on something else by now. Walking past Ellen, she stopped briefly. "If she asks, I'm in the garden. Just in case." Getting a quick nod from Ellen was all she needed.

"These are super good! Do you bake a lot, Rhythm?" Erika had popped up from below the table, having escaped Itsuki. Her shop was closed for the day but she saw some business opportunities with Bloom being around now.

"It's going to be my job. My parents own a bakery. I used to specialize in cupcakes but I branched out after I felt I had really done all I could with it for the time being." Kanade was happy that someone was talking to her despite the way she kept acting around Rin. It had cost her all of the restraint she could muster to let Rin walk away.

"Hibiki used to steal your cupcakes all the time, right?" Ellen hoped that some fond memories of Hibiki would help Kanade to cheer up.

"I'm amazed she didn't get fat." Looking at Hibiki from the corner of her eyes, Kanade showed a tiny smile. She always got so angry when Hibiki secretly stole freshly made cupcakes before she was finished with them. And it happened all the time, too!

Hibiki just turned her head away and was immediately hit on the head by Itsuki who had gotten back just in time to see Hibiki act like an ass. Leaning down and whispering to her partner, Itsuki was still in civilian form. "Don't be an idiot. I know she messed up but that's no way to act."

"I couldn't help it!" Getting slightly loud, Hibiki looked at Kanade. Itsuki was ready to punch her if she made a scene. "Always tempting me with the sweet and delicious stuff, I trained like mad to avoid getting round like a balloon!" Itsuki relaxed when she realized the first part had been directed at Kanade. Throwing herself on the table, Hibiki sighed. "Now I want a cupcake... ah, sod..."

Grabbing the dish with cookies on them, getting up and walking over to Hibiki, Kanade was nervous enough to collapse into herself any second. "It's not a cupcake but..."

Itsuki wanted them to make up. Not because she wanted Hibiki to regain any interest she may have had in Kanade romantically but because it was sad to see two long time friends become strangers like that. Watching Hibiki eye the dish and sigh again, she hoped for the best.

"There goes my plan of losing some weight by training with Itsuki." Grabbing the whole dish and virtually annihilating the contents, Hibiki leaned back and showed a satisfied grin the moment she was finished.

"This explains why you're so heavy." Teasing the girl right away, Itsuki had no idea what she was kicking loose.

Hibiki, ready to defend herself, opened her mouth in protest only to let out a loud burp. Covering her mouth with both hands and blushing fiercely, she looked at the rest of the table. It only took a few seconds before they all started laughing. "Itsuki, you idiot!" Running off with a head as red as a tomato, Hibiki would surely find a way to return the favor.

Karen had left her seat and was now standing next to Kanade. "Don't let you two end up like Komachi and me. Time lost can never gotten back." Even though Karen didn't regret dating Kurumi, she did regret having extremely little contact with Komachi, who had been her best friend even before her days as a Cure. Seeing a similar situation with Melody and Rhythm, she wanted to at least warn them about it.

"You like her." Erika stated the, for some of the girls present, obvious with such a smug grin that Kanade couldn't help but blush. "What about Rouge then? You have a thing for delinquents?"

"Don't call her that." Karen shot a scolding glare at Erika who immediately stood up and saluted.

"Yes, Ma'am!" Watching Karen react with rolling eyes, Erika snickered and returned to her civilian form, wearing a blue dress and black skirt, both of which she had remade from memory, some of her favorites. "Feels so much more relaxing like this. You bought a lot Rhythm, so why are you still sitting around like that?"

Getting back to her seat, Kanade looked a bit embarrassed. "I haven't changed yet. My stuff is still just on my bed." It reminded her that she needed to at least get a dresser eventually if she kept buying clothes.

Leaning back on her chair, Erika shrugged. "That's too bad. I haven't heard the conditions for the battle today yet. Anyone know?" She wasn't going to be in it, but she liked to be up to date on these things. "And Egret, if you want you can stop by at my shop while the others are duking it out."

Finally having shaken Nagisa off, Mai was well on her way to the kitchen to brew herself some coffee or tea, whatever was available. Maybe sit down in the garden as well and try to relax a little. The race had been quite thrilling. "You've opened a clothing shop, right? I'll see if I find you later."

"You're such a shrewd business woman, Marine." Kanade was slightly impressed. "I didn't catch all of it but I know at least the location rules for today's battle. Guts of the earth, raging fire and earthquakes. Sounds really dangerous."

"Sounds hot." Erika's instant response was met with an instant groan from almost everyone else. "Eh, what?" She completely feigned ignorance of making an awful pun.

Kanade saw Ako come into the room. Back home, it wasn't often that she saw Ako in her adult form simply because it could really end up complicated if the town's people recognized her. She often switched for when they were training their Cure powers though.

"Hey, Muse!" Erika found a new target.

Hearing Marine call out to her, Ako sighed. "Spare me. I've got a bad headache. I don't need you to make it worse." Returning from the dome, after talking some sense into Urara and realizing that her own mood wasn't exactly improving on a daily basis either, Ako just wanted to have some peace and quiet before the battle. And something to eat.

"Lovers quarrel? That's it, isn't it? Got into a fight with Lemonade?" Erika's impish face turned into a pain filled one when Ako hit on the head as she walked past. "So brutal..."

"You got what you deserved. Or maybe I should just tell Blossom tell about how much you tease people?" Ako knew that that was a very valid and real threat to Marine.

Swallowing hard and turning away, a single sweat drop on her forehead, the blue haired girl tried to play tough. "J-Just go ahead. I-I don't mind."

"Okay then." Walking away without another word, Ako was shortly afterward followed by Erika, who could be heard apologizing all the way from the kitchen. Tsubomi tended to pull on her ear when she teased people too much, and that was really not something she liked to have done to her.

While the two very different Cures were in the kitchen, Nao finally returned with Yayoi, the green Cure looking slightly worn out. In an attempt to get Yayoi to stay away from Black and Egret until they had calmed down, Nao had offered to let Yayoi sketch her. She should have known better.

"The battle hasn't started yet, March. Did something happen? You look a bit tired." Setsuna was a little curious why the green Cure was making such a long face.

"Curse Yayoi and her crazy poses. I let her sketch me and she wanted me to do some weird pose from something called Star Driver? I have no idea what that is but it was so.. exhausting to keep up."

"It's about the great quest of finding your parents and saving the world by a lone boy, who in the end is betrayed by his most trusted friend and then the final boss-" Yayoi was quickly stopped by Nao, who covered the mouth of the yellow Cure with both of her hands. Yayoi flailed a few times before she accepted her fate and stopped trying to explain the plot of Star Driver to a total anime newbie.

Most of the others laughed watching the scene unfold. "Marine and Peace are really of the same mold." Ellen smiled wide saying that, most of the others at the table giving approving nods.

=== Dissonance ===

"Where is Lemonade? And why haven't we been told anything?" Miki was more than just upset about the complete lack of information. "The battle is about to start!"

"Going in there unprepared would be the smaller evil, believe me." Inori was present despite not being one of the fighters. "I talked to Kaoru earlier. Lemonade is on the verge of going critical so it's best we leave her alone. The conditions of the fight are pretty bad." Giving them a quick run down of the rules applied to the battle, she earned groaning. Happy and Dream were both looking at each other awkwardly, not surprising.

"Try to avoid sticking together and avoid long range attacks whenever possible. It there is nobody around, you can go crazy wild, Rose." Yuri knew that beside herself, Rose was the one that would likely bring the greatest damage to the field. "I can't even begin to guess how this Dive thing will affect us."

"Good luck. Bring the win home." Inori took a step back, thinking that the gateway would open momentarily.

"Now that it's come to this..." Nozomi didn't find it easy to jump over her shadow. The incident with Nightmare was still gnawing at her but it was true that so far, she had only caused one catastrophe after another by trying to break them out or stop the fighting. The more she fought the system, the worse the result got. She was starting to see why the others accepted the situation as seemingly easily as they had. "Miyuki, you're good at locking down people, right?"

Nodding, Miyuki didn't quite know if that would really be all that useful. "Try to lock them in places where the rest of us can attack them. If you work with Rose or Moonlight, you should be able to get through this."

"Acting like a real leader for once." Kurumi grinned at Nozomi. "It's good to see you be more like back then again."

A quick sigh escaped Nozomi. "I still hate this situation we're in. But I don't want to be a burden to everyone." She conveniently kept it a secret that she had caused the reflection catastrophe. It wouldn't help anyone to start a blame game.

"Reminiscing is over, it's starting." Miki cracked with her knuckles, ready to blow off some steam for the first time in a while. The new battles were supposedly quite different from before and she was looking forward to the competition.

Miki and Yuri were the first to enter the room as soon as the gate opened. What awaited them on the other side was nothing short but the very picture of what they imagined hell would look like if it really existed. An enormous cavern system with magma streams spewing from walls and the ceiling, converging into a massive pool at the bottom, flowing into a waterfall that sunk into a hole of unfathomable depths.

Large parts of the cavern were naturally on fire. Flame carpets and walls. And just a few seconds in, the ground shook violently enough to make Miki topple over, large fragments of rock falling from the distant ceiling and plunging into the magma stream. The heat and the heavy air, filled with natural gases, made the environment much more toxic than anything they had ever seen.

Miki instinctively took a step back when a quake caused a several meters high magma eruption. "I'm so going to kick Lemonade's ass to kingdom come after this." Miki was pissed. And the rules had not affected her yet.

"Separate!" Yuri took charge immediately after snapping out of it. Jumping to the back, she felt her body react much slower than she was used to. It was as if everything ran in slow motion. The heat, the particles of the magma that flew through the air, the command her brain issued that her legs propel her backwards. That had to be the Century Negate rule Pine mentioned. It was a lot more intrusive than she had expected it to be. And the enemy assault was already starting. From above.

It was easy to recognize her and yet... large dark leather wings growing out of her back, powerful enough to enable free flight, her hands deformed to make way for long claws growing out of the ends of her fingers, a single large horn growing out of her forehead like that of a black unicorn. "Planet..."

Yuri was under direct assault by Bright, who had assumed a demonic form. And instinctively, she knew how to do that as well. A flash of heat ran through her body, adrenaline pumping through all her veins, she felt a sharp pain in her back and hands. Unable to back up any further because of a magma stream, Moonlight escaped into the air, assuming a similar demonic form, hers without any horns but two additional wings.

"...Smasher!" Bright's attack smashed the ground to pieces, much more forceful than Yuri had expected it to be. Magma swallowed up the pieces of stone she had just stood on, creating a deadly hole in an otherwise massive platform. She had to focus completely on getting away from Bright, the pull towards her being tremendous.

"Lock!" Miyuki was keeping altitude far over Bright, having assumed an angelic form with four silvery white wings sprouting from her back and a wide halo floating over her head. "And then there were none!" Increasing the number of binds, Bright had each limb's movement limited by six energy binds. "Moonlight, watch out!"

Several compressed wind bullets completely shattered a rock formation and continued on, flying towards Moonlight. In the distance, a green winged angel was floating and taking aim for the second volley of shots.

But just as the shots approached Moonlight, they started to get thrown off their vector and home in on Bright instead. "Bright!" Nao didn't count on Chaotic Intent being that malicious in it's execution.

"Keep your eyes open." Dream shot at March out of nowhere, utilizing the same angel form as her. Because of the slowed time, Nao had just enough time to cross her arms in front of her face and block the onslaught of punches and kicks. Her body was moving at the exact same speed as Dream's, only their thoughts were much faster. "Starlight Explosion!" It didn't matter if the attack flung off to hit someone else if it was executed at point blank range.

"Tornado Lapse!" Vanishing entirely without a trace, Nao escaped the brutal energy blast that instead hit a magma stream, causing a spray of the molten rock all over the place. Despite having escaped the main hit, using her emergency escape ability put a lot of stress on her energy reserves.

Dream found herself immediately attacked by Sunshine, both of them starting an exchange of punches and kicks, Dream superior in raw power and speed, Sunshine far exceeding her technique, they were in a stalemate of the worst kind, each unable to land a clean hit because of the doubled time they had to react. Unable to get away from each other without giving the enemy plenty of chances to land a clean hit, they were completely at the mercy of outside interference to break up their stalemate.

Only a few dozen meters away, Melody was chasing Berry over a series of platforms floating in magma, shooting energy blasts at her, every other of them randomly flying off into the distance, destroying the area. "Glory Shot!" Launching yet another attack, Miki jumped into the air, used the demonic form and took the attack head on by covering herself with her wings. Getting pushed back by the impact, it gave her the opening she needed. "Spade Mark: Detonation!"

Hibiki was caught off guard when the platform she was on exploded with the force of piled up dynamite. And it wasn't just that one. More than two dozen platforms, all of which Berry had jumped on, exploded at the same time, completely removing any space she had. The sole of her boot was vaporized by the magma by the time she used the transformation. Contrary to Berry, she had the angel wings, granting her higher damage resistance. Flapping as hard as she could, she still didn't get away without half of her right leg being badly burned. Hibiki's painful outcry was heard all throughout the cavern system.

"Hibiki!" Itsuki couldn't possibly ignore what was happening. But Dream was too powerful an adversary to pardon a lapse in attention. Getting hit in the stomach by a full force kick, Itsuki was sent flying against a rock formation hanging from the ceiling.

The impact created a hole, revealing a tunnel system that was currently the place of a gruesome showdown between Rose and Muse, both of whom didn't give each other one centimeter. The increased reaction time allowed Muse to block every single one of Rose's adamant attacks with her similarly powerful barriers. Launching her counter attacks, Ako couldn't penetrate Rose's iron defense.

Moving at high speed and trying to avoid the magma streams, they were right next to each other, either forced to keep up with the speed of the other as to not give way for a clean shot. Just as they reached a dead end, Rose saw no way but to forcefully separate Muse from herself other than running straight into a magma pool. "Adamant Break!" Raising both her hands in the air, she smashed the shield Muse summoned to her defense with her full power, the repelling force catapulting her out of harms way and finally separating from the black Cure.

"Symphony of Tears!" Launching her counter attack against the purple Cure in mid-air, Ako created a complete corporal sphere of her keys. "Cry!" Sending countless keys against Rose, each regenerating as soon as the next one was fired, she unleashed an never ending assault on her enemy.

Unable to do anything but defend, she was locked in mid-air, on straight collision course with a magma stream. She had to do something quick. But she wasn't on her own in the struggle. Looking down, Happy was being chased by Bright, who was only stopped for seconds at a time by the binds. Her demonic form had run out and that was all the time advantage Miyuki needed to keep running indefinitely and staying far enough to avoid the magnetic pull. Thankfully, her binds did seemingly not classify as attacks.

Seeing that Rose was in a pinch, she decided to take the risk. Jumping from rock formation to another, she was right behind Muse, who was already expecting her. Before she could even attempt to use the verbal activator for one of her abilities, Muse landed a full power kick against her shoulder and moved the sphere Rose was in, crashing it into Happy, who was being pulled towards her.

But the direct hit on Happy came not without consequences. "Grimm's Tale!" It wasn't that Miyuki **couldn't** use anything other than binds. She simply didn't like or want to. Surrounded by several floating books that popped out of nowhere, Ako tried to escape, but it was too late. Energy blasts equal to all the damage she had inflicted on the enemy so far launched towards her, giving her only time enough to protect against half.

The explosion was strong enough to destroy part of the ceiling right above her, giving way for a magma stream that was going to swallow her. Focusing all her defensive capabilities into a single barrier on top of herself, Ako took the full force of Happy's attack, prioritizing her life over damage.

"Planet Crusher!" Smashing through a solid wall, Bright appeared right behind Happy, moving too fast for her eyes too follow. A single punch was all it took for the yellow Cure to send the pink Cure flying all the way through the cavern and smashing into a wall, causing a rock avalanche with the impact. And that was not the end of it. "Planet Shaker!" A kick following the punch, directed at Rose this time. But the purple Cure was not that easy to beat. Coating her arms in indestructible alloy, the impact of the kick sent her flying but did otherwise extremely little damage.

Coughing up blood, her eyes turned pure white, Happy could no longer even move a single muscle. Bright's raw physical destructive power was unmatched by any and all. "Ace of Spades!" But there was one who would try to best her anyway. Piercing the defense of the enemy Cure, Miki landed a kick at point blank range in the back of Bright, who yet was not lifted even off her feet. Taking the damage, turning around, grabbing Berry's leg and flinging her upwards towards Muse in an attempt to get the black Cure out of her disastrous situation, the blue Cure was saved by her new partner. Able to perfectly time her entrance and exit, Yuri showed up, grabbed Miki's arm and flew right past Bright, dropping her partner off at a nearby platform.

"Miki, buy me some time." Bright was by far the most dangerous element in the current battle. There was something odd about the entire team. Damage that should have taken them out was doing little more than injure them. That had to be the **Sturdy** condition in place. What a catastrophe for Bright and Sunshine to be one of the fighters.

Jumping at Bright, Miki knew that she would immediately lose in terms of raw power, but she excelled in technique. "Spade Injection!" Punching the ground, utterly destroying it from the inside, she made Bright fall down with her. There was only magma below them so Bright had to focus on something other than attacking her.

A miscalculation on Miki's front. Bright had just regained her demonic form but instead of flying away, she readied an attack. It was a once a battle thing because of how much strain it put on her muscles, yet, it seemed worth the risk. "Star Quake!"

Miki watched in slow motion as enormous quantities of energy compressed in both of Bright's fists as she continued to fell. Just as she was about to sink into lava, she hammered her fists against the molten rock. The effect was devastating. The magma stream exploded in furious anger, spraying all over the place, the ground beneath it breaking apart, creating an bottomless hole, the whole cavern brutally shaking from the impact.

Using the magma spray as a distraction, Bright closed in on Berry, who was caught off guard by the display of phenomenal power. But she had a trump card up her sleeve. "It's showtime!" Using her ability on just Bright would put her under her spell, no matter what.

With her mind focused solely on Berry's movements and looks, Michiru could not even maintain her altitude, quickly losing speed and starting to plummet into the hole. "Yuri!" It wouldn't hold long enough to get rid of the enemy so Miki trusted her partner to finish her off.

"Crescent God Resuscitation!" The entire battlefield, just like with Bright's Star Quake, had it's attention redirected to Moonlight for a few seconds. Creating a silvery glowing glaive that was easily twice the size of her own body, Moonlight was surrounded by a whirl of equally silvery and almost ghostly appearing energy. "Be banished beyond the dark side of the moon!" Throwing the glaive down, the blade cut through Bright's defenses like they were butter, the blade penetrating her chest whole and breaking out of her back, the shaft stuck midway through her body.

With an eye blindingly bright flash of light was the bottomless hole illuminated only to fall into darkness again a few seconds later. Under heavy strain, Yuri needed some time to recuperate after launching an attack that massive. If she was given sufficient time, she could launch a second glaive, but it was risky.

On the other side of the cavern, Dream and Sunshine were still locked into their stalemate, both of them heavily beat up by now, both having sacrificed defense to take out their adversary. They had just passed by the area where Happy was laying unconsciously on a platform that was slowly drifting towards the magma waterfall. And Rose had just recovered from Bright's attack to drag her off it.

"Kurumi!" The tiny fraction of a second she let her attention slip from her match with Sunshine led to the yellow Cure landing a powerful hit straight to her face. Retaliating with an elbow crush in Sunshine's stomach, Dream knew that she would eventually lose the battle if she did not get assistance. Her enemy was taking less damage than her and was much more skilled in martial arts. It was thanks to her superiority in power, speed and the doubled reaction time that she was able to keep up at all.

Seeing her old friend in trouble, Rose took position. Seeing that, Nozomi allowed herself to be hit several times in an attempt to get her plan going. Finally succeeding in locking down Sunshine's movements with a desperate move.

But she had not counted on Sunshine's partner. Showing up right behind Dream, Melody put both her hands on her head. "Glory Destruction!" The explosion tore a lot of skin off Nozomi's face, causing massive damage to her head. "Glory Destruction!" A second hit and Nozomi's grasp on Sunshine weakened. Rose was already moving in, ready to at least destroy Sunshine if Dream was going to be knocked out. "Glory Destruction!" And that was finally enough to damage the pink Cure beyond what she was capable of enduring. Hibiki's hands were littered with burns and blisters from using her attack at point blank range like that. But she didn't want to even take a little risk if it came to rescuing Itsuki.

Targeting the exhausted Melody, Rose appeared right in front of the pink Cure, her eyes spelling extreme danger for all her adversaries. "Adamant Impact Surge!" Hibiki watched in terror as Itsuki just barely managed to get between Rose and herself, taking the attack with no more than an improvised defense. The attack was unlike anything Itsuki had even attempted to block.

Unable to withstand the pain, Itsuki cried out in pain as the bones in her arms were virtually broken to pieces by the attack, the force traveling all through her body until it finally exited out of her back, making her spit out a gush of blood, the internal damage being too drastic to even begin to guess what was broken.

Unable to get away from Rose because of the magnetic pull, Hibiki saw no other option but to take her down before she was defeated as well. "Symphony of Glory!" It didn't matter if the attack would randomly target Rose or herself. As close together as they were, Melody created a impenetrable minefield all around them, more alike to a storm cloud of potential explosions than anything else. "Blast!"

Only a few dozen meters away was March, who had just recovered after losing a close combat kicking fight against Berry earlier, still getting out of a massive pile of rubble. She couldn't believe the skill of that blue Cure. A booming explosion not too far off caught her attention, showing her that both Rose and Melody had left the battle, the two of them dropping down to the ground, dangerously close to the magma stream. Looking around, she saw only three others still conscious. The magnetic force rule was a horrible poison for her, preventing her from using hit and run tactics.

Using her wings to get away, Ako couldn't hang on to much hope that she was going to win against both Berry and Moonlight combined. "Grand Tacet!" Creating a sphere that heavily punished any and all aggressive actions around herself, it wouldn't protect her against energy attacks.

"She's the only one left. I'll take her out with one shot. Miki, keep her busy." Yuri raised her altitude and flew higher into the air, landing on a platform just as her demonic form ran out. Taking a deep breath, Yuri focused on gathering the needed energy to use Resuscitation a second time. With just Muse, she would personally carry the glaive and hit her instead of taking the risk and making it a long range attack.

Both Miki and Yuri had not realized that March was still conscious. Still being chased by Berry, Muse descended onto the platforms floating on the biggest magma stream. Berry landed a few platforms away, both of them hitting the time limit on their demonic forms. Miki was just about to formulate a plan of attack when she noticed something rush over the actual magma itself.

Realizing too late that it was March, using her extreme speed to avoid burning her legs while running straight over the magma, Miki suffered a direct hit by the green Cure. Propelled off the platform, attacking like this was the only way for Nao to not rely on energy attacks. With just Muse around, she felt she could take the risk. The odds were in her favor. "Tempest Bullet!" Creating balls of highly compressed air, Nao fired several shots, all of which hit Berry, each impact shredding clothes and causing numerous deep cuts. She only needed one more push to finish her off. Taking a step back to start a second rush attack, her attention was diverted by Muse's shouting.

"Watch out!" Ako had used the chance and rest for a few seconds, trying to regain some stamina and energy. Despite having the advantage of only suffering half damage, the enemy was too formidable. And now, that brief moment of rest had become a fatal mistake. Moonlight had finished whatever preparation she needed, coming at March with full speed from above.

"Crescent Harken!" Unleashing a powerful and dangerously sharp energy blast with a kick, Yuri hit her mark. An fountain of blood spread from Nao's chest and stomach as they were deeply cut. Dropping down on the spot, Yuri quickly directed her attention towards Muse, who was nowhere to be seen. "Miki?!" Looking towards the direction Berry had been catapulted by March, she saw Muse right above her partner.

Aiming to take out Berry before she could recover from March's attack, Ako didn't take any risks. "Symphoniy Forza Fortississimo!" Hitting Berry's chest with both of her palms, the blue Cure's body was ruptured by energy from the inside, blood flowing from several bursting wounds in her arms and legs.

Creating a shield as soon as her attack was finished, she had just been in time. Moonlight attacked with a glaive of which the blade was shaped like a crescent moon, slicing halfway through the key barrier. Trying to jump away, Muse was held back by her lack of strength and the magnetic force. "Symphony Furia!"

Yuri was thrown away by the massive explosion that happened right in Muse's face. With a sizzling sound, the area around her started to change until she found herself back in her room. The battle was finally over. And she had a magnitude ten headache. "I'll go see Miki before I crash..."

=== Dissonance ===

"Hey, Newbie, get up." The pain of having an empty can thrown at her head woke her up alright. Feeling still cold, the girl rose like a robot, picking up the can and placing it in a plastic bag for later. "Where the hell did she come from again?"

"Apparently some place some way off Tokyo. She's got a real sob story, wanna hear?" A man standing near a mountain of cardboard boxes was talking to two more that sat on said mountain. "Not like we got anythin' else to do."

"Yo, tell. I'm always up for a laugh. Not like any of us give a shit what happened to everyone else here. That's the nature of the human trash dumpster after all." Wearing old, worn down clothes, unkempt and unwashed hair hidden under wool caps, none of the men cared about their appearance anymore just like nobody cared if they saw the light of another day.

"So she was just the average girl, handful of friends, happy family, the whole packet. Then, one day, one of her friends was robbed on her way back home after going shopping. You see, this friend was taking care of her siblings, being all goody two shoes, and when she didn't come back, the younger kids found their sister dead, raped and striped naked just down the street from their house."

"Man, that's some heavy shit. Go on." Handing a cigarette from a fresh pack to another man, something he stole last night, one of the men leaned back, clearly enjoying the misfortune of the girl in the story.

"It gets better from here on. Two of the newbie's other friends were apparently in love with the girl that died. One of them just vanished, looking for the guy who did it to the first girl and the other got so depressed that she accidentally cut herself while cooking and bled out while nobody was at home."

"Just great, they both self-destructed. What then?"

"The last one was kinda tiny and shy looking. Dunno the exact time but she was kidnapped a few weeks or something after the other three went down. They only found her months later, abused, drugged, raped and then they slit her throat. Whole package. And you know who found her?"

"Man, don't tell me! It's the newbie there, right? She found her, right?"

"Bingo man. Can you imagine her face? She was so depressed that she stopped going to school and everything. Her bad luck never ended and just a week after she stopped going to school, her father and mother died in a car crash caused by, so they found out later, the same people who kidnapped the girl!"

"Are you sure you aren't making this shit up? That's like a shitty dead end in some kind of horror novel."

"She's told the whole story to one of the women when she first showed up here, thinking they'd show her sympathy or something! Can you imagine? Sympathy? Here! In the human trash dump! Genius!" Bursting out in laughter, one of them emptied out the last stale and watered down remains of a bottle of beer. "But we ain't done yet. So she's got this one relative left, her grandma. But just as thinks she can get some comfort there, the old hag dies of a heart attack because her daughter and husband died such a tragic death. I bet her heart just broke."

"So how did she end up here? Don't they have foster parents or shit for kids?"

"Nobody wanted her. Looking at what happened to her friends, then her parents and grandma, they all thought she was cursed. So nobody wanted her and she ended up homeless. Economics or something probably."

"Fuck the economy." One of them lifted an empty bottle and threw at the newbie girl, just barely missing her head. The girl barely reacted, as if it was an every day occurrence. The story the men had just told each other for laughs was the story of how her life broke apart.

How Nao was killed, Reika vanished without a trace, Akane died and Yayoi was kidnapped and killed. How her parents died just when she needed them the most. And how her grandmother died as well, in the end. And it was all her fault. That one day... when she thought she would protect everyone but shouldering all of their bad ends. And in the end, it was her who had suffered the worst. After losing the power to become a Cure as Marchenland was destroyed, she started to lose her friends, one by one.

The one thing she wanted the most, for everyone to be happy, had turned out to be the one thing she ended up taking away from them. She couldn't save anyone. The world had turned into a dark place, where everyone was only looking out for themselves. Human trash dumpsters where the countless homeless and unemployed lived out their days, dirty, unwanted and without any kindness littered the landscapes of the world now.

And all because she wasn't strong enough. Even among the human trash dumpsters was she not welcome, always bringing bad luck to everyone around her. How many times had she thought about killing herself? How many times had she wished, begged, prayed and hoped that her curse would one day end.

But it never did. It never would. It was her cross to bear. Her guilt. Her bad end. And an ending never passed. She would be alone, hated and unwanted, shunned and guilt ridden, for the rest of the miserable life she endured every day.

She could not feel anything anymore. She could not cry anymore. Her world had long ended. "Hey newbie." Looking up, she saw one of the countless homeless men that lived in this area. "Do your thing."

"Dude, she can't anymore. Don't you know some douche cut her vocal cords a week ago or so?"

It had been the last thing she had held onto. 'Ultra Happy', something she recited to herself countless times every day to remind herself of better times. And now even that had been taken from her. There was nothing left of the girl that had once been Hoshizora Miyuki. All that remained was an empty shell of someone who had lost everything.

=== Dissonance === 

"You lost? With those members? Who was on the other team?" Erika was giving Itsuki a funny look. "Weren't the conditions pretty good for you?"

"Yuri, Berry, Rose, Dream.. the other side brought in all of their heavy weights for this." Itsuki was leaned back on her chair, a cooling back on her head. Hibiki was right next to her, laying halfway on the table, holding on to Itsuki's hand, 'recharging'.

"Isn't Dream the one that never wants to fight?" Erika nibbled on some cookies that Rhythm had left for the others. "The pink one?"

"She packs one hell of a punch. I mean, I knew she was strong when she went all deux es machina on Nightmare, but she's pretty damn strong even without that. Ouch.. Hibiki, get a grip." Trying to wrestle her arm free from her partners grip only made it worse. Now, Hibiki was clinging to her, head rested against shoulder, and Itsuki gave up. She didn't have the energy left to fight.

A completely drained and exhausted looking March almost fell over her own feet as she entered the dinning hall, sat down in the first free chair and let her head hit the table. "That. Was. Hell."

"How long did you last? I didn't see you a lot during the whole thing." Itsuki took off the cooling pack and gave it Erika who simply turned into a Cure for a brief moment, cooled it down with her powers, turned back into a civilian and handed it Itsuki. "Thanks. Your powers are so convenient."

"Berry kept me busy the whole time. I was almost out of the count and couldn't go on so I faked unconsciousness to get her to back off." Not lifting her head because it was absolutely impossible for her to do so, Nao just hoped that she wouldn't end up in a trash room again. "When are the rooms getting reassigned?"

"Nobody knows. First time after all. I'm so excited about who is going to be my next roommate!" Erika looked forward to the new room distribution a lot. It was a nice change to switch rooms every now and then. "Where are Muse and Bright by the way? Still out of it?"

"Muse was there all the way at the end, fighting against Berry and Moonlight. I tried my best to take out Berry, and Moonlight decided to run me through crunch time instead. I wanna go into hibernation..." She kinda wished that Akane was there to cheer her up.

"So she literally crunched you? That's why your costume is full of wrinkles!" Nobody laughed at Erika's pun.

A few seconds awkward silence later, Karen, Setsuna, Ellen, Rin, Kanade, Nagisa, Kaoru, Yayoi and Mai showed up, several of them in normal clothes. "Did the room shuffling start?" Erika was curious about it. Since there was no real ranking for them to view, it was kind of a complete surprise who would get what room.

"Got kicked out of my own room." Rin had just laid down to take a nap, while Kanade was at the other end of the bed, reading a book, when they were telepathically informed that the room re-assignment was starting in a few minutes and everyone would be required to leave their room for that time period. "So how'd the battle go? Did we win?"

Waving her hand in disappointment, Itsuki didn't feel embarrassed at all. The other side had simply been stronger this time. Moonlight was a real danger, just like Rose. Having both of them on one team and even in the same battle was almost cheating. "Not this time."

"At least we're not down to eating bread yet. What was it like?" Rin walked over to the end of the table, Kanade almost falling over a chair because she was still reading her book while walking. "Give me that." Taking the book from Kanade who immediately started to pout and refuse to even look at Rin, the red Cure returned it only when they had finally sat down.

"Hell." Nao answered, still not lifting her head. "My skin feels like I've been under the tanning machine too long."

"Big pools and streams of lava, subterranean cave god knows how far down, sticky air, hot as hell and the rules were completely stupid. Windy, you negotiated this, didn't you?" Itsuki didn't look for someone to blame but rather give some... constructive feedback.

"Most of the conditions were pushed on us by Lemonade. The state she was in left me unable to properly negotiate with her." Kaoru explained briefly.

"Urara won't be a problem anymore. I talked some sense into her." Ako had finally made it down to the dinning hall, looking half ghost.

Continuing her explanation, Kaoru sat down next to Melody. "I was only able to secure the rules Sturdy, Century Negate and the Dive. Was it difficult to handle the Dive?"

Itsuki shook her head. "No." Leaning back and flicking Hibiki's forehead in an attempt to get her to let go, she was feeling hot enough already, she looked at the blue Cure. "When it started I immediately knew how to use it."

"The advanced form of that rule alone doubles the coin gained for everyone. I think it'll be great to benefit from the dive options regularly." Kaoru liked to maximize gains, especially when they were of monetary nature.

"Ako, you talked to Lemonade? At the dome?" Hibiki was finally done recharging, with Itsuki being her power supply, and now talked to the very tired out Ako.

"I heard from Windy and Egret that she's completely out of control. So I went to talk to her." Ako wondered if there wasn't a way to get a drink without having to get up again.

"What did you talk about?" Hibiki was curious.

"Are you gonna tell me what you and Sunshine talk about in your private time?" Ako liked to keep her private life exactly that, private. Giving Hibiki a very specific look, the older girl knew that she should not pursue that question. "I hope she'll make it over here in the next few days. She was seriously irritated, in a way I've not seen her before."

Karen, sitting opposite Muse across the table, was now chipping in. "I almost can't imagine Urara committing to a relationship because of the way she's been acting for the last few years. I mean, she was... a bit notorious for how often she jumped ship."

"We all have some things we're not very proud of." Ako wasn't happy about lying to almost everyone present about her real age. That she had lied to Urara as well wasn't something to be proud of either.

With a loud ringing noise, something the combatants really could have done without, the system announced that the re-arrangements were done. Telepathically telling them that they were all going to be moved to their rooms momentarily didn't come as a real surprise.

=== Dissonance ===

"That emblem belongs to Miyuki... so she's the done who got the room next to me. If she's not here, then..." Nozomi, ranked seventh, felt bad for her new friend, Miyuki, ranked eight. Ending up in exile after the first real battle would be a really tough experience. She'd try and check on her when she got out. Hearing a loud groan, it was easy to place it as Lemonade.

"So I swap out one member of the cooking squad for another? At least it's someone from my own team." Urara, ranking third, was still in one of the top rooms, together with Kurumi, ranked fourth.

"I'd have preferred to share my room with Hikari, too." Kurumi walked outside to meet her best friend, feeling slightly sorry that her roommate turned out to be Urara of all people. "I still have my own room, so I'm still happy." Hikari ranked fifth, with a seventy coin difference between her and Lemonade.

The room next to them, housing the two top ranked members, was extremely calm and composed, the exact opposite. "I am very much looking forward to sharing a room with you." Reika, ranked second, extended her hand towards Yuri, ranked first, who could have imagined a lot of worse roommates than Beauty. Now, it was all a matter of negotiation to let Miki at least sleep in the same room. Because she was ranked tenth and thus in one of the bottom level rooms.

That very same room also housed Bloom and Pine, ranked ninth and eleventh respectively, the latter not surprised at all that she was on the bottom floor. Saki on the other hand had moved from a top floor room to a bottom level floor, making her quite depressed. "Not only did I mess up getting together with Mai, now I'm in this room, too..."

Directly above them, Honoka, ranked sixth, just left her room, quite satisfied that she had managed to keep staying in the exact same room as before. Going down the stairs, she saw the four occupants of the worst room stand in front of it, their faces showing everything from slight disappointment to near tears. Love, ranked twelfth, Blossom, ranked thirteenth, Mint, ranking fourteenth and Sunny, occupying the the lowest rank.

"I think I'll volunteer for the next battle." Love wasn't overly bothered by the room, as she had stayed in worse, but she didn't dislike fighting as much as to willingly stay in there permanently.

"Same here." Tsubomi was sick of the poor quality rooms. She had even moved down the ladder, just like Komachi.

"I'm all the way down here and Reika is all the way up there with Moonlight. So. Unfair." Akane sighed hard before walking off towards the dinner hall.

"Interesting. So you work as vigilante all over Asia?" Yuri had barely spoken to Reika before becoming her roommate and had now found her to be an interesting conversation partner.

"Yes. I have been to to Europe as well as parts of America, but I generally specialize in Asia." The two of them walking down the stairs together, past two small crowds of people either being happy or disappointed about their rooms, both of them understood the motivation the class system was supposed to instill. And it was working. Those who were assigned to the lower class rooms could be heard thinking about volunteering for a fight, while those in the upper rooms were simply happy with their results. "I have to say that there is indeed a certain sense of gratification to be able to rise all the way from nothing to second in the ranking in three days."

"It promotes the cause we're here for, to generate as much energy as we can at any one day without burning out." Yuri finally found Miki, who was talking to Pine, both of them still in the same room, having simply switched places in the ranking. "Miki!" Calling for her partner, she excused herself from Reika.

At the other end of the hallway, Kurumi and Hikari were just coming down the stairs together. Hikari was happy having her own room, not really needing the luxury of the top floors but liking a bit of privacy. "Are you going to be okay with Lemonade?"

"I hope so. If she becomes too annoying, can I come and stay in your room for the night?" For every other person, there would have been some very specific connotations to those words, but not for Hikari and Kurumi.

"The bed isn't very big but we're both not too tall so it should be fine." Turning around the corner, ready to do her duty as the 'cooking squad' as Lemonade had now dubbed those two, Hikari smiled. "Just don't tickle me. I get surprised really easily when I get tickled."

"Like this?" Gabbing Hikari's sides, causing the blonde to break out in laughter almost immediately, Kurumi very much enjoyed teasing her a bit. "Come, come, come." Tickling the girl, who was desperately trying to escape the clutches of evil, Kurumi ended up accidentally groping Hikari but not thinking anything on it.

"St... sto... stop, stop... stop.. please... stop... Kurumi...!" Out of breath, Hikari was finally released. "That was so mean of you!" Trying to catch her breath while Kurumi was smiling and apologizing, Hikari pouted a little. "No desert for you." Walking off with a smile of her own, Hikari already had a plan of what to cook. The team had won twice in a row now, so she could be a little extravagant with the meal.

"Oh come on." Running after Hikari, the purple Cure wasn't going to give up without a fight "You're not serious, are you?" Catching up and looking at the big smile on Hikari's face, she couldn't tell. "Hikari!"

=== Dissonance ===

The mood was incredibly awkward. Nao couldn't quite understand why but Nagisa and Mai completely avoided even looking at each other. Thinking there might have been some bad blood between them, she tried to make peace. "Now, now, we're all going to have to share this room for the next three days, so... lets go along, okay?"

Neither of the two felt particularly inclined to tell March about what happened. "Why... both of us..." Mai was getting a serious headache now. Ending up on a team alone with Nagisa wasn't enough, no, they had to end up in the same room. At least March was there as well but still... it brought back a lot of bad memories. And the more she wanted to forget them, the more vividly she started to remember.

Nagisa felt the same way. She was ranked tenth, Mai was ranked eleventh. March was ninth. And they were stuck in the same room for three days now, unless one of them managed to win the exchange race. But that took a lot of luck.

The room right next to them had its occupants share mixed feelings. Karen, ranked twelfth, Yayoi, ranked thirteenth, Kaoru, ranked second to last and Setsuna, ranked last. While Setsuna could stay at her partner's room, Ellen, ranked seventh, and Kaoru could stay at her sisters room, ranked fifth, the other two were stuck together and their personalities were extremely different. Karen had already escaped the room and taken refuge in the garden, as Yayoi was overly excited getting to know her new roommates. Kaoru was trying to simply ignore her endless talking while Setsuna tried to be polite and get to know her a bit. Which was really trying her patience a little. She wanted to go and meet Ellen but just walking away would be very rude. She was stuck between wanting to be polite and wanting to get away.

"I didn't think it would turn out like this." Itsuki, ranked second, was sitting on the very lofty bed, Hibiki, ranked eight, much more enthusiastic about it, rolling over the same bed. "Hibiki, it's not your bed, show some restraint."

"Maybe I should Invest in ear plugs." Erika was thinking out loud on purpose, watching Melody's reaction. "I hope they will be enough. You don't do it as Cures, right?"

Itsuki didn't know if she should answer honestly or not. Erika could really shoot down any bird with her bluntness. It was Hibiki who reacted first. Getting on her knees and hugging Itsuki from behind and looking at Erika, who was leaned against the separating wall in the middle of the room, watching the two lovebirds. "Do you and Blossom?" She, too, could play that game.

"Wanna know? Wanna know what kind of hot plays little Tsubomi and I have done? You want to know, right?" Making her best creepy face, Erika got the exact reaction she was going for. Hibiki realized that she was outclassed in the teasing league, by far. "You know, Tsubomi is really-"

The pillow hit Erika right in the face. "Stop it Erika. I've known you for years and you really ought to learn when you go too far. Don't worry, you won't even realize she's here at night." Taking a deep breath, Itsuki slightly turned her head, addressing her partner. "You heard me. No rolling around, the bed isn't indestructible. And no more loud moaning."

"**I'm not heavy**! And you're much louder than me!" Her face comparable to a ripe tomato, Hibiki hit her partner with a pillow, repeatedly, until she was out of breath. Both of them were out of Cure form as it was much more comfortable. "I'm not the loud one, Marine!"

"In Germany they have a proverb you know." Erika's smile got even wider than before. "Dogs bark when they're called out." Starting to laugh loudly the moment Hibiki's face was buried in the remaining pillows in an attempt to hide her shame, Erika managed to regain a little composure. "And just call me Erika. Itsuki is one of my best friends and you're her girlfriend. I consider you my friend as well."

"Erika, who is in the room next door?" Itsuki hadn't checked that yet. She was quite happy sharing a room with her old friend, who was even completely okay with Hibiki staying in as well.

"Rouge and Muse. I checked earlier when I went to the toilet. Man, there is some real tension in the air. It's almost like past and future are having an argument." Erika held up her finger and waited for them to get the pun. Both Hibiki and Itsuki just blankly stared at her. "You get it? Past and Future? Tension? Tense?"

"Erika..." Grabbing a pillow and throwing it at the designer, Itsuki had forgotten about all the awful puns Erika liked to make. "Wait... Rouge is next door? That means..." Leering at Hibiki, she didn't make any obvious moves.

"Kanade is probably going to stay with her. Don't give me that look, Itsuki. I don't really mind. You told me to make peace with her and... I think it was childish of me to keep distancing myself from her. It's not like she is still making a fuss about you and me." Hibiki laid down on the bed and felt like falling asleep.

Rin sneezed loudly while enjoying the comfy bed. Kanade had left the room already, going down to use the kitchen for a while. But being roommates with Muse was not exactly her idea of optimal. She was ranked fourth while Muse was ranked third. Kanade was ranked sixth. She hadn't expected that there would be so many with that much accumulated coin, or points.

"Sick?" Ako was not hospitality in person but she wanted to avoid drama. It would become really difficult if Urara made it over now because of the way she and Rouge used to be. But that was something to worry about later.

"Just someone talking shit about me."

"You really believe in the whole 'sneeze when someone talks about you' thing?"

"Little superstition really doesn't hurt. I don't believe in god in exchange."

"You're an odd one."

"You're **dating** **Urara, **so you're hardly one to talk."

"You were sleeping with her before that."

"Touché. Don't bring that up with Kanade around."

"I'm not that insensitive."

One level down, Michiru, ranked fifth, was quite satisfied with her room. She didn't require much and a single room was just about right for herself. The situation between her and Kaoru was pretty much reversed in terms of rooms.

Leaving her room, she examined who the other girls on the floor were. "Melody, Rhythm and Beat... the entire floor but me is occupied by the same team? Odd." Sensing someone else behind her, she turned around and found her sister.

"You look terrible. You should rest." Kaoru was a little worried about Michiru precisely because she hadn't been seen in the dinning room earlier. "Or are you that interested in where the others live?"

"I'd like to get dinner before I sleep. I know that I won't wake up again for at least several hours if I slept now." Michiru did feel incredibly tired but she was hungry as well.

"That's a good point."

=== Dissonance ===

"I'm never going to leave this team." Stuffing her face with croquettes, Nozomi was glancing at Hikari and Kurumi, who had come to regularly prepare the food. Kurumi was picking up tricks from Hikari very quickly and had soon become an essential part of preparing quality meals for everyone.

"To our win today!" Love was fairly excited about winning twice in a row. Several others cheered in agreement. "May we win again tomorrow!"

Sitting down next to Komachi and Tsubomi, Love had already made new friends out of them. Akane had been with Miyuki for most of the time since the room shuffle so she hadn't gotten a good chance to talk to her yet.

Sitting a few seats away, Saki was trying to bury her frustration under food. Honoka was just as frustrated but preferred to drown hers instead, regardless of how bad an idea that might have seem. Hearing that Nagisa and Mai were stuck in the same room from a third party had been very awkward. That those two didn't think it worth telling their partners they'd be sharing a room was just making them feel paranoid.

They knew there would be nothing happening at all, that Nagisa and Mai would probably be much more depressed about this than their partners, and still it annoyed them. "Are you sure it's a good idea to drink? Remember what happened the last time." Saki was sitting next to Honoka, not in the mood to associate with some of the cheerier Cures at the time.

"That won't happen again. I'm not drinking that much." Honoka could very well tell when she had enough when it was just drinking to forget a few unpleasant memories that came back up.

"How did you end up choosing an usual weapon like that?" Cutting her croquettes and eating them slowly, Reika was quite interested in Inori. Yuri and Miki both listened in on the conversation, sitting across those two.

"How do I explain this..." Thinking for a moment, she paused for a drink. "I work as a veterinarian in my family's clinic. Sometimes we have to operate on animals. It was really hard to get used to that, but when we all took our Cure training to a new level, Miki developed her impact attacks and Setsuna her instant movement abilities, I decided to go for something that aided me in an area I was already good at. I don't excel at technique like Miki or have Setsuna's energy reserves, so I looked for something I could do. Speed orientated fighting was the answer. I could sacrifice quite a bit of defense and endurance if I just got fast enough to never get hit. And when I thought about a way to effectively attack without having to build up a lot of physical strength, it one day came to me when I was watching my dad help a dog that had eaten something made of plastic, the scalpel was basically my answer. It's a very light-weight weapon that has extraordinary offensive capabilities. However, a scalpel is difficult to wield. But I was already on the right track. My card suit is the diamond, and diamonds are used to cut even the hardest materials. So I focused on that and created my Diamond Blades. They're extremely durable, are easy to wield, no risk of losing them mid-battle and have extremely high offensive capabilities. It may look like an unreasonably brutal weapon for someone like me, but they're my solution."

"You can still talk a lot without having to breath." Miki's remark had both Yuri and Reika smile. "I got to my impact moves with a lot less thinking. Makes me almost feel bad for having such a simple progression path."

"I understand you're an arms master, Reika?" Yuri was interested in the way the blue Cure fought. It was unique among all the others, even those that used weapons, such as Rouge, Lemonade, Pine or Aqua.

"It is quite a long story so I think it's better if we postpone that until later." Getting up and grabbing her dish, Reika went to get seconds.

"You're going to make me jealous, Yuri." Miki eyed Reika's butt from the distance. It only consolidated her ego. Her own body was leagues above that.

"She's not narcissistic enough to put even a dent into what we have." Yuri liked to make a little fun of Miki at times. It was something she couldn't have done before.

"I'll take that as a compliment." All three of them laughing together caught Tsubomi's attention.

It didn't escape Love that Tsubomi was staring at Moonlight. "Don't you have Marine?" Grinning wide and poking Tsubomi, the pink Cure reacted with a calm smile.

"It's not that. Yuri, Moonlight, has gone through... some really bad times, even before I've met her. I haven't seen her smile like that in years. She was always looking worried, stressed or tired when I saw her back home."

"It must be because of her new girlfriend." Love knew really well how a partner could change someone. And Miki was a special case of her own.

"You think so?" Komachi finished a croquette and put down her fork. "I don't really know Berry. She belongs to your team, doesn't she, Love?"

"Miki is an over-achiever, a real hard worker. She might come off as self-centered, but she really cares about the people she gets close with. She has gone through hell with Inori, Setsu and me."

"I'm interested in hearing more about that and your travels with Setsuna." Komachi loved good stories and life made for the best ones.

"Just don't make a novel out of it." Laughing, Love wasn't really upset about the new room. She had really nice people in it, after all.

=== Dissonance ===

Mai woke up with a cold shiver running down her spine. "A bad dream..." The reflections were still haunting her. Wither was haunting, taunting, mocking and ridiculing her. "How long is this gonna last..." Hitting the hard mattress, she noticed something sticky on it. "Did I sweat that much?"

Unable to see properly, she smelled the bit of it that was on her finger. A particular smell of iron came from it. There was little doubt what it was. "Blood? It's not my time of the month so..." A single droplet hit her face. Blood. She wasn't in the bunk bed, so where was it coming from. Getting up, Mai transformed and checked the ceiling of the room. What she saw drove home all the horrors she had kept inside, those that haunted her at night, when the reflections were still alive inside her mind. March, dismembered and dead, was nailed into the ceiling. She knew it was her. She was still able to make out the long green hair during the flash of light her transformation caused. "Nagisa!" Shouting, she immediately felt a hand with a wet cloth touch her face, cover her mouth.

In a matter of seconds, she felt paralyzed and plummeted to the ground. There was something standing above her. And realizing who it was terrified her more than anything. Unable to speak, her vision blurry, she could still make out that particular outfit and hair. Nagisa had drugged her, paralyzed her. It made sense. Her partner did work in pharmaceuticals. She would know how to mix something that paralyzed a person.

Only noticing it now, that her attention was focused solely on the black Cure, she knew that Honoka's partner was breathing heavily and her hands were blood stained. Kneeling down, she ripped apart Mai's costume, baring her skin. Leaning down even further, she whispered something to the helpless Egret. "You're mine now, Mai."

Feeling her hands move over her body, touch and squeeze her breasts, rip apart the remains of her costume, Mai's mind was completely frozen, unable to tell what was going on. Just as she thought it couldn't get any worse, Nagisa tightly gripped her throat, not putting enough force behind it to snap her neck but very slowly draining Mai of her breath.

Her vision was fading just as she was starting to lose consciousness. Was this how she was gonna die? After all the battles, the horrors, the reflections... Nagisa was going to rape and kill her?

No.

No, that couldn't be.

Could it?

Was something controlling Nagisa?

Was she really gonna kill her?

What... what... what...

With a sudden, violent outcry, she woke up. Breathing heavily and rapidly, her vision blurry and flickery, she quickly felt the mattress. No blood. "What happened?" March's voice. She wasn't dead.

"Really bad dream, sorry. Go back to sleep." She didn't want to worry March. Feeling her own neck, Mai could still vividly tell the sensation of being strangled. She could have sworn there were marks on her throat. Getting up and walking to the door, she was going to check in the mirror in the bath. She wouldn't find peace otherwise.

She stopped dead in her tracks just as she opened the door. A horrible thought ran through her mind.

Nagisa was not in her bed. She was gone.

=== End of Event XIV ===


	25. Exhaustion Blowout

**Readers are welcome to follow me on twitter for updates and news on new chapters and future arcs. Twitter Kuugenthefox**

**This is a beta as usual.**

**Dissonance**

_Event XXV_

**Exhaustion Blowout**

Nobody was there when the exile released her from unjust punishment. Appearing in the base, the Cure laid on the ground, the eyes empty and only half open. She couldn't speak or move. What she had seen, what she had been made believe, what she had felt, heard and endured, no words could describe the pain that had been inflicted upon the girl.

She couldn't tell a second apart from a minute or hour. Time seemed unimportant for there was nobody waiting for her anyway. There was nothing left to go back to. That was what the girl thought to herself.

But just two meters away was a shadow, something that just marginally contrasted against the dark of the room. Had death come to take her? The shadow moved, got bigger. Closing her eyes, ready to reunite with her friends beyond, Miyuki waited.

"Utopia." The painful memories, the abhorrent sights, the suffering, all of it became obscured by mist, cloudy memories like something that was on one's tip of their tongue but never surfaced. "Take my hand, Miyuki." She recognized that voice. She had waited for her, out here, in the cold, dark room? "Don't look at me like that. You're my friend. This is what friends are for, isn't it? Sunny and Beauty wanted to come too, but I told them I'd be fine on my own. Utopia only works continually if it's just you and me after all."

Picking up Happy, she put one of the mentally beaten girl's arms over her own shoulders. "Let's get you in bed." Just saying that caused Miyuki to grab her arm with enough strength to hurt Nozomi. But she didn't twitch. "You'll be fine." Powerfully shaking her head, Miyuki opened and closed her mouth a few times, trying to speak but unable to do so. Everyone was gone. They were all gone. And they wouldn't come back.

Nozomi wasn't the brightest girl alive or even among the others but she knew a thing or two about experiencing despair. The incident with Nightmare had opened her mind to quite a few things. Taking Miyuki to the others of her team could backfire really badly if the exile had involved them somehow. And they were all surely fast asleep at this time as well. But what was she supposed to do?

Starting to walk Miyuki towards her room, the girl never let go of Nozomi, not for the whole ten minutes that it took her to get Miyuki to her room. And a new problem presented itself. She couldn't get the door open herself, and Miyuki was in no condition to do it.

Turning about and walking past a few steps, Nozomi opened the door to her own room. Just as she was about to go in, Miyuki tightened her grip on Dream's arm, actively, but unintentionally, hurting her. Her expression was distorted by fear of the dark room ahead, her eyes reflecting a kind of despair that worried Nozomi. That she was still in such a bad shape despite Utopia being in full effect only rekindled her hatred for the exile.

Taking Miyuki into her room, Nozomi lifted the girl onto her bed, covering her with a blanket and sitting down on the bed herself, carefully forcing the girl's grip off her arm. Noticing a significant worsening of her condition, she took Miyuki's hand. "You're having a bad nightmare. Sleep." Trying to speak as softly as she could and continuing to hold on to the girl's hand, Nozomi felt her own exhaustion kick in again. Laying down on top of the blanket, in full Cure uniform, she kept watch over Miyuki. "You're safe with me." She couldn't tell in the dark if she was just imagining it, but, Miyuki seemed to nod just slightly, her expression easing up slightly, her eyes closing.

=== Dissonance ===

The first morning after the first room assignment was incredibly slow. For one reason or another, everyone was feeling sluggish first thing in the morning. Breakfast was turned into a come and get it yourself activity with most people just getting something and returning to their rooms. Miki had carried two trays by herself, for herself and Yuri.

Sitting on the foot end of Yuri's bed, she was quietly enjoying a coffee while next to her partner. Listening to her and Reika discuss details of a book written by Jules Verne, she really had no intention of bothering to take part of it. It was not often that she felt sluggish but after everything that had happened, things had finally caught up to her. And now that it was moderately peaceful all around, she finally got rid of some stress.

"A very interesting view on the events after the shipwrecking." Reika had moved her chair from the mirror to in front of Yuri's bed, Yuri herself sitting at the head end. Holding a cup of coffee with both hands, resting on her lap, Reika was experiencing the lethargy as well. She didn't feel like doing more than a little conversation about literature. Both she and Yuri were well read after all. Leaning back, Reika didn't quite know what to talk about next.

"It was intriguing to hear what kind of interpretations other people find when reading Verne's work." Turning around and looking at Miki, Yuri took a slice of bread from the tray and held it out towards her partner. "You haven't touched the food, Miki."

Shaking her head slowly, Miki smiled. "I'm not much of a breakfast person. At least not anymore." Seeing that Yuri didn't recede her offer even after she declined, she sighed with a smile and took it, almost cautiously nibbling on the slice topped with cheese. "If I bloat like a balloon, it'll be your fault, Yuri."

"You'll be fine." Getting on the bed, getting close to Miki and staring in her eyes, she smiled just before kissing her partner on the cheek.

Miki cringed a little. "You couldn't have picked a better time for the first time you kiss me?"

"My, I think I'll see how Miyuki is doing." Giggling to herself, Reika got up and left the two lovebirds behind, putting away her chair before leaving the room.

Leaning against the wall, sitting right next to Miki, Yuri leaned her head on her partners shoulders. "You're not going to jump me? Back in the garden you did look like you would, first chance we two were alone somewhere with a bed."

"That was only because you've been in one catastrophe after another ever since we got here. We all were. I had just gotten you back so I was really worried you might slip away again." Looking down at Yuri's long legs, Miki moved her index finger over her right leg. She wasn't jealous in the slightest, she just enjoyed the feeling.

"I'm not going anywhere. And you're tickling me." Taking Miki's hand, Yuri noticed a little bit of margarine on top of her index finger. Taking it off with her lips, she could tell that Miki was ever so slightly being turned on by it. Just like Momoka.

"What cup size are you?" After seeing Yuri in just a towel earlier that morning, she was confused. She couldn't remember seeing her in civilian form before so it had come as a bit of a surprise. "When I look at you now, I could guess it's A or even AA."

"Did you hang out too much with Erika?" Rolling eyes at that question and answer, she couldn't exactly blame her. Taking Miki's hand and putting it on top of her chest, she watched her partner realize what the deal was. "It's like a corset. I don't know how the others deal with it, but I prefer to have absolute freedom of movement. I usually don't really care if others think I don't have any breasts. It's irrelevant to my duties as Cure."

"I'm not complaining. I was just surprised." Smiling, pulling her hand away and poking Yuri's cheek, she repeated her question. "So? What size? Or do you want me to find out by touching?"

"Why is this so important? I didn't think you'd be the type to obsess over my breast size." Yuri knew that it wasn't really **important** to Miki but she somehow enjoyed teasing her just a little bit. But she wasn't ready for what happened then.

Grabbing her partner and pushing her down on the bed, Miki's expression was a sinful one. "Touching it is then." Lowering her face and kissing Yuri's cheek, Miki ran her hand over the extremely tight costume. "And I want to know because I want to know **everything** about your body."

"Just my body? You're shallow after all." Flicking Miki's forehead, Yuri knew that it wasn't really the case. But she liked how open and upfront Miki was about her feelings. She liked hearing that someone wanted to know about her.

"Your body, your thoughts, your likes and dislikes, your past, maybe even about your rather questionable decision to wear a corset like costume so your poor breasts are squeezed flat all day. I want to know about all of that. But right now, I wanted to know about your body. I love you and I want to love everything about you." Playing with one of the many long strands of Yuri's hair, Miki smelled it. It was freshly washed, she could smell the shampoo. Running her hand down the waist of the girl with lavender hair, her hand vanished under the wide, flowing skirt, feeling the smooth skin of Yuri's legs.

Yuri hadn't expected something that detailed and honest. Blushing hard, she couldn't remember the last time she had ever blushed. The way Miki took charge was another reminder of how things had started out with Momoka. The more time she spent with her, the more she realized that Miki was a lot like her. But she was moving too fast. Grabbing her arm, Yuri awkwardly shook her head a little. "Wait... you're going too fast."

Taking her hand off Yuri's leg but hanging on to holding a strand of her hair, Miki grinned. "Ready to spill the beans then?"

Yuri was saved by the door opening. Expecting Miki to be embarrassed and back off, she was let down immediately. Seeing Reika come back in, with a serious and sullen face, Yuri's own expression changed, making Miki pay attention to what was happening. Still kneeling over Yuri, she looked to the back, where Reika was just slowly walking towards her own bed. "What's wrong? I'm not doing anything against her will, if you think that."

"What? Oh. No. Don't worry. I am completely sure that Yuri is well capable of defending herself from any and all if necessary." Reika was a little cheered up by the misunderstanding. "I am worried by the state Happy, Miyuki, is in. Her room was empty and upon asking Dream, she told me that it would be best if I didn't see her for at least today."

That was serious enough to turn both Yuri's and Miki's mood around. Getting up and walking to Reika, the two tall Cures didn't bother to ask any questions that had obvious answers, such as if she was okay or if she needed something. "Dream is with her? Thinking about it, her ability really lends itself to taking care of exile victims."

"I am sorry to disrupt you two. I just did not feel like going anywhere else but return to my room." It was difficult to make Reika lose her cool but hearing that Miyuki was in a condition so bad that she couldn't see her friends had been a bit of a shock. She had seen people terrified to the bone, acting like anything moving around them was a predator out to kill them. Victims of terrorism, post-traumatic stress disorder among soldiers and police. There were all kinds of modern day horrors she was aware of. But she didn't anticipate meeting something like that in the place she was in now.

"I know that look on your face. It's the same look I saw every morning in the mirror, for a long time." Yuri could tell. The feeling to want to do something but unable to do so. "Happy will be back to her normal self shortly. The exile wears off eventually... unless you're stranded there for a long time." Yuri staggered backwards when a horrible image flashed before her eyes.

"Stop thinking about it, Yuri." Miki grabbed her partners hand. "I can see on your face that you just remembered something from your exile."

"What purpose does this serve?" Reika sat down on her bed, her expression changing again. "I understand the underlying motivation to try as hard as possible to avoid this punishment, but surely there are more civilized ways?"

"It used to be worse than this. The exile lasted for a full day and that was only if the exiled made it back out then." Yuri wanted to make Reika feel better. But it wasn't exactly her specialty. "The more cheerful people are probably fighting the after effects longer but they'll be back to normal soon."

"I take no issue with the fighting, the races. But the exile seems inappropriately cruel." Reika knew that it was likely futile to take issue with the system. If it could be changed surely that would have happened already.

"Stop being so pessimistic, you two." Miki hugged Yuri from behind. "Especially you. I forbid my girlfriend from brooding over this." Kissing her neck once, Miki looked at Reika. "You've had tough times before, right? Happy will be okay. She'll be happily running around soon."

"Miki... you're forbidden from making puns. You're as bad as Erika." Groaning but not resisting the embrace at all, Yuri took a deep breath. "It won't do her any good if we worry like this."

"Miyuki would scold us like an angry parent if she knew she had made us worry." Reika found a tiny smile return to her face.

"All the more reason for you two to stop sulking. Here, let me help you." Putting her fingertips on the corners of Yuri's mouth, Miki raised them just enough to create an awkward, fake smile. "See? So easy."

Reika could not look at Yuri that way without having to burst out in laughter, so she turned away. "You are quite the jester, Miki."

Yuri felt like she looked retarded but the situation was too funny to tell Miki to stop. Poking Miki's sides, she got the blue Cure to back off, letting out a very cute sound in the process. "I should poke you more often." With a grin, Yuri turned around and threatened Miki with just her index fingers raised. "Come here!"

Two levels below their room, Honoka and Saki had run into each other for the third time that day. Despite everyone only sparsely leaving their room, every time either of them did, they ran into each other, as if they were being pulled towards each other. It was getting to the point where Honoka was starting to be annoyed with it. "Now look, Saki... we're friends but don't you think it is kind of conspicuous? Everywhere I go, you either are or show up."

"I'm not following you!" Saki wasn't exactly eager to do anything that would make either of them relive the day they accidentally ended up in bed together. "We're just unlucky."

But the seed of doubt was already sprouting. Honoka hated to doubt Saki's loyalty to Mai, but she couldn't help it, not after everything that had happened. Mai getting abducted by Wither, going through god knows what because of it, keeping her distance from her soul mate, accidentally swapping teams... it could make even the most faithful waver. Walking away from her, Honoka remembered something she had preferred to stay forgotten. That night she slept with Saki. The sensations she had felt ruffling her hair, the sweet smell of Saki's excitement when she went down between her legs, the sounds Saki made when her tongue touched her. Covering her face, Honoka shook her head.

Why was she remembering it now? Because she was alone on a team with Saki? Because she kept running into her? Whatever the reason, she could have done well without it. The memories that were just resurfacing had made her horny. Abandoning her original plan of getting something to eat and enjoy a novel in her room, she simply returned to her room right away. Going back to bed would at least stop her from thinking about it any more than she already did.

Going up the stairs, she was so deep in thought that she collided with Inori. "Sorry..." Not even stopping to help her up, Honoka just wanted to get into her room. She felt anxious, nauseous even. Something wasn't quite right. Why were her memories suddenly surfacing? She hadn't been able to remember anything about that night back then. Why now? Slamming her door shut, she realized that it wouldn't help. The moment she was alone in her room, she heard Saki's voice. From that night.

"Great. Now I'm going insane. Just what I needed." Honoka wished she could have thrown herself into work. Having no intention of betraying Nagisa ever again, she wasn't going to succumb to whatever memories were going to bubble up. If necessary, she would stay bottled up in her room until Saki had gone to the other team again. If that was what it took, she would do it. Her loyalty to Nagisa was much stronger than that.

Outside her room, Inori was suffering from a headache that had plagued her since she woke up. The aftereffects of the ordeal a few days ago were finally kicking in at full power. It had taken some time and hopefully, it would only be a day or less before things returned to normal. It did beg the question what exactly '**normal**' was, in a place like this. No mysterious beings attacking people, no villainous copies running around, no horrific system malfunctions, that was a normal day. At least as far as she was concerned.

"Inori?" Miki was coming down the stairs, arm in arm with Yuri, Reika tailing a little behind them, all three in a rather good mood. "Are you okay? You look a bit sick."

"Really bad headache." Waving to Reika, she looked at the couple next. "You two look great together. Like a pair of models. Well, one of you is one." Smiling, she felt the pain in her head intensify and lessen when her smile vanished. "**Really** bad headache."

Miki's group had not come yet all the way down the stairs when Blossom came up. Seeing Yuri, she smiled the same way Inori had a moment ago. "You look really great together, Yuri. Like two models." Tsubomi quickly covered her mouth. She realized that mentioning those things must remind Yuri of Momoka.

Both Yuri and Miki started laughing, hearing the same thing from different people within a minute. "Say Blossom, does Marine hold grudges? I want to buy a few outfits from her when I have the chance but we're not exactly on great terms with each other." Looking at her partner, she grabbed Yuri's butt. "I don't mind Yuri staying Moonlight permanently though, I really like her hair and dress."

Miki started to wince when Yuri pinched her arm, whispering a warning to her. "If you grab my butt in front of others again, I'm making you wear a clown costume all week. I like that you're affectionate and open but we've just started going out. Show some restraint."

Hastily nodding a few times, Miki rubbed the spot Yuri had pinched. The small group dispersed, with Inori going into the bathroom to take a relaxing bath and Tsubomi going upwards to care for some of the flowers in the garden. The tall couple headed down to the first level, to see an usual scene. Lemonade was staring down Rose and Luminous, a very annoyed look on the yellow Cure's face.

Hikari was standing behind Kurumi, slightly uncomfortable with Lemonade in the mood she was in. The purple Cure was standing up to her. "You get to eat without doing anything every day, so what right do you have to criticize us when we take a day off?"

"Nobody's fucking criticizing you. I asked you on what grounds you locked the damn freezer." Urara liked to have pizza or other junk food for breakfast occasionally. And she knew that there was some in the freezer. Which was locked. "Want me to break open the damn thing? **I've got no problem doing that.**"

"Shut up, Urara. That food is for dinner and not your private stash." Kurumi was as pissed as Urara was. She had left Hikari for five minutes and returned to find Urara staring her down. "And you know you're not going anywhere, threatening **me** with violence." Kurumi solidified just her arm and made a fist. "Eat breakfast like everyone else."

Urara knew she wouldn't get away in one piece if she picked a serious fight with Kurumi out here but she didn't want to back down either. "I contributed as much as everyone else to the team stash. So why do you get to call the shots on this?" Taking a step forward, she glared past Kurumi, at Luminous.

"Because we keep making the food you're not even grateful for." Kurumi was proud of being relied upon for dinner and breakfast. Especially that Hikari, who was a much better chef than she, depended on her.

Urara had always hated arguing with Kurumi. "I don't remember asking you to do it." It was just a giant pain in the ass, because that damn fairy was so stubborn!

"Make your decision." Kurumi's eyes were furious. "Break open the lock and make your own food as long as we're here or back off." Grabbing Hikari's hand, she slowly pulled her away. "And don't think you can intimidate Hikari when I'm not around. You don't want to make me **really** mad."

Punching the wall strongly enough to make dust fall from the ceiling a few meters above her, Urara grit her teeth. If she went ahead with it now, she'd have to cook for herself. And Ako wasn't there, so she couldn't ask her. No, that was absolutely impossible, both of those choices wouldn't work out at all. And letting Kurumi get away with talking to her like that? She didn't like that one bit.

"Oh, sorry." Bumping into Lemonade because she wasn't looking where she was going, Akane triggered a landmine she was only able to dodge because of Reika, who called her friend over. "Morning, Reika." Hearing Lemonade curse and swear for a bit as she walked towards to her friend, Akane got the impression that she really wasn't the most friendly person around.

"This is very convenient. Akane, you can prepare a decent breakfast, yes?" Reika and the two tall Cures heard the entire conversation between Luminous, Rose and Lemonade. "It would be great if you could fix something for us. I'm not an especially great chef."

"Hikari and Kurumi on break today? I guess it can't be helped then. Leave it to me!" Akane was brimming with confidence. "I'll go ahead and see what I got to work with." Not having any other plans, she was happy to have something to do. Just walking around the compound hadn't been very exciting.

"I will catch up with you two. Go ahead. I am sure Akane will appreciate having an audience." She still had something to take care of.

Yuri immediately saw what Reika was trying to do. "We'll see you there." Taking Miki's hand, she pulled her partner a step forward. "What will we do later?" Reika's way of talking was contagious.

Seeing that Lemonade had no intention of leaving her spot at the wall, right next to the stairs, Reika approached her slowly. "You should take the chance and eat."

"I don't need charity." Urara was still pissed.

Reika stopped walking a few meters past Lemonade. "Compensation."

"Huh?" She wasn't following whatever the blue Cure was saying.

"Compensation. For the backup plan Luminous and Rose did not prepare." She knew that it really wasn't their fault, but it would improve the atmosphere in the team if Lemonade's mood did not become any worse.

Urara was about to launch into a full onslaught of delinquent speech when the conversation she had with Ako the previous day came to mind.

"_Can you blame me for me for being pissed? I don't even fucking understand myself anymore. I'm riled up just because you're not around. I never had to deal with that kind of frustration before!" Urara launched several chains into the ground and ceiling, creating a suspended chair for herself. "It pisses me off that I'm pissed off about not being able to touch you."_

"_Pervert." Ako's instantaneous response made Urara correct herself._

"_You know I didn't mean that in the old lecherous man way." Sighing, she covered her face in her right hand. "God, I'm so irritated."_

"_I didn't realize you were that much in love with me." Blushing very slightly, Ako found a new sense of confidence that someone could like her so much that they were practically only half a person without her. "I'm not happy being on a different team either, but don't you think you're lacking a bit of self-control?"_

_That prompted a quick laugh out of Urara. "Hah, really? I'm the master of the self-control. Everyone is still in one piece."_

"_Listen to yourself. I'm not going to be impressed with your juvenile delinquent behavior. You're an adult. I want you to be my partner, not someone I have to take care of because she can't do that herself." Stepping as close to the barrier as she could, Ako crossed arms. It pushed her breasts up a bit, getting the expected reaction out of Urara. An attentive look._

"_Who the hell can't take care of herself?!" Jumping out of her suspended seat, Urara realized that Ako was giving her a very specific look that said '**This is what I mean**', and it really hurt to realize that. "Goddammit."_

"_I know you're smarter than you let on to others, Urara. You know you're irritated and you want to vent it somewhere, but it's childish to ruin whatever relationships you have with the others because I'm not around to police your behavior."_

_Walking up to the barrier, Urara laid her hands on it. "Then what am I supposed to do? I feel like shit."_

_Touching the other side of the barrier, only a millimeter of energy separating their hands, Ako smiled a little. "We'll get back together soon. Just pace yourself until then."_

"_There better be a reward if I get through this without turning someone into my punching bag." Looking sullen, Urara wished she could at least take her partners hand. But there was no way around the barrier._

"_You're always so demanding. Who knows? If you're a good girl, maybe I'll want to find out if the whole sex thing really is as great as you say it is." Ako knew that she had a deal now. Urara would stop being out of control. She couldn't stop her from being somewhat of an ass as long as she was on the other team, but it wouldn't be as bad as when Windy met her at negotiations._

"_I hate you." Urara couldn't argue with those terms. Looking in Ako's eyes, she reluctantly corrected herself. "I... love you."_

Breathing a heavy sigh, Urara walked past Beauty. "Lets go. I'm hungry enough to bite **you**."

=== Dissonance ===

"Whose idea was this?!**"** Shouting at the top of her lungs, Karen was with Kaoru and Michiru, who had inquired about her involvement in something. Said something turning out to be a massive hole a small group of Cures had facilitated just outside the base in the labyrinth. It measured about six meters depth and thirty meters length. And it was filled with water. Itsuki and Erika had spend part of the last evening planning it.

Before she could react to Kaoru and Michiru instantly jumping away, Erika, wearing a bright blue bikini that really showed off her breasts, and Yayoi, who was wearing what looked astonishingly similar to a yellow school swimsuit, were right next to her, each of them grabbing one of her arms. "One." "Two." "Don't you two daaaaaaaa-" Getting thrown into the air mid-sentence, Karen's impact in the makeshift pool created a big splash, in various ways.

Erika had brought a whole pack of swimsuits with her early in the morning, staying up all night to make one for everyone that jumped on board with the plan, nine in total, including herself. Itsuki and Hibiki, Rouge and Rhythm, Passion and Beat, Black and of course Yayoi were all on board.

Nagisa, wearing her black surf top and girl shorts, immediately surfaced and held Karen over water. She could have sworn the water was heating up around her just as she was boiling with anger. "**Erika!"**

Finding her fortune in escaping, Nagisa almost collided with Rin, wearing a crimson colored tank top and the same, but in red, girl shorts as Nagisa. Submerging quickly and passing by Rhythm, who was wearing a sexy white bikini with side-ties and neck support, Nagisa quickly hit the edge of their makeshift pool, going up and sitting down on the corner. It felt really good to do some swimming.

Not too far from the blue Cure that was seething with anger, Itsuki, wearing a sporty surfer top and girl shorts, both in yellow, and Hibki, wearing a pink bikini that was not quite as skimpy as Kanade's, suspended their water wrestling match to copy Black and get away from the inevitable retaliation Aqua was going to unleash on Erika and Yayoi.

Setsuna, wearing a skin-tight red and black one-piece, and Ellen, wearing a rather complex and unusual one-piece that resembled a corset a little, were both watching from the edge of the pool, just their legs in the water. Knowing that the labyrinth reset itself really put Setsuna's conscience at ease. However, she was a little worried of what kind of punishment Aqua would rain down on the two short Cures, both of them laughing their hearts out at the front of the pool.

Trying to limit the wrath of the angry water Cure, Rin grabbed Karen's right arm. "Don't blow the entire pool, Karen. This area resets itself and the water comes from Marine's power. No harm done. If you want to punish them, drown them for a bit but don't botch it up for the rest of us."

Looking over to the sisters, Karen caught the redhead taking off boots and leg plating, enjoying a little dip. Kaoru was just calmly watching from the sidelines, not particularly interested in breaking the party up. "You all... is nobody thinking that the system might see this as an attack?"

"Marine babbled something about running tests yesterday with Bright and the weirdo didn't debunk that so it's pretty much a-okay. Why would the system care if it just randomly generates this place anyway?" Rin let go of Karen and dove down, seeing Kanade swim circles below them, like a shark. There were several dozen encased light balls at the bottom of the pool, giving more or less mediocre sight. The same light balls were slammed into walls and the ground all over the place. Courtesy of teamwork between Peace and Sunshine. Emerging behind Karen, Rin pushed her forward. "If you wanna swim, go buy a swimsuit."

Karen gave up. If she threw a fit now, she would just ruin everyone's fun. There were a boatload of issues with just making a random pool like that. For one, the dirt of the labyrinth would get in the water, which would get in people's eyes. Secondly, the water was likely all but the right type for a pool. Thirdly, the pool edges were very rough and people could cut themselves as they weren't in Cure form. The list went on. Karen was worried about the safety of everyone else.

Simply focusing, she created a corporeal platform of water that lifted her out of the pool. Jumping to the edge, she was completely drenched. Grabbing Erika, who had forgotten to get away in time, and lifting her up from her feet, Karen's fury was not to be taken lightly. "If you want to make a pool, you have to make sure you do it right."

"But it works fine as is, don't you think?" Erika was only very slightly intimidated. Maybe she shouldn't have flung Karen into the water.

"Until someone cuts their feet open and has to be taken for first aid. Or the dust in the water gets in someone's eye and god knows what happens next." Letting Erika down and turning towards the pool, she knew how to fix things. But there was something else to take care of first. "Negotiations are going to start soon, anyone want to go?"

Kaoru looked away immediately, having no intention of repeating the disaster of the day before. She was done doing negotiations for a while. Michiru wasn't too eager either, since she knew what happened between her sister and Lemonade.

Erika volunteered right away and Karen disregarded that just as quickly. She'd go herself, again, before letting that walking chaos take care of it. Who volunteered in the end had come as a surprise. After being in the last battle, Itsuki wanted to have a go at it.

As she left, Karen made several spots on the surface of the pool detonate. "If you want to use this, you're gonna have to fix it. Rin, I'm gonna need your help. Just making a big hole isn't enough." Raising her hand as soon as the others had left, Karen drained the water into seemingly thin air, making it vanish. It was created by magic to begin with so that much was an easy task for her. Water wasn't her element for nothing.

"We're starting with making this hole into something that actually resembles a pool. Rin, can you superheat the surface? I'll clean it up with high water pressure afterward." Grabbing Erika's right arm on instinct, Karen smiled at her. "You'll be assisting me with the pressure cleaning."

=== Dissonance ===

"Didn't sleep enough?" Itsuki was surprised to see who had come from the light team to handle negotiations. "You look like you just woke up, Tsubomi."

"Don't tease me... I just didn't sleep well today. And I thought I could get a few minutes of rest before... you would show up." Covering her hand and trying to suppress her yawn, Tsubomi felt a bit embarrassed. Not that Itsuki had seen her in much more embarrassing situations before, but still.

About to laugh, Itsuki successfully managed to hold it in. "Should we start?" At least her negotiation partner was someone reasonable. "I saw that the system didn't decide the number of people fighting today. You got anything in mind?"

"We seem to have quite a few volunteers on our side..." Making a decision was not very difficult for Tsubomi but she liked to think things through when it would affect the entire team. "I'd like to say seven or even eight people. But what if there aren't enough volunteers to fill it at the end?"

"They'll probably get filled up automatically. That's what I'm guessing. If it lets us have the freedom of deciding how many people will fight, I think that much is planned for." Going through the catalog and looking at all the options Itsuki realized something quite important. "Tsubomi... how many rules do you know?" She couldn't remember even half.

"I took a look before I came here... If I see the number and name I can probably say what it does."

"I'll be relying on you then to pick out... most of the rules. I'll check the terrain. That okay with you?" Itsuki wasn't comfortable picking out rules she knew nothing about. And constantly asking Tsubomi would be a real chore on them both. "And eight people is fine. Let's just go with that. It'll make a nice profit for everyone. If you can, pick out some high return rules, okay?"

Giggling for a moment, Tsubomi knew why Itsuki asked for that."Is Erika causing everyone to go bankrupt?" She envied the other team. But with the fierce competition in the exchange races, she wasn't likely to make it over easily. Today she would focus on improving her score. "You guys tried the Heaven & Hell Dive out yesterday, right? Was it fun?"

"I wonder... it would've been fun if the rest of the rules hadn't been a complete mess. I'll go with Beach and Sunny for the terrain. That doesn't give us any bonus, but after yesterday I'd like to have something that isn't dangerous." Entering her two choices into the console, Itsuki waited for Tsubomi to do her part.

"I'll try out the Oceanic Dive. Other than that... these have a really good bonus rate. Eternal Blast, Stalking Blast, Extra Chance and Invincibility Cage. Honoka asked me to pick rule forty-seven, too, to unlock some options."

"I only remember what the Dive thing is for. Mermaids, right? What does the other stuff do?" Itsuki leaned forward, looking at the temporary selection. It returned over hundred percent bonus in total. Letting out a whistle, Itsuki was definitely going to volunteer for that one.

"Ah, let me see... Eternal Blast makes energy attacks lasting. If I launch a blast, it won't vanish. Stalking Blast makes energy attacks home in on others. Extra chance heals you one time you're knocked out. Invincibility Cage... ah... I don't quite remember that one but it had something to do with taking no damage in specific spots around the battleground. Forty-seven is called Curse... Honoka asked me to pick this if I can, but I don't remember what it does."

"I'm good with those. On a beach, being able to use the ocean, we'll have plenty of room for this many people. And there are no weird rules like Magnetic Force, either." Agreeing to Tsubomi's selection, the bonus percentage value turned from green to red, going down to a round hundred percent bonus. "We just lost twenty-seven percent. Did you remove a rule?"

"No, they're all there. It's my first time being here, so I don't really know what happened." Thinking about it for a few seconds, Tsubomi realized the obvious answer. With so many high percent bonus options, it was clear that there would be some sort of limiter in the system so they didn't simply pick all the highest bonus options at once. "We probably can't have more than hundred percent bonus."

"Wasn't this mentioned in the guide book?" Itsuki regretted never reading it thoroughly now.

"Itsuki, I only read a few of the rules." Smiling awkwardly, Tsubomi really wished Erika was there with her. "Oh, I forgot to agree to the terrain rules." Moving one of the tiny screens on the console with her finger, she looked at the two plus minus zero options. Pushing the 'Agreed' button, the console summarized the rules and then went dark. "Itsuki, why is your hair all wet by the way?"

"Erika got a few of us together and we made something like a pool. Aqua got really angry at us just before I came here, though." Grinning, Itsuki stood up. "I'm wearing my swimsuit right now, want me to turn back?"

"Geez, you tease." Turning away and walking towards the portal, Tsubomi smiled to herself. "I'm only interested in Erika's swimsuit, sorry Itsuki." Vanishing before the yellow Cure had a chance to respond, Tsubomi was happy that she managed to get a good result out of her first negotiation, despite being so ill-prepared.

"She really has grown up. I guess she's long past seeing me as someone that turned her down." Itsuki grinned to herself and left as well. Returning to just outside the base as Sunshine, she felt a bit cold and went up to level three, getting three towels, two for herself and Hibiki, one for Erika. Turning back into a normal human, she covered herself with the towel.

On her way back down, she came across Passion and Beat, both of whom still wearing their swimsuits and carrying towels. They had just left Beat's room and were headed in the same direction; downstairs. "Did they finish repairing the pool, or whatever they were doing?"

"When we left, Rouge had just finished evening out the hole with her ability. She looked really exhausted." Setsuna had kept a considerable distance while it was going on. Letting Itsuki go ahead on the stairs, Setsuna put a towel over Ellen's shoulders, noticing that her partner had been a bit cold and shivering. A thankful smile was more reward than she needed.

"Doing this every day would be a real chore. But we don't really have the funds to pay for a real pool." Itsuki didn't shy from hard work but if it was repeating the same work every day because the system reset it's layout, then there had to be a better solution. "Oh, before I forget it, I just came back from the negotiation." Giving those two a quick rundown of the rules, Setsuna volunteered right away, with Ellen followed suit a few moments later. "That leaves five vacant spots. I guess it'll be first come, first serve."

"The only one that wasn't at the pool when we left was Egret. I haven't seen her all day and she isn't in her room either. I wonder if she isn't feeling well." Setsuna hoped that Egret wouldn't get sick. They didn't exactly have an infirmary in this place.

"She was pretty depressed over swapping teams with her partner, so I can guess that she wants to be alone for a bit." Passing the first level, they saw Hibiki and Kanade, all alone, standing in a corner and talking. The blonde wasn't looking too happy and after a few more words, Hibiki walked away, unaware that Itsuki had seen her.

Leaving Setsuna and Sunshine behind for a moment, Ellen caught up to Kanade before she had a chance to walk away. "What were you talking about?"

"I was asking... what I have to do to be friends with her again." Kanade was really suffering under the fact that Hibiki didn't consider her a friend anymore. She wanted things to go back to when they were always fighting and shortly after making up. It was much better than barely talking at all.

"So what did she say?" Ellen didn't bother to say anything to Sunshine when she walked past. Setsuna was politely waiting a few steps away.

"Wait. She told me to wait until she feels she can trust me again." Kanade didn't need another reminder of how stupid she had been. To act overly jealous, to accuse her best friend and love of just playing with her, to sleep with Rin purely out of spite... it didn't surprise her that Hibiki still couldn't trust her.

"Just give her some time. You know her better than I do but even I see that she doesn't want to let things stay like this either. She just... needs some more time to work things out." Ellen had noticed that Kanade was changing quickly, and she worried that she was changing too quickly for her own good. "You should take things slow, Kanade. She's talking to you, so at least she doesn't hate you!"

"Kanade!" Rin was calling for her. After seeing Sunshine and Melody come back together, and seeing Kanade leave with her teammate, she was just a little bit worried about her. "Are you feeling okay?"

"No.." Clinging to Rin's arm, just as she had done all the time prior to the day before, Kanade rested her head against Rin's shoulder. With a sigh from the taller Cure, the two walked away.

"They don't make a bad couple from what I've seen." Taking Ellen's hand, Setsuna kissed her partner on the cheek. "Don't make such a long face. They're both your friends, things will work out between them."

Smiling a little, Ellen put both her arms around Setsuna's neck, kissing her, out in the open where everyone could have seen them. "I'm happy you and Love are with me."

Returning the kiss a little more passionately than Ellen had expected, Setsuna put her forehead against her partner's. "I feel the same. And I'm sure Love does, too."

Both of them turned their heads towards the labyrinth when they heard someone whistle. Seeing Marine and Peace grin and laugh, the two shorties were quickly grabbed by March, who was wearing a green bikini, and dragged away.

"Are you embarrassed, being with me in public?" Setsuna knew really well how that felt. But Love had given her little choice in the matter other than getting used to it.

"Yeah..." Hugging her partner, Ellen smiled. "But if it's with you, I don't care."

Out in the labyrinth, Erika and Yayoi both caused a big splash in the pool, Nao having thrown them in. Heating the surface and cleaning it with high pressure water beams, it was now a safe and more refined place. Karen, wearing a blue bikini, was swimming and diving on her own, wishing that Komachi could have joined her.

Nagisa has exhausted herself earlier and was resting on a rock that was still very much warm from Rouge's ability. Michiru, now in a blue bikini, and Kaoru, in red shorts and top, were both with her, asking about Mai and where she was, nonetheless enjoying laying on the heated rocks after taking a swim.

Ako was turning heads every time she surfaced from her diving exercise. Her long hair and great figure, the latter brought out by her fancy, black one-piece, made a few of the others really stare. Itsuki and Hibiki were still wrestling, the latter finding that Itsuki wasn't able to use her skills fully in the water. Rin and Kanade were simply enjoying hanging at the edge of the pool. The room itself was very much heated due to resident energy being stored in the rocks all over. It was very similar to an indoor pool. The dark team was really enjoying their day.

=== Dissonance ===

"There was an update to the guide book." Honoka had just returned from the dome after talking to Tsubomi. Meeting up with Yuri and Miki, the latter trying to feed the former and being rejected, in the dinner hall, she also noticed a passed out Lemonade, her stomach slightly bulged out. She could have sworn she saw a glimpse of Sunny over in the kitchen as well. But that wasn't exactly important at the time.

"An update? You mean like an update to software?" Miki wasn't a master of IT but she knew her way around a computer and various other devices.

"Is Reika not here?" Honoka was a little disappointed. It would have made things easier on her. "Yes, like the update to a software. Essentially, it added a new page, right in front of the battle rules."

Grabbing Miki's hand and forcing her to stop the futile feeding attempts, Yuri's attention was focused on Honoka. "So what does it say?"

"It explains the bonus conditions. I got suspicious after Blossom told me that they picked options that had a total of over hundred percent and it reset back down to hundred as they finished it up. So I wanted to look it up and there was a new page." Honoka didn't know if the system was still evolving or if it was merely a clarification since it had not foreseen that there would be combinations of rules that result in such high bonus conditions. "The actual bonus is a combination of three values. The terrain, the rules and special rules."

"Special rules meaning?" Yuri remembered most of the rules but she wasn't sure what exactly counted as a **special** rule or not.

"The Dive and War options. The most you can get out of the normal rules is a simple formula. Half of the terrain and special rule bonus plus hundred is the maximum for the regular rule bonus. Tsubomi and Sunshine picked a terrain bonus of zero and the oceanic dive has no bonus associated with it so their total limit resulted in a hundred, flat."

"The advanced forms of the dive options have a really large bonus, don't they?" Miki hadn't gone as far as to remember the exact amount of bonus.

"The one you guys were using yesterday hits hundred percent bonus all on it's own. I will participate today, so I'm going to get a bit of rest before it starts." Grabbing a dish and unused spatula, Honoka quickly ate one of the leftover okonomiyaki before she left.

"It certainly won't become boring like this." Miki leaned back into her chair, stretching. "Should we participate? I want to see you as mermaid, but I feel bad for the others."

"Maybe if there are no more volunteers. Having more money certainly won't hurt in the long run." With a brief smile, Yuri poked Miki's forehead. "If you pull yourself together, you can spend the night in my room. I'm sure Reika won't mind." Seeing Miki's face light up, she put a quick hold on her enthusiasm. "But! If you try to make any lewd moves on me, you go sleep in your own room."

Both of them were called back to cruel reality when Lemonade, fast asleep or simply passed out, let out a loud burp, after having buried her irritation in okonomiyaki. A second burp followed a few seconds later.

"I'm happy you're not like that." Yuri didn't know what she would do if Lemonade had become her roommate. The girl had no tact, grace or manners whatsoever.

"If I was like that, I'd throw myself down some stairs."

Honoka, down the hall by then, had just come across Tsubomi and Komachi, the two of them on their way up to the garden. Upon noticing the white Cure, both of them stopped. "Going to the garden?" Tsubomi didn't mind taking care of it on her own as there wasn't much work to begin with, but she liked being in there with other people.

"To my room, actually." Stepping past the two, she remembered something. "Did you ask around for volunteers yet, Tsubomi?"

"There are five others between you and me. We have one open spot." Tsubomi had already finished going around and asking everyone she could find. Bloom had declined because she wanted to participate in the exchange race again. With the high number of fighters that day, there wouldn't be much competition, she couldn't blame really blame her for wanting to try again.

"If you see Reika, ask her. She probably won't mind." Waving as she left, Honoka quietly yawned. She hadn't slept really all that well. Absurd nightmares about Nagisa cheating on her with Mai had woken her up twice. "It's time Nagisa comes over here..."

=== Dissonance ===

While there were few participants for the race on the light team, there were even fewer on the other side. Only Kaoru and Nagisa were participating on their side, everyone else was either content being there or going to be in the battle. The limitation of not being able to participate in the race if signed up for the fight annoyed a few of them quite a bit. "No hard feelings, whoever wins." Nagisa wanted to get out of the room with Mai.

Early that morning, when she woke up and saw Mai about to leave the room, she got up to tell her good morning. The reaction she got was more than just a little off-putting. Glaring at her like she was the devil, Mai slammed the door shut and could be heard running down the hallway. Trying to find her was a futile journey. And after meeting Erika, she gave up on chasing Mai.

Kaoru didn't say anything and simply stepped through the gate the moment it opened. She was going to win. With only one competitor, it should be very much possible for her to do that. Stepping through the door, a strong and cold wind, biting to feel on the skin, hit her straight in the face. But she could feel solid ground under her feet. Looking around, she couldn't see Nagisa.

She was on top of a mountain. One of many. There were hundreds of mountains littering the landscape, every single one with a large stone gate on top of it, all of them glowing. There was one right behind her as well. Observing the area for a few seconds, she saw someone else emerge from a gate on a distant mountain. Lemonade. The moment she came out, she slammed a chain into the ground and left for the next mountain.

From one moment to the next, someone crashed into Kaoru. Looking behind herself, she saw one of the new Cures, Sunny. Before she could even get up, she was gone, leaving through the same portal she had come. "This is absurd... to find the right portal among so many identical ones is just a case of luck." Kaoru grit her teeth and kicked the portal, which flickered for a brief moment. That gave her an idea. "Storm Cutter!" Unleashing a more than razor sharp wind blade against the stone portal, it was cut neatly in half, breaking apart, the portal gone. "I should have realized this right away." Jumping down the slope of the mountain, she saw Nagisa, going up an almost vertical wall through pure force, gripping into the stone wall itself.

Her chance to win against Nagisa at that point were less than forty percent. There had to be another trick to it, other than marking or destroying gateways. Each race had a specific theme to it. The last one had been survival and caution. She had to figure out what the theme of the this one was.

Climbing a steep slope and reaching the top in a matter of seconds, as Cures, they were very well able to climb and descend a whole mountain in matter of seconds, yet, there were simply too many mountains. Looking up, there was nothing exceptional about the sky. Clouds in arbitrary formations, no more. The mountains themselves were very plain as well. No vegetation, no rivers, waterfalls, fauna or otherwise distinct characteristics.

Wasn't that it? Looking around, she did see some distinct characters. While the mountains were all around the same height, some had steeper slopes than others, some had snow on their crown while some didn't, and others yet had muddy and wet terrain.

They were part of a larger category. The mountain she was on belonged to the snow crown category. Jumping through the portal, she immediately felt a much sharper wind blowing in her face. There was neither snow, wet ground or insane slopes at this one. That put it at four categories. But how would she see the distinction between a mountain with storm gusts and one without?

Looking up, she had her answer. The arbitrary cloud systems. While present in all forms and shapes over mountains that had belonged to the first three categories, the sky was clear above those with sharp winds. The answer to find the right gate was simple, knowing all that. A mountain that did not belong to any of the categories. That had to be the logical answer to the theme this time.

It seemed to obvious, now, that she bit her thumb. Had any of the others realized it yet? If she acted too obvious, it would work against her. If she didn't pursue it, she would lose by sheer coincidence at some point. Destroying the gate she was at with a single slice, Kaoru focused and tried to find a mountain that fit her idea of the goal.

Unable to spot anything in remote distance, she headed down and up towards the next mountain. Several dozen kilometers away from her, Sunny and Lemonade had a fierce competition about who would make it to the next mountain. It was just a habit of Akane to turn things like that into a competition. Urara on the other hand was very clearly pissed.

Losing six mountains in a row in only eight minutes, Urara decided to make a run for it and head into another direction. Turning around midway up the slope of yet just another stupid mountain, Urara headed for a different gateway. Hitting the snow crown and jumping into the portal, she came out of just another gateway, just another snow topped mountain. She was so sick of those oversized rocks by now that she wished she had Rose's or Dream's destructive capabilities.

Just as she turned around, the area around her started to blur. She felt cheated. The chances of the one mountain that Sunny scaled, while she decided to break off from her, being the exit were fifty-fifty. Bloom was around as well but she hadn't seen her the entire time. Regardless, she was incredibly pissed off. Another day without Ako. "Fuck!"

Hearing Lemonade's outcry in the distance and seeing a pillar of light erupt into the sky several dozen kilometers away from where she was, Kaoru knew that it was just her and Nagisa now. Jumping into the next portal, she immediately recognized one mountain as meeting at least three out of four necessary conditions. Noticing movement from the corner of her eye, she saw Nagisa, going up the very mountain she was at. She felt sorry for her, but she wanted to win.

Hiding behind a particularly large piece of rock, Kaoru simply listened for the noise Nagisa was making as she ascended the top. Judging by her decision to climb that particular mountain, she had no idea that there was indeed a very visible pattern and logic to the race. And just as expected, she heard Nagisa approach the top and then the sounds vanished.

Climbing down and approaching the mountain she had in her eye, Kaoru realized that it fulfilled all four conditions. No absurd slopes, no wind, no snow, no wet terrain. If she was wrong, there was either a fifth category, or her entire logic to deduce the right path had been simply a coincidence. Approaching the top, there was absolutely nothing that would indicate the gateway being any different than all the others. The same structure, material and glow all pointed towards her conclusion being wrong.

But stepping through, she knew she was right. There was no instant teleportation to a different mountain. Feeling like she was in limbo for a few seconds, she found herself back in a somewhat familiar room, with two major differences. The Cures present were not from her team.

"Welcome to the light team, Windy." Peach was greeting her. Blossom was there as well and bowed politely. "Was it a hard competition?"

"I'm not sure if I should call it luck based or simply strategic. I don't know who made it to the dark team, in the event you wanted to know." What **she** wanted to know was where Inori was. For the past few days, she had carried an uneasy feeling inside of herself, unable to quite describe it, not even to her sister. "Do either of you know where I can find Pine?"

"Bukki? She had a headache earlier so she is probably in her room." Already on the topic, Love pointed down the hallway. "I'm sorry to say, but you swapped rooms with Sunny. She was last in the ranking yesterday."

"That doesn't bother me. I was ranked second last on my team so there is virtually no change in room assignments." Just as she finished her line, Honoka walked around the corner, having just come down the stairs.

"Good to see you, Kaoru." She didn't hide that she was a little disappointed it wasn't Nagisa. "Here to see Saki?"

"How is she?" Kaoru didn't want to rub it right in everyone's face that she was there to talk to Inori. She did care for Saki a lot, so it wasn't fake enthusiasm she was showing.

"Considering the circumstances, not bad. She spent most of the day in the garden, spacing out. Nagisa would probably confine herself to her bed." Laughing when she thought about it, Honoka stretched for a few seconds. "I just took a nap myself, though. I would say I've been feeling under the weather, but we don't really have that here."

"If you don't mind, I will go and check up on Saki. I am a little worried about her." Walking straight past Honoka and the others, Kaoru still couldn't properly define what was bothering her. It had become worse the moment she set foot on the light team's floor. She didn't feel worried or reluctant, so what in the world was wrong with her?

=== Dissonance ===

Running straight through the hallway after hearing from Aqua where Nao was, Akane didn't slow down at all before she jumped at her partner. She realized too late that the latter wasn't in Cure form. Both of them crashed into the pool hard enough to create a fountain, as if a bomb had exploded underwater. "Nao! Nao! Nao!" Overjoyed to be back with her partner, Akane held on so tightly to the green haired girl that she had to transform to get the redhead off her back. "Nao!"

"Akane, calm down! You're hurting me!" Finally getting the girl to back off, Nao swam to the edge of the pool, getting out and changing back to being a normal human. "Erika!" Looking around and calling for the shorty designer, Nao hoped she had a spare swimsuit somewhere. "Erika?!" Calling a second time, Hibiki reacted instead.

"She's passed out on one of the heated rocks over there." She was laying on one as well, in Itsuki's arms, who was peacefully asleep in her swimsuit. Hibiki had been disappointed that she wasn't wearing a bikini. She could have untied that one with ease.

Rin, seeing how popular the heated rocks were as sun loungers, had taken it upon herself to regularly reheat them. It only took a few seconds of channeling energy into it after all. She was still floating in the water while Kanade was sleeping on one of the heated rocks. Many of them had been cut to the right size by Aqua earlier.

Setsuna and Ellen were enjoying a snack on an improvised table, both of them covered with towels and really wet hair. "You guys are living in real luxury here!" Akane was really impressed. "How come we don't have a pool on the other side?" Swimming to the edge and getting out of the water, Akane realized how very much uncomfortable a soaking wet Cure outfit was. And she couldn't exactly just transform back on the spot. Going commando in front of all those people wasn't going to happen.

"We made it ourselves, without spending anything. Make a big hole, even it out, clean it up, fill with water. I feel almost sorry that the labyrinth will just swallow it up over night." Nao was immediately hugged again by Akane. "Let go! Gross! You're wet and cold, gross! Go change!" Even if it was just a new costume, it would still be dry.

Walking away with a slightly annoyed expression, Akane returned a minute later, the costume dry but her skin still glistening wet and her hair soaked. Taking her partners hand and pulling her away, back behind a large rock, Akane stood on her toes, eyes closed, hands around Nao's neck. The eight centimeters height difference always forced her to stand or her toes or wear high heels.

Blushing slightly and not saying anything, Nao kissed her partner. She could still taste the water of the pool on Akane's lips as the red Cure pulled her closer, seeking support from a wall, pushing her tongue into Nao's mouth, enjoying that sweet taste she had missed for the last few days.

Tightening her embrace, she could feel drops of water that ran down Nao's skin and vanished between their lips, feel her wet skin rub against her own. Akane was always in heaven when she got to spend intimidate time with Nao. Pushing her right leg between Nao's, Akane knew exactly what turned her partner on.

Nao's right hand moved over Akane's back, down to her butt, going under the skirt and slipping her hand under the costume's underwear. She had missed the sex with Akane as much as the redhead has missed her. Feeling tights rub against her crotch, Nao let out a suppressed moan. Breaking off the kiss to inhale some much needed air, Akane kept rubbing one of her cheeks and kissing the other.

Both of them almost jumped against the wall when they heard someone call for March in a very loud voice. Followed by that were the names of several other Cures. "You're in the battle?" Akane was a little disappointed they had been interrupted. Grabbing Nao's butt and kissing her neck, she wanted to continue. "Lets just ditch the battle for now. I'm sure someone is gonna stand in for you." Trying to pull Nao down, the green haired girl resisted.

"Don't be silly, Akane. I really love you but I'm not going to ditch my responsibilities. We can... continue later." Quickly pushing her lips on Akane's, Nao stole a kiss from her partner before running towards the voice that had called for her. Incredibly horny, Akane was left behind, ready to unleash some pent up frustration on the rocks.

"The battle is due in about ninety minutes. Don't be late." Aqua had gotten all the fighters together to go over the rules once. After spending a day at the pool, there would be a fight on the beach. The dark team was looking forward to it. Having still more than enough time to get rid of some pent up sexual frustration, Nao immediately returned to the secluded area behind the large rock.

I knew you'd change your mind." Before Nao could even react to those words, Akane had grabbed her right arm, pulled her in and forced her on the ground all in one fell swoop. "I can't wait. It's been a while." Licking her lips, Akane didn't waste any time and immediately took of the green bikini her partner was wearing. Using Nao as support, she was laying half on her, one hand groping, the other taking her lover's hand and playing with her fingers, her tongue teasing her nipples.

"Akane... wait..." Nao wasn't ready for such a sudden assault. But it was always like that. Where Reika was considerate, Akane was pushy. But she was never truly able to resist either of them. Akane's relentless assault forced a loud moan out of her, one that was quickly sealed away by the redhead moving up and resuming the kiss from before, a thin saliva thread running down Akane's cheek.

Despite being taller, Nao had no control over her body and the situation. It seemed cliché but Akane really was fiery when it came to sex and competition. Breathing harder and moving her hands over the firm butt of her partner, Nao returned the favor, forcing a suppressed moan out of her. Transforming back to normal, Akane was stark naked. Nao could tell from the warmth of it that what was running down Akane's leg wasn't the pool water. "Stop slacking Nao... touch me." Whispering in her partners ear, Akane went on her knees, topping Nao and moving her left hand between the green-haired girl's legs. "Look how wet you've gotten."

But she wasn't completely helpless. Using her left hand to fondle Akane's breasts and her right to tease her just around her hotspot, driving her crazy very slowly. "Stop being such a tease..." Suddenly moving up, Nao's hand landed automatically where Akane wanted it. Quickly kissing her, knowing that she wouldn't be able to stop moaning once she felt Nao's fingers inside, Akane pushed herself on top of her partner, their breasts rubbing against each others.

The passionate look in Akane's eyes drove a massive blush in Nao's face. Moving her fingers in, she loved that familiar feel of hot wetness that only intensified when she entered a second finger. Not surprised at all that Akane returned the favor right away, putting two fingers in with ease, Nao's nipple stiffened until they were so hard that it was pleasure and pain simultaneously when Akane's breasts rubbed over them.

It had been a while since she slept with Akane, so she had trouble holding herself back from coming. Forcefully breaking off the continuing kiss, Nao had to gasp for air, unable to control herself anymore. Resuming the kiss with her chest slightly puffed, Akane brought Nao to her first orgasm. Twitching, her eyes closing on instinct, Nao moved both her arms to Akane's back, embracing her so closely that she could feel the redheads heart hammer against her chest.

But they weren't done. Forcing herself loose from the heavily panting green haired girl, Akane sat up, rubbing her crotch against Nao's, their love fluids running down their legs. "Someone's... gonna.. hear us..." The possibility of being seen having sex right there only made Nao more excited but scared her at the same time.

"So...? They know... we're lovers..." Putting some force behind it, Akane rubbed against Nao, grabbing Nao's hand and starting to lick and suck on her fingers. Using her free hand to grope her love's bountiful breasts, playing with her nipples, Akane had complete control over Nao, who was covering her mouth with her free hand, thinking it unfair she didn't get to lick Akane's fingers.

A rush of excitement accompanied with the feeling of a powerful electric current running through her body, Akane came slightly before Nao had her second orgasm. Akane had enough stamina to keep going and pushed Nao back against a rock, forcing her to sit up. Sitting down on the lap of the heavily sweating and heavy breathing girl, she started to lick, kiss and play with Nao's neck and ears. Neither of them was in any condition to realize that they were being watched.

Yayoi, hidden between a pair of massive rocks far above the pool, was watching the two go at it. Getting there had been easy by just transforming briefly. Avoiding being spotted by transforming back, she was hastily scribbling drafts about the two girls' act on her sketchbook. Her bikini pants were completely soaked and her nipples were poking through the soft cloth of her top. The face flushed and her hands a little unsteady, every passing minute made it harder to watch and draw instead of watch and play with herself.

She completely panicked, dropping her sketchbook and trying to scream when a hand covered her mouth. "Quiet." From the corner of her eyes, she could see deep blue hair and the voice clearly belonged to Erika. How did she find her all the way up there, hidden? The shock wasn't helping her self-control any. "I didn't know you were into voyeurism..." She could virtually hear the impish grin on Erika's face. "I'll let go, just don't scream." Removing her hand, Erika had very much underestimated how horny Yayoi had gotten.

Grabbing the blue Cure's hand and starting to suck on her fingers, Yayoi quickly pushed the surprised Erika on the ground. "Wow, stop!" Erika wasn't going to add Yayoi to the list of people she cheated on Tsubomi with. Ember had just about been enough. Trying to wrestle free, she found that surprisingly difficult. Yayoi's hands were quickly moving under her bikini, taking it off, fondling her breasts.

Turning into a Cure didn't improve things much, as Yayoi did so as well, managing to keep Erika pinned between the rocks. And before she knew what was going on, the blue Cure was incredibly turned on. But that still didn't stop her from gasping and becoming desperate when the blonde moved one of her hands under her skirt. "Marine Blast!" Seeing no option but to stop her by force, Erika, face flushed and almost wanting to let it happen, knocked Yayoi off the platform, making her fall all the way down and crash into the pool. Trying to collect herself, she had trouble doing so. "That was... too close." She felt regret about stopping Yayoi. And that made her feel disgusted with herself.

=== Dissonance ===

Inori had been delighted to see Kaoru again. She had not forgotten about the offer she made to one of the two sisters and she thought that that had to be the reason she had changed teams, surely. Walking through the garden with Kaoru, it was far too stuffy to keep talking in her room, Inori listened to what the blue Cure had been experiencing. "What you've been feeling is anxiousness. I can't quite decide why that would happen, but I'm surprised you've never felt that way before."

"I'm not sure I really have never felt that way before. Years ago, Saki, Mai, Michiru and I went through a lot of dangerous times, yet I can't recall feeling this particular emotion." Putting two fingers to her forehead, Kaoru tried hard to remember but her memories of that time were very chaotic.

"Don't be bothered so much by this. Have you talked to your sister about my offer? I'm still willing to help." Inori was intrigued by the sisters. She had met all kinds of people, especially since coming to the pocket dimension. They all had rather unique personalities. But the sisters were by far those that were the most out of the ordinary. Thinking about it that way made Inori question what kind of results she would achieve by getting involved with them.

"Michiru was defiant since it would be only me who would work with you, but I know she understood the rationale behind my decision. If possible, I'd like to start immediately." Kaoru wanted to be normal, just like Saki and Mai. Experience laughs, thrills and even romance if possible.

"Fine with me." Checking her memory, Inori thought briefly with what to start first. "To get a better understanding of the underlying problem, for now, stay by my side at all times. Of course, this excludes specific things such as battle participation."

"What about private moments such as sleep, bathroom visits and intimacy?" Kaoru noticed the slight change in Inori's expression. "Did I say something odd?"

"Most people wouldn't inquire about those and would assume they're off-limits." Stopping walking and looking at the pond, she figured that lacking common sense seemed to be one problem among many. That didn't come as a surprise, though. "There is nobody I'm intimate with and there is little to be learned when asleep. And like everything else on this list, bathroom visits are best done privately." Teaching Kaoru common sense would be a real challenge.

"Observe how I act and try to deduce why I do so. Beyond that, I'll try to create situations where you can observe that the outcome changes depending on how well developed your common sense is. That's the first step to help you understand why and how people react. In turn, it will broaden your own understanding of how you, yourself, act and react to situations and people." Inori took a tiny stone and threw it into the pond. "Humans follow the principle of cause and effect, where as interaction is an exchange of those, and often, an effect caused will also be a cause for a new effect. Take the stone I threw into the pond. The immediate reaction is the ripples the impact causes. That reaction, however, is cause for fish to scatter; a secondary effect, down the line. This goes on and on. A conversation with other people is just like that." Inori raised her hand and pointed towards the ceiling. Kaoru looked up and immediately felt Inori poke her chin with her other hand. "And that is how you think, is it not?"

"It is a simplified explanation on human interaction, but, yes." Kaoru wasn't sure what the point of that explanation had been.

"You're probably confused on why I explained this to you and poked your chin. The simple explanation is that there isn't one. Trying to rationalize human interaction will stiffen your response and results in over-thinking. When a poisonous snake attacks you, what do you do?" Turning around, her back facing Kaoru, Inori realized that the problems were more deeply rooted than she had assumed.

"I will fend it off." Kaoru had difficulty following Inori's logic.

"You can say that with certainty?"

"Of course. A snake poses little to no threat to me."

"Do you automatically think this way or do you feel inclined to think that way for your own safety?"

"What do you mean? I'm not sure I understand the question."

Spinning around and jumping at Kaoru, pushing her down, Inori found out what she needed to know. Struggling for a few seconds before near instantly reversing the situation, it was pretty clear to the yellow Cure what was going on. "What makes people seem to act natural is that they do not think through every single decision or movement. You acted like a normal person when I pushed you down, until you processed what was happening and acted on rationale alone." Pushing Kaoru gently off her, Inori cleaned some of the dust off her costume. "This is going to be hard on you, but you will need to stop analyzing everything and then acting on it. Instead, you will act on your first impression."

"I didn't expect this to be so difficult." Kaoru wasn't certain she could do what Inori asked for. To act without thinking? Had she ever done that?

"Don't worry. It won't take long. After all, what you need to do is natural, what you're doing, is not." Inori knew a fair bit about the human psyche from being friends with Love, Miki and Setsuna for years, but she still was far from being a professional. The important thing was to make Kaoru lose grasp on her habit to rationalize everything. Even if she had to confuse her with statements that weren't exactly all based on proper academics. She still had a little time before the battle was going to start.

=== Dissonance ===

It was quite the sight, eight Cures preparing for battle. The room was packed with girls eager to go and score a bit of money. Or a lot, with that day's bonus rules. They had just finished discussing strategy. With a lineup like theirs, they would be hard pressed to lose. Unless the light team deployed all their top fighters at once, it should finally be a win for the dark team.

"Everyone aware of their role? Any question?" Karen was acting as the leader for now, organizing everyone as a single unit. Marine raised her hand. "What is it, Erika?"

"Can I go for the bathroom before we start?" Earning laughs from everyone around, Erika smiled. She liked to diffuse the tension in the air before a battle. She had reconciled with Yayoi shortly after her... loss of control. She only hoped it wouldn't happen again. No matter how much she loved Tsubomi, after lacking any intimacy for so long while expecting it, she wasn't confident about her self-control.

"The gate's opening." Setsuna was assigned a vanguard spot. The loss of the last few battles were attributed to a lack of teamwork and Karen wanted to change that. The stakes were high that round. The winning team would earn sixteen hundred coins at all once, without counting personal gains.

Half the team was assigned to be the vanguard, the other half would support from the back. The four vanguards immediately entered the gate, the rearguard following shortly after. Not needing much time to orientate themselves, Sunshine, Passion, Bright and March took position in a two and two position, covering the wings of their group. The center was left wide open, in anticipation of support from the rear.

The beach was about a hundred meters from the shore to a thin forest of palms and tropical plants, the ocean itself seemingly unending. The air was clean and fresh, only a very weak wind was carrying the sea breeze with it. There was no terrain more safe than that.

"They're coming!" Nao shouted, the rearguard taking their own positions. Seeing who the attacking Cures were, three in total, Nao's confidence wavered briefly. Pine, Beauty and Peach were approaching at a high speed.

"Leave Peach to me!" Setsuna had fought Love seriously before, even though that had been years ago. She wasn't scared of repeating that fight.

"Don't underestimate Beauty! I will take care of Pine!" Nao shouted towards the remaining two that covered the other wing, Sunshine and Bright. The ground was perfect for Nao. Launching at such high speed that the ground behind her appeared almost ruptured, she came face to face with Inori for a split second before both passed each other, turning and passed each other again, the process repeating itself several times before Nao launched the initiative. "Tempest Alley!" Turning instantly on a single spot, she experienced G-forces much beyond what a normal person was capable of withstanding. Using the force of her velocity to unleash a horrifying storm gale towards Pine, the yellow Cure dodged the attack by lowering her posture, passing just barely under the current, approaching March with her diamond blades readied.

"Rush Beat!" A near solid wall of blue notes appearing right in front of her, Inori decided to break through instead of playing around more. Beat was going to be a real headache if her range was this high. She couldn't spot her immediately in the chaos that surrounded them.

"Diamond Flash!" The notes exploded with a delay of less than a third of a second upon detecting the enemy and they were still too slow to hit Inori using her ability. Passing through the barrier, Inori was surprised that March had expected as much and had already taken flight towards the ocean. "Diamond Flash!" In raw speed, March would outrun her, but her ability exceeded even the top speed of the green Cure.

Not stopping at the shore, leaving the beach behind within a matter of mere seconds, March simply traversed the ocean surface as if it was but solid ground to her. Inori had to put everything she had into acceleration to keep up, unable to use Diamond Flash on the water surface. There was a slight delay between activating the ability and actually moving that slowed her down. She'd sink before the ability would fully kick in.

Back on the shore, Love and Setsuna were facing each other seriously for the first time in years. "Club Lash!" Creating a black energy whip in her right hand, Setsuna ripped apart the ground whenever she hit it. But Love knew her every move as well as Setsuna knew hers.

Her best chance was go to beat Setsuna in close combat as more of her abilities relied on having at least a marginal charge up period. Trying to use them with someone right in her face, she'd suffer a point blank hit, completely defenseless. Dodging the whip attacks just barely, Love was worried that if she couldn't close the distance, Setsuna would unleash one of her powerful abilities.

And she was right. Ditching the whip, Setsuna took a different stance, jumped back thrice and focused energy in her fist. Peach accelerated to her maximum speed but still didn't make it. Her first punch, aimed directly at Setsuna's face, was blocked by a high angle kick of the red Cure. "Quattro Assault!" Vanishing for a split second, Setsuna started a relentless combination of punches and kicks, every single one being blocked defended and rendered useless by Love's excellent defensive capabilities. "Jack!"

Love knew what would happen next. Sliding over the sand, she turned sideways, raising both of her arms to different sides. Setsuna split into two beings for a single moment, punching from both the front and the back, but Love managed to block them both. "Queen!"

She knew she would be unable to defend against Queen, King and Ace completely but there was a trick to it. Focusing not on her enemy but the wind, she noticed a significant stronger gust from her right side than from both her left and behind. Raising both her arms to block a powerful kick, she was pushed back and hit in the back and side by the clones. The copies only had a fraction of Setsuna's full power but it was impossible to predict where the real one would appear. The only way to defend was to focus fully on the real one, which could only be detected when the attack was already underway. "Heart Explosion!" Focusing energy into her knuckles, Love slammed the ground hard enough to cause a massive cloud of sand to rise into the air, blocking all view.

It was only an incredibly brief moment but the sand right in front of her was displaced earlier than the others. Three clones was King. Raising both her arms, she protected herself against the high angle kick from her partner. Jumping up into the air, she knew that the next attack would be impossible to evade or block, even for her. She had helped Setsuna perfect it, after all. "Ace!"

There was only one way to counter the omnidirectional multi attack that was carrying the full power of the Quattro Assault. Countless clones appeared all around her and vanished, both within a second, making it impossible to distinguish where the main body and the corporeal clones were. "Heart Flare!"

Powerful energy erupting from her entire body, Love appeared like an enormous signal flare from the distance, volatile and dangerous energy covering her entire body. To avoid the final attack of Quattro Assault, she had to lay a trap that would infringe much more damage on Setsuna than Ace would on her.

Setsuna knew that as well. Backing off, both of them landed on the ground, sand covering their clothes and hair, both of them slightly out of breath. The clanging sound from another battle near them was a sign to resume. "Heart Counter!"

Setsuna immediately regretted landing the next hit. Love's counter abilities worked in strange ways and always came with a downside but if used properly they were very dangerous to an opponent. Jumping away, Setsuna went on the defensive. And she would be the first victim of the bonus rules. Love's Heart Flare had locked in on Setsuna and was rapidly descending down. The explosion was powerful enough to shake trees several hundred meters away.

Setsuna had been soundly knocked out by the enormous blast. But Love was well aware of the rules in play. "Heart Fl-" She couldn't finish the activation phrase. Erupting from the dark cloud the explosion had left, Setsuna landed a clean and powerful hit on her partner's stomach. "Club Barrage!" Moving at more than double her normal speed, Setsuna unleashed an unending assault of quick punches, kicks, elbow checks and other physical attacks. "Club Pillar!"

Love was thrown several dozens meters into the air, lights out, when the final hit of the barrage hit. She knew there was no way to get out of the barrage and that Setsuna always followed up with one of two fatal finishers. A massive black pillar had erupted directly below her, usually vanishing immediately but still present now, like a permanent physical structure. Regaining her senses, she realized that it was high time to retreat from enemy territory for now.

The area right next to them had become more than just a battlefield. The ground was littered with hundreds of weapons, Sunshine and Bright struggling to take out Beauty, who was all on her own. But she was just about done setting up the stage. Wielding two swords, she discarded them immediately to replace them by two shields, blocking Bright's and Sunshine's powerful punches. Falling to pieces, she had constructed them so that the impact could not travel back to her body.

Instantly creating a long pole, both enemies were hit and thrown back. One knee on the ground to support her stance, Reika judged that it would suffice as it was. Dropping the pole and creating a majestic looking bow and arrow, she aimed high into the air. Shooting, the arrow exploded into a massive ice crystal, only to break apart a second later. A sign.

The light team mobilized before the dark team had time to react. Hikari, on standby until then, activated her special ability, providing a powerful boost to seven other Cures. At the same time, Mint, Rose and White took their positions.

"Passage of Solitude!" Creating extremely sturdy and powerful barriers in form of a closed gate and walls surrounding the gate, Komachi needed all her focus just to keep them in place. Rose and White, both pulling from Hikari's buff, were fully ready. "Now!"

"Abbadon!"

"Whitelight Extinction!"

The horrifying mix of destructive white energy and metal fragments piled up slowly, creating a whirl of danger that the dark team had no choice but to react to with defense. But while their planning and strategy had been sound, the light team had the advantage of much more detailed and conditional planning.

Sunshine, Bright, Peach and Passion were caught in Beauty's trap. Energy explosively streaming from Reika, she unleashed something that would stay in the memory of all for quite a while. "Certain path to victory! Doom of all that stand in my way! No tell or tale, no legend or curse! Judgment of the unwavering! Infinity Armory!" Her incantation could be heard all across the battlefield, her voice echoing with strength and grace.

With a wind of sheer cold, the beach and several dozen meters of the shore froze instantly, glacial structure erupting from the ground, each of the hundreds of weapons giving off cold that was straight from the void of space. The ultimate ability that Beauty was capable of.

The wind surrounding the area was cold enough to freeze blood within a second, turning all living beings into no more than ice sculptures. The weapons untouchable by all but the one that reigned over the cold. The ice as dense and durable as hardened steel. The master of the icy realm ruling over all.

Creating a large two-handed sword, Reika immediately rushed against Sunshine, attacking with full force. She and Bright had gotten separated during the creation of the changed field. Wielding the weapon like it weighted absolutely nothing, she drove the yellow Cure into a corner, surrounded by the cold emitting weapons. "Ruler's Domination!" Raising her right hand, several of the ice weapons levitated off the ground and pointed their blades at Sunshine.

"Aegis Octa!" Creating barriers all around her, she barely managed to deflect all the weapons in time. Breaking to pieces, she thought her turn to counter attack had come. But Reika simply raised her hand again, creating dozens of new weapons, raising out of the ground, the walls, anywhere that had a surface of ice. Launching them at Sunshine again, she knew the clock was ticking. Even she would have no chance of surviving what the others were planning.

Itsuki was well aware that she couldn't defend until Beauty ran out of juice. Abandoning defense, she rushed towards the blue Cure, ready to be taken out if she could do the same. "Sunflower Escalation!" A move that allowed her to move, for just an instant, from one place in her line of sight to another but no further than five meters away. Dodging most of the weapons Beauty threw at her,

But Reika was within her element. "Emergence of a Savior!" In a circular area around her, every centimeter was occupied by a floating weapon. There was no space to even approach her. The ultimate offensive shield. Itsuki saw no way to attack without automatically running into her own demise.

"Sunflower Blooming Ten Strike!" Waiting for Beauty to cut her to pieces or throw everything into one attack were her only choices. And she didn't like getting cut. Smashing through the blades that surrounded Beauty, she had forgotten about something very important.

Beauty was a master at arms. The ice cold blade ran through Itsuki's chest, emerging from her back, piercing her lungs. Coughing up blood, Itsuki tried to focus her energy. But she didn't get a chance to recover A second and third blade were rammed through her stomach. Getting hit by a massive mace after that, she was thrown into the air. Aiming the yellow Cure with her bow, Reika pierced each of her limbs with an arrow. "Madness of the Empre-" Reika was disturbed before she could finish executing Sunshine. A massive glacier next to her burst into pieces.

Creating over a dozen shields, Reika could feel the impact that Bright's attack had, even without directly being connected to the shields. "Planet Crusher!" Unleashing an equally powerful kick and smashing all the shields to pieces, she thought to have a free shot on Beauty. "Planet Crusher!"

"Heart Reflect!" Love had been caught in the trap, together with Setsuna. Jumping past Beauty, Love let herself be hit by the powerful kick. Her ability kicked in right away, returning two-thirds of the damage back to it's origin. It was still enough to send both of them flying. Passion approached Beauty from above, ready to unleash living hell on her. Just as she descended, the entire ground around the blue Cure turned into pole weapons.

"Conviction of the Queen!" The weapons shot up in the air but Setsuna was lucky. She was high enough up to ready an energy blast against the approaching attack.

"Quattro Lash!" Creating four black whips, she broke apart the volley of weapons with several brutal lashes. Noticing the sky above her, she saw one of the signals, a beam of water cutting through the sky. The notice to treat immediately.

"We will continue this in the ocean." Running over to where Peach was, still conscious but injured, Reika realized that time was up. The winds were starting to fade already. Picking up the pink Cure, she looked around. Sunshine must had lost both her lives since the weapons continued to exist. Bright was escaping with the help of Passion. Creating her glacier road, Reika escaped as fast as she could. And it was high time.

Hikari, Komachi, Kurumi and Honoka were hitting their limits. Blossom had kept up with restoring their power whenever she could but there were limits to that, too. Acting as a scout, it was clear that the dark team had realized the danger they were in. Dozens of walls made up of blue notes were floating all around the spot the dark team had used to position their rearguard. "This is going to devastate the surface. Get ready!" Honoka couldn't imagine what kind of destruction their combined attack would cause.

Having continued to inflate the by now deadly sphere of energy and metal fragments over the last few minutes, Komachi's barriers were about to crumble. "Ready?!" Honoka acted as the leader for now. All the others nodded. She could see Beauty, carrying Peach, in the distance, already heading for the ocean. Much further in the distance was the ocean covered in a massive storm system. Pine and March had to be out there.

"Release!" Honoka issued the order. All four of them dropped what they were doing and started to run towards the shore. But none of them had expected the power to be as great as it turned out to be. The barriers breaking down, the released shock wave was powerful enough to knock them to the ground.

"Peace, Marine, now!" Karen had her own idea of defending against that madman attack.

"Aegis of Ages!" Erika and Yayoi used the creation ability at the same time to create a shield able to withstand even the mightiest of attacks by deflecting it back at it's origin. Beat had covered most of the area in exploding notes, and Karen was generating a sphere of water all around them, with a small pocket of air inside, designed to counteract any shock waves and similar.

What happened next was beyond anyone's imagination. Erika, Yayoi, Karen, Ellen were blown several hundred meters into the air, unable to hear or see anything, their consciousness cleanly blown out by the shock wave of the energy blast being returned.

Honoka, Tsubomi, Hikari, Kurumi and Komachi were not off any better. The returned attack had carried them several hundred meters with it, all of them taking damage far beyond anything they could endure. Both team's rearguard lost one of their two lives.

Reika, carrying Love, had just barely avoided the immediate blast area but still taken significant damage from the shock wave and spread of the attack. She made a mental note that they should never attempt an attack like that again. The entire area that had been the beach and the forest were covered in a continuing storm of white energy and metal shards, a certain death area.

Freezing part of the ocean below her, she let Peach down, who watched the carnage with an expression of disbelief. "I hope nobody actually died..."

"The system most likely will not let that happen unless it is caused intentionally by one of us." Reika had not felt fear like right then for a long time. It looked like the type of attack that could destroy a whole city with ease.

It was that one moment that made Reika let down her guard. The assumption that nobody was both close and fit enough to attack her. Setsuna had approached the two, swimming at speeds much higher than any human could thanks to her new mermaid form. Her chest covered with a crimson colored cloth, the scales on her tail were the same color as her hair. Grabbing Beauty's ankle and dragging her down into the water, descending down into the depths, Setsuna wanted to nullify the tremendous danger Beauty posed.

Transforming into a mermaid, Reika tried to put some distance between herself and Passion. It was much harder to create ice underwater than it was on land, so she was on a disadvantage. To her own surprise, she didn't have trouble breathing even without her mermaid form.

"Quattro Impact!" Vanishing for a moment and re-appearing from all four cardinal directions at once, Setsuna approached the blue mermaid, aiming to take her out. Noticing the small disturbance in the current, she knew that Love had joined the fray.

Reika, unfamiliar with Passion's attacks, knew she wouldn't manage to protect against all four directions. Focusing on her back and front, she spread her arms and created solid ice shields. The force of Passion's two remaining mirages was enough to severely damage her internal organs. Coughing up blood that quickly dissolved in the sea water, she tried to surface.

Trying to intercept her partner, Love was caught off guard. With incredible force and speed, March rammed right into her, breaking several bones. Pine was close on her trail, both of them easily moving at more than three-hundred kilometers per hour underwater. Reika hesitated for a moment, knowing that Nao was likely going to aim for her, now that she had the advantage. Risking it, she turned her back towards her love, Beauty tried to surface, attempting to lure others out of the water where she had the advantage.

Setsuna, instead of pursuing Beauty, decided to take Love out of the race. "Quattro Impact!" Seeing that Love was unable to defend with several bones already broken, she felt a little bit bad. "Sorry, Love."

The impact finished what March had started and knocked Love out soundly and for good. Looking up, Beauty had almost made it to the surface. She wasn't fast enough to catch up and fighting the blue Cure one to one on land or ice would be extremely dangerous. Noticing a flash of movement from the corner of her eyes, she knew what was going to happen next. "Quattro Flash!"

March raced right past the waiting Passion who had started her attack motion when she had still been dozens of meters away. Inori, moving at speed high enough to be unable to stop or slow down fast enough, ran into Passion's attack at full frontal. The lightning fast strike hit her throat, crushing it by sheer force of impact. Before Setsuna could prepare her second attack, Pine recovered, her second 'life' and unleash pure hell on Passion.

Setsuna was unable to follow Pine with just her eyes and there was too much other stuff going to to trust in her ears. Her instinct was all she could rely on. "Ace of Clu-" Her throat was instantly cut the moment she was about to finish the activation phrase. Trying to cover and plug the wound, she was bleeding out rapidly. Setsuna was out of the game.

Above them, Nao had caught up with Reika and instead of dragging her down into the depths, both of them launched vertically out of the water, higher and higher into the air. "I must say I am a little jealous of Akane." Reika knew she had lost. No matter how quickly she could create weapons, high in the air, alone with Nao, that spelled doom.

"Tempest Rupture!" Turning back into a human and starting to spin around her own axis, she held on to Reika's arms, flinging her around. Using her magic to spawn a powerful tornado around herself, Nao watched the wind shred Reika's skin. Letting go, the blue Cure was flung even higher into the air, several hundreds of meters. "Tempest Shredder!" Unleashing a series of kicks, each creating a razor sharp wind blade, Nao took both of Reika's lives, cutting off her arms.

Having taken out all but each other, March and Pine faced each other again, Nao high in the air, Inori deep underwater. Their competition wasn't over yet.

Several kilometers away, a whole different battle was starting. Having recovered from the doomsday explosion, Hikari and Kurumi found themselves outnumbered by Marine, Peace and Beat. All five of them were using the mermaid form, their scales and chest cloths matching their hair color.

Yayoi was the biggest danger of all underwater, electricity being her element. Both Marine and Beat realized this and were now quickly racing towards the surface. Powering up for a massive discharge of electricity, Yayoi needed time.

Instead of fleeing, Hikari took the offensive. "Trails of the East!" Firing seventeen beams of light after Marine and Beat, Hikari focused solely on energy attacks, knowing that they would last permanently. She couldn't give Kurumi a boost that way, but she knew her friend would be okay. "Southern Lights!" Unleashing a second volley of beams, numbering thirteen, Hikari didn't change her position at all. Both of the blue Cures were trying to outrun her attacks but that would ultimately prove futile. "Stars in the West!" She wanted to prove she wasn't just a pretty accessory to Honoka and Nagisa. She could very well take care of herself. The third volley consisted of only nine beams. Focusing and setting up the stage for her most powerful offensive ability, Hikari shot the fourth volley. "Northern Aurora!" With all four attacks being used, she had created a prison of light.

Erika and Ellen realized too late that Luminous wasn't missing. She hadn't aimed at them on purpose. A cage of light had formed around them, making them sitting ducks. Luckily for Erika, five minutes had not yet passed since she had copied from Yayoi. "Aegis!" She couldn't do the ultimate version, but it had to suffice.

"Decree of Eternal Light!" Hikari's words echoed through the water, giving Kurumi the signal she needed. The cage of light beams lit up and Luminous herself started to glow in a light so bright that it was impossible to even look in her general direction. Ellen, covering her eyes, unintentionally moved away from the cover. It was not so much her mistake as Marine's luck. The cage focused entirely on Beat, every single bar homing in on her, powerful enough to cut through a wall of steel. Her skin burned, Beat was completely unconscious. But the attack didn't end there. The energy beams that made up the cage returned to Luminous, enveloping her in an even more intense light than before. "Punishment of the Queen of Light!"

Protected behind the powerful Aegis, Erika couldn't see anything, despite trying really hard. She was consumed by the sea of light that could blind any and all. "Marine Explosion Tornado!" Unleashing blindly powerful blasts of energy, Erika couldn't tell if she was hitting anything or not. It was from one moment to another that she felt bathed in soothing light, all her worries melting away, happiness filling her mind. Her body relaxed, trying to strip away the stress she had felt during the battle. The next moment was the complete opposite of the relief. Pain that begged the question of whether it was even possible to endure that much without dying. Screaming out in pain, she fainted.

Yayoi, who had been escaping blindly, and Kurumi, who had tried to track Peace, equally blindly, were finally able to see again. Luminous, exhausted and out of breath. Using her strongest combo put an enormous strain on her. And considering she had lost consciousness once before due to the shock wave, she couldn't afford to pass out from exhaustion.

But she had no such choice. Yayoi had finally stored up enough energy to unleash what was her most powerful defense mechanism. "Reign of Thor, Supreme Lightning Punishment of the Fallen!" Shouting the activating phrase, Peace unleashed enough electricity to have powered a whole modern city for several days all around her. Luminous and Rose had no way to defend against an attack like that. Hikari, already weakened, was taken out within seconds of being hit. But Rose was different. Knowing that Hikari would suffer greatly from an attack like that, a fit of rage enabled her to ignore the enormous tissue damage the electricity was causing.

Grabbing Peace while taking damage from her attack, Kurumi wouldn't go down that easily. "A-A-da-da-ma-mant On-sl-slau-gh-ght!" Touching the emitter of the powerful electric current was like touching a lightning bolt itself. Ignoring the pain, Kurumi slammed her coated fists into Peace's face, stomach, chest, an endless powerful barrage that only stopped when the current stopped, when Peace had lost consciousness.

But the damage done to her was far greater than what her body could take. Seeing Hikari avenged, she was content retiring from the battle. Her eyes rolling back as the pain set in fully, Rose was out.

On the other end of the ocean, far enough away that none of the others would make it there even if they swam several minutes at top speed, were Honoka, Tsubomi, Komachi, Michiru and Karen. Michiru was the first to come to and find the other four still unconscious, recovering from being hit by the impossibly powerful attack. Being able to breathe underwater even without her mermaid form, Michiru quickly changed forms and checked who exactly was present.

Attacking someone that was still unconscious was meaningless. They would simply need longer to regenerate. Swimming over to where Honoka was, who she perceived as the biggest threat, Michiru was ready to take her out the second she woke up.

But being so focused on the white Cure, she didn't realize that Mint had recovered, ready to crush Bright. Watching the yellow Cure from the corner of her eyes, Komachi created a three layer barrier around Bright. What she wanted as not to crush her, as it would severely injure Honoka as well, but for Bright to break the barrier, suffering the backlash of her own attack. That had been her plan.

The blade that poked out of her throat spelled a different scenario out for her. "I'm sorry, Komachi." Pulling the blade out, Komachi felt blood rapidly gush out into the water, unable to speak. She wasn't angry with Karen. It had been her own carelessness that allowed the blue Cure to ambush her like that. Even when Aqua had talked to her, she had not noticed her presence at all.

"Bright!" Calling out to her teammate, Karen wanted to make she was okay. Honoka was a danger to both of them, with her energy attack homing and being persistent. "Watch out!" Disrupting Bright's concentration had been an error. Honoka had been conscious for a while, only waiting for a chance to prevent Bright from attacking her.

"Whitelight Chaser!" Creating six small, homing projectiles, Honoka forced Bright away from herself and assumed her mermaid form, her dark blue scales giving her camouflage, again, in the water. Losing track of the white Cure, Karen used her own powers to avoid being targeted. Becoming one with her surroundings, Bright was left on her own, quickly turning again and again, trying to catch a glimpse of her enemy.

"Sakura Crush!" With Honoka taking their attention, they had completely forgotten about the last member of the light team, Blossom. Having approached Bright at high speed, she hit the physically strong Cure with a powerful energy blast, causing damage from the inside. Quickly separating from her enemy, Tsubomi returned to a safe distance for now.

"Enough of your tricks!" Michiru was losing her patience. ""Star..." Screaming as loud as she could, she knew how dangerous it was to use that attack. Turning back into a human as her time limit was up, Michiru focused energy in the end point of all her four limbs. "...Buster!" Hammering the water around her with her fists and feet, Michiru created powerful currents extending away from herself.

Blossom didn't react fast enough to evade the attack. "Sakura Ashes!" Trying to counter the artificial current with her own power, Blossom realized too late how powerful the opposing force was. Taking her and dragging her down into the depths, Karen took the chance and aimed well.

"Aqua Impale!" Unlike Bright's currents, which were merely the effect of her enormously powerful physical movements, Karen fired eight finger thick beams of water down at Blossom, hitting several vital spots. The red stain that slowly rose from her body as she sank confirmed that it was only Honoka who was left now.

And Honoka wouldn't give up easily. Appearing before Michiru almost out of nowhere, utilizing a blind spot of her attack, she was in perfect range to finish off Kaoru's sister. "Whitelight Brutalize!" A single, unfocused but extremely powerful, short range burst of energy shredded through Bright's body, causing most of her vital functions to cease working.

And she had lost sight of Karen. There was no word powerful enough to describe at how much of a disadvantage she was against her, down in the water. Would surfacing be what Karen expected? Would that also be something the enemy expected her to do? Honoka's time limit was about up, so she decided to risk it. Swimming towards the surface, she ran straight into a trap. She had ascended no more than a handful of meters before several thin blades pierced her chest.

Seeing that the area still persisted, someone else had to be still fighting. Karen surfaced and tried to look around but the only thing of notice was the devastated island, still being ravaged by energy bursts and metal fragments, the surrounding area resembling a catastrophe zone.

The only other survivors could see the zone as well. Nao had never battled someone who could keep up with her speed that well and long. Her stamina was not infinite but she could see that Pine was nearing exhaustion as well. Being careful now would only create an opening for Pine to finish her off.

Both of them were traversing the water surface again, moving at speeds far beyond what any living being could achieve. Starting to change her vector, Nao bent the route, drawing in a circle around Pine, who was forced to take more narrow turns with every round. Breaking out would mean turning her back towards the green Cure, something she absolutely couldn't do.

Yet, there was a way to escape. Stopping and quickly breaking the surface, Inori used her mermaid form again to descend. But her yellow scales were much like an underwater flare for Nao. Jumping, diving into the water, she used the mermaid form as well, accelerating only further.

Inori had underestimated March. Caught in what shaped up to be a powerful maelstrom, she tried to break out, only to be repelled from the current. Looking around, she couldn't make out the exact position of her enemy. The green scale formed a solid line around her, indicating a speed she wouldn't be able to attain even with Diamond Flash. Rushing into the current, trying to take out March, would take her apart.

Trying to blend into it by starting to move in the same direction, Inori lost control of how fast she was going almost immediately. But she saw her. Passing by over eight times per second, she couldn't even start to guess how fast March was moving.

"Tempest Gale!" Nao poured the last of her energy into the execution of her final attack. The maelstrom had completely trapped Pine. With the activation of her ability, the current launched innumerable water blades at Inori.

It only took seconds of being exposed to the high density multi-attack before Inori lost the last of her stamina and endurance. Blood running from dozens of wounds all over her body, she finally admitted defeat.

=== Dissonance ===

"Take care of this for me, okay?" Leaving the girl, who nobody could even remember the name of and everyone simply called 'Glasses', with the work of the entire group, her so-called friend walked away, to the rest of the group. "Man, it's so easy to have 'Glasses' in our group."

"Who are you telling this? You just have to pretend to be her friend and then you can force all your work on her." Giggling, another girl flipped open her phone. "But seriously, isn't she like, really gross? She almost never talks and she's got, like, no friends whatsoever."

"Yeah, it's like, seriously gross. Who the hell would want to be friends with 'Glasses'?" Laughing, walking away, they mixed in with all the other students that were leaving. It was four in the afternoon and most university activities were over.

Not for her, though. Trying to fit all the papers into her handbag, her stomach growled and she felt a little weak. One of her 'friends' had taken her lunch, claiming to have forgotten their own. It was something that happened every other day. Somehow managing to fit five times her own workload into her bag, the introverted girl left the room, heading to the library.

There weren't many students left at that time of the day but of the few that were present, not a single one even noticed her. Looking for a free table, there was at least one student everywhere. Approaching one of them and asking if a seat was free was a completely impossible feat for her. Even if someone spoke to her first, she often wasn't able to give an answer.

Her bangs hanging into her face, the large glasses, few knew the gentle but meek face of the girl. Finally finding an empty table, the one that was the furthest in the back and rarely used due to the long way to the front, she sat down and started to work on the group project, all on her own. She didn't want the others to hate her, even if they only pretended to be her friends.

It was still better than how she had spent high school. Those three years of solitude had been very hard on her. She could count the times she had actually talked to someone on one hand. The teachers had ignored her completely. She was always left over when it came to pairing up and group work. Most of her classmates didn't even realize she was there.

Finishing the first of the papers, she looked at her wristwatch. It was five thirty. She still had work to do at home so she needed to hurry. She would probably have to skip dinner, to finish at least the stack of one of her 'friends'.

Working in silence, more and more people left until the outside was completely dark. "We're closing. Pack up." The librarian knew the girl but didn't particularly like her. Her face was hidden behind those glasses and her long hair and she never talked, it was more than just a little creepy.

Stuffing the papers away, she carried her heavy bag towards the front of the university. It would take her twenty minutes of walking to get back home. She came on foot after having her two bicycles 'borrowed' by friends who never spoke to her again after. Living alone, she had little in her apartment. Her parents were financially supporting her but she lived too far away to go and see them often. Reaching what she could call home, it was merely two rooms and a bath, she opened the door, flicked on the light and sat down at the low table in front of her bed, pouring out the papers again.

When she finally looked up again, a headache preventing her from going on, it was past midnight. Getting up and walking to the very back of her room, she looked after a few small potted flowers, the only thing in her life that gave her a little bit of joy.

Watering all three, she smiled just a little bit as she looked at them. Ever since middle school, that had been her sole source of joy. To take care of flowers and plants. Without a single friend all the way through middle and high school, now, in university, where she studied botany, there were at least people that talked to her. Even if all they ever did was use her.

Taking a brief bath and eating just a few rice balls that were left over from breakfast, she soon went to bed at one in the morning. She didn't enjoy sleeping. Whenever she was in bed, hearing the noises the neighbors made, she realized just how incredibly alone she was. It hurt, to not have a single real friend. To have nobody to talk to. It was often that she quietly cried herself to sleep, wishing that she had found just one person that would have been her friend. Maybe her youth would not have been an adventure in solitude then. But she had long given up on that, now.

She was twenty years old and had never managed to change who she was. With nobody reaching out to her because she herself would not reach out, she remained alone. Finally falling asleep, she had that one dream again. Of a world where she met people, where those people helped her change, helped her become a better person, one that had many friends and a happy life. How many times had she had that dream? It had started when her parents opened the flower shop. The neighbors were kind but their only child was much older than she and they never had any contact.

Her alarm rang and woke her up. It was five thirty in the morning. The early morning sun was shining lifeless and pale into the room. The forecast had said it would be cloudy all day. Wiping the salty traces of tears from her eyes, she knew that she had dreamed again of her student days. Those were her happiest memory in life. Even if she had only had pretend-friends, she at least had talked to people occasionally.

Getting up, she looked over to her desk as it was covered in papers and research. It had been fifteen years since she graduated from university and started to work as researcher in a lab. She still lived in a small apartment but in a different town. Research papers were covering the walls. Finally succeeding in putting on her glasses, she got up. Walking to the built-in kitchen, she did not even touch the fridge. A single cup of coffee constituted her breakfast now.

Taking the mug to her desk, she picked up where she had stopped the evening before. Searching a few papers she had misplaced, she finally found them near the window. Grabbing them, she paused for a moment. A single, withered white cyclamen was resting in an empty glass. Looking at it for a few seconds, her expression remained unchanged. She had long since lost the passion she had once had. As the years went on, solitude and isolation became normal but they took their toll on her. Gradually, her passion for flowers faded away, and only the drive to work and continue the research her father once did.

Sitting at her desk until ten thirty, she got dressed and left her apartment behind. The pay at the laboratory was not bad but she had never gotten a drivers license so she walked or rode a bicycle to her workplace. Arriving, she didn't need to prove her identity. Security and all co-workers knew her, even though none ever spoke. A year ago, she had become head researcher and the few words the director of the institute had said to her had been the only time that year, and the last time since then, that someone had directly talked to her in a way that was not asking for research papers or a report.

Getting to work at eleven, she would stay in her lab even during lunch break. Leaving at seven thirty, she rode her bicycle back to her home. It was an unchanging pattern. Wake, work, eat, leave, work, leave, eat, work and sleep.

There was no special person in her life. She had never dated, kissed or even embraced someone since she discovered romance. She had held feelings for others but she had never had the courage to tell any of them how she felt. Sometimes, she remembered her first love. The student councilor back at her middle school. She never saw him again after graduating.

Returning to her apartment, she sat down at her desk and looked at the papers. From time to time, she wondered how her life might have changed if she didn't end up as the shy, introverted transfer student. But memories like that were painful. Even those she counted among her happier ones were still painful.

Crossing her arms on the table and resting her head on them, she wished for nothing more than a single friend in her life. If only she had the power to go back in time and do things over. But she knew that it would not change anything. It wasn't in her power to change all on her own. If only someone... anyone... had held out a helping hand. But miracles didn't happen in reality. They were reserved for stories and tales.

Tears slowly ran down the cheek. How long had it been since it hurt so much to be alone? Falling asleep, tears continued to fall until her eyes were dry and she could no longer cry.

A cold winter sun woke her. She could just see the gray sky of Tokyo beyond the large windows and the stack of thick books. Her back ached and her eyes had trouble telling what numbers the clock were displaying, even with her thick glasses. Noticing she had fallen asleep while reading an article about herself, she looked at the news line. 'Breakthrough in creation of starch from cellulose. Professor Hanasaki improves food situation for billions.' Her life's work.

Fifty years had passed since she graduated from university. She had become an international resource in botany. Reporters asked for interviews daily, but she had not the energy or interest to talk to anyone. She was old. She was nearing her seventy-third birthday. Her parents had died a few years before her research had finally bore fruit. She had no other living relatives or friends. Colleagues in the same field were jealous of her success and she was shunned as hermit and anti-social. It had been weeks since she last spoke.

Retired and living off the money she made from the patent, there was no purpose in her life anymore. Her research had kept her going for fifty years. But what had it all been for? When her parents died, she finally realized that there would be no one to attend **her** burial. She was alone. Bitterly and utterly alone, just as she had been her entire life.

Standing at her desk and watching the gray sky, she felt nothing at all. Loneliness and solitude had eaten away at her heart until she was no more than a machine, researching because it was her only purpose.

Lately, she had started to have weird dreams. A short girl with blue hair was sitting next to her bed just as she was dying. "Are you sleeping?" The girl always asks. Her face was bright with enthusiasm, something she herself had not felt for over half a century, and she energetically whipped back and forth on the chair.

"Not yet." She answers. Her body feels heavy and she can't move much anymore.

"I can't tell! Your eyes were hidden behind those big glasses!" Reaching out, the girl takes her glasses away. She has trouble seeing the girl's face without them, so she asks to have them back. The girl becomes silent, and usually, she stays silent until she wakes up again.

But last night, the dream had continued. "What is your name?" The short girl asks with a bright smile.

"Hanasaki. Professor Hansaki." She could not remember the last time someone had asked her for her name. Had it been years? Maybe a decade even? Her sense of time had long since stopped working properly.

"Your first name is Professor? That's a very odd name." Laughing, the girl turns around on the chair and looks at the window. "It's almost dark. I'll go home soon."

"Tsubomi." She says, her voice crackling a little bit.

"What's a Tsubomi?" Facing the old woman again, the young girl curiously asks.

"My first name. It's been so long... that someone called me that. Could you...?"

"Tsubomi." The blue haired girl grins and repeats her name a few times. Each time, the old woman feels like a nail is driven through her heart. Decades of solitude and loneliness rushed out of the stone that her heart had become. But the time of being able to cry had passed. Seeing the last rays of sun pass through the window, she watched the short girl stand up and stand next to her bed. "My friends are calling for me." And just as she reached out to the girl, desperate for her not to go, the blue girl smiled one last time. "Goodbye, Tsubomi." Just as the last ray of the sun vanished and the room grew dark, the girl was gone without a trace.

Even now, she was still alone. And knowing that she would always be alone, solitude finished what it had started and her heart broke from loneliness. At the age of seventy-two, Hanasaki Tsubomi died, alone and isolated, from a broken heart.

=== Dissonance ===

"This is most unfortunate." Reika was a little irritated that the battle had been lost. Unable to pick up a fork, her arms so sore that moving them even a little hurt quite a bit, Reika created a miniature dagger that pierced a piece of the fresh bread Bloom had prepared, and levitated it to bite it off her weapon.

"You can go to the circus with that." Urara was impressed, not by the act, but by the way everyone was beaten to a pulp. True, Nozomi and Moonlight had not been there, but with Komachi, White, Beauty, Luminous and Kurumi, there should have been some serious one-sided carnage. "So what the hell happened?"

"We lost. Can't you see that?" Honoka was not exactly in the best of moods after the fiasco that had been the aftermath of that catastrophe mid-battle. She hadn't expected their extinction cannon to go wild like that. She still hurt all over the place from the part that came back, reflected by whatever the dark team did. "I had no idea that attack could be reflected. Rose, have you ever run into an issue like that?"

"No. Even Komachi's shield only return the damage, not the actual attack." Kurumi was hurting all over twice as bad as White. She had skin irritations and scratches all over the place while her hair refused to stay down. Thankfully, Hikari had lent her some hair ties and took care of disinfecting her scratches. "It stings!" Twitching, Kurumi quickly shook her head. "I'm fine, Hikari." She didn't even need to look to know that her friend was making a worried face whenever she twitched.

"I never thought I would meet someone who could outrun me, even with my Diamond Flash." Inori was half resting on the table, her legs absolutely killing her. "I think I got enough exercise to run fifty marathons. Or through all of Japan."

"Kurumi, look at me. I need to take care of the scratches in your face." Laying one hand on Rose's face, Hikari gently forced Kurumi to look at her. Holding perfectly still, Kurumi endured for a little longer.

"We won twice in a row. This was bound to happen eventually." Love rubbed the back of her head. Setsuna wasn't an easy opponent by any means. Her balanced tech set really made it difficult to get an advantage no matter what specialty one had. "Setsu looked so cute as mermaid..." Swooning a bit over the mental image, Love absolutely didn't regret participating.

Despite what had caused her to lose, Reika wasn't mad at her partner. It had been a fair battle and considering what she had done to Sunshine, it would've been surprising if nobody had sought revenge for it. "Komachi, would you mind passing me the butter?" It wasn't a warm dinner, since both Kurumi and Hikari had been in the battle, but it was more than sufficient for Reika.

"Of course." Putting the butter in front of the blue Cure, Komachi watched with slight astonishment as Reika controlled the dagger well enough to put butter on the bread and her plate was still much less messy than most of the others. "Honoka, I feel bad for Tsubomi... don't you think it is somewhat our fault that she ended up as the exile?"

"Blossom isn't stupid, she knew what she was agreeing to. Without her, we would have failed halfway into our plan. To be honest, she was an key element that allowed us to... blast the island to bits." Honoka had done volatile experiments before but nothing that caused fallout on that scale. Hearing from Inori about the level of carnage, she was quite sure to not try that again. "Of course I don't like her being in the exile, but that's the same for everyone. Nobody wants anyone to be in the exile."

"How much did you make? I heard the bonus rules were ridiculous this time." Urara was worried that she would have to really work her ass off to stay in one of the top rooms. She didn't mind kicking someone's ass in the battles, but it wasn't like she was some super powered terminator like Moonlight or Kurumi.

"I think everyone made at least over two-hundred." Honoka didn't really want to put everyone on the spot. It would only kindle fear of who almost became the exile instead of Tsubomi.

"Over three-hundred for me." Kurumi knew exactly why she had such a high score. The massive extinction cannon they had designed to wipe out one or both lives of the entire dark team in one massive blast. Instead, the island had been wiped out and basically everyone near the blast had lost a life.

"Sounds like we're getting a lot more than we spend." Urara was hoping that the massive gains would prompt the others to share some of their coins with the team and get a nice room, like a pool. She had heard about it from Ako while the others had battled.

"We haven't really explored the best options yet. A lot of the more extreme Dive and War options provide a significant bonus. We didn't have any terrain bonus this time either." Honoka finally felt hungry enough to eat, cutting a piece of french bread in half and putting some cheese on it.

"I am so getting a TV and blu-ray-player when I get money to blast." Urara hoped Ako was weak to horror movies. That would provide some excellent pretext to get her in bed.

"You don't know if the system will allow you that. And how will you power it? There aren't exactly electricity sockets in the walls here." Komachi wasn't too fond of TV. A good movie with Karen, however, did seem tempting.

"Before I blow my money on something like that, I'm going to get a decent wardrobe from Marine." Honoka really wanted to wear something that wasn't her Cure outfit for a change. "Come to think of it, where are Miki and Yuri?"

"Probably out fucking somewhere." Urara's explanation didn't impress anyone at the table. Kurumi glared at her from the distance. "What? Did I land in the Club 'O Prude or something?" Getting up and starting to walk away, Urara yawned. She would have killed someone to be able to make out with Ako right now. She was bored out of her mind. "Speak of the devil. Ask her yourself." Walking past Yuri and Miki, both of them coming into the room side by side, Urara planned to just go to sleep.

"I can tell what the result was just by looking at your face. Should we have participated?" Sitting down next to Honoka, Yuri watched Miki bend over her and snatch a piece of bread before leaning on the chair she was sitting on.

Letting out a sigh, Honoka lowered her head. "We had enough volunteers. And to be honest, I don't think it would have made a major difference. I didn't expect Karen to be so dangerous in the water. Peace was there as well and... I assume it was something she did that messed up our main plan."

Miki bent over Yuri again, her breasts pushing against Yuri's head, to snatch a second piece of bread. "This is great. Who made these?"

"I did!" Waving to Miki, Saki had been quietly listening to the situation while enjoying the sight of people eating her bread. "I'm happy you like it."

"Yuri, Miki, have either of you seen Nozomi?" Komachi was worried that she still hadn't shown up.

"Dream?" Speaking with her mouth full, Miki was glared at by Yuri and let her partner finish the explanation instead.

Turning to Komachi, Yuri pinched Miki's leg while she was at it. "She was here earlier, with Happy. They looked both really worn out and Happy seemed a bit down. They ate and then left again, together." Yuri didn't know either of them well enough to judge whether there was anything going on between them.

"Nozomi must be taking care of her." Komachi was relieved that she was fine. Exhausted or not, Nozomi helping someone was a great sign of her being really part of the team now.

"Or maybe she has taken an interest in Happy." Love grinned, looking to Komachi. "She is not my type, but there is no denying that Happy is very cute. I wouldn't blame Dream if she fell for her."

=== Dissonance ===

"Thanks a lot for taking care of this, Hibiki." Floating in the pool, Erika watched Hibiki turn some of the meat on the grill the blue Cure had sponsored in celebration of winning the match. The entire team was very much delighted, both by how much they had personally gained and that the team had won. Rin had taken the liberty to facilitate torches and placed them everywhere, giving the pool a great outdoor feeling. Kanade had prepared a lot of salad on Rin's cue, working together with Hibiki at times even.

"Second batch done!" Shouting, Hibiki watched Sunny slowly swim over, a dish balanced on her head, sporting a flashy red bikini. "At least come out of the water." Hibiki laughed, taking the dish from Sunny's head and putting a nicely done piece of beef on it. "Anyone prefer sausages over beef?"

"Give me two each, Hibiki." Ellen was carrying two dishes, one for herself, one for Setsuna. "I still feel all sore from the battle. And my ears ring a little when I jump."

"You guys did great. Here, two each. Tell Passion bon appetite." Turning back to the grill, Hibiki adjusted the leather apron Erika had sponsored, made from leftovers. She had already half a dozen sauce stains on it.

Suddenly being embraced from behind, Hibiki knew exactly who it was. She recognized the way Itsuki's hair smelled when it was wet. "Are you okay, without a towel?"

"The grill is pretty hot and Rouge did a great job warming the place up. And you're so hot, I could probably smelt iron right now." Gently biting Hibiki's ear, Itsuki twitched slightly when she moved in a bad way. After Beauty had turned her into Swiss cheese, she had woken up feeling all sorts of sore.

"You're such a flirt, Itsuki." Erika was still floating along the pool, the grill standing right by the water and a few torches, so everyone could get there from either the pool or normally. The labyrinth had become very much dark by now, but that didn't bother anyone. The torches provided enough light to find the way and eat and also left just enough dark to be more than just friendly with a partner. Nao was still exhausted from her battle, resting her legs by hanging them into the water. Akane had taken it upon herself to spoil Nao after swimming through the pool again, balancing the dish on her head.

"Say aaah!" Picking up a piece of beef with a fork Nao had kept, Akane tried to feed her partner. Without much of a fight, Nao gave in and let herself be fed. "Were you okay in the battle?"

Chewing and enjoying the taste, Nao blushed a little. "I was fine." Grabbing her partner's arm, making sure she didn't drop the dish, Nao kissed her quickly. "It's good to have you with me."

"Missed me, didn't ya?" Feeding Nao again, Akane moved closer to her, enjoying the body warmth of her partner.

Back at the grill, Hibiki was trying to shake off Itsuki. "I can't turn the meat like this."

Holding on to her partner, Itsuki tugged on her bikini. "One more minute."

"Need a hand, Hibiki?" Erika floated by, offering help. "I'll cool her passion right away."

Trying to turn and taking Itsuki's hand off her butt, Hibiki didn't like being bothered when she was doing work. "If she doesn't want to deal with a horde of hungry Cures that will only get charcoal, she'll let go."

Reacting to the threat, Itsuki finally let go and walked past the grill, sliding into the water but staying near Hibiki. "I can see your-" She couldn't finish what she was saying before Erika jumped on her back and pushed her down.

Sitting a little sideways from the grill were Rin, Kanade, Ako, Karen and Yayoi, watching and working on emptying the salad bar. Karen in particular was very much thankful for having an alternative to meat. She didn't like to eat heavy in the evening. Kanade was cutting some tomatoes since that salad had been completely eaten already. Yayoi was leaned against a large heated rock, sound asleep. "She actually looks peaceful when she's asleep."

"I'm thankful you never picked up comedy, Rin." Karen could not even groan at the obvious pun. "I'm not surprised she is asleep already. The battle was really hard and I heard that she took out Kurumi and Luminous in the end."

"You know, I bet Urara is pissed that she missed out on the money. I'm a bit annoyed, too." After hearing just how much some of the others had made, Rin felt like she had missed out.

"Wouldn't surprise me if she tried to guile someone into spending it on a room or something she wants." Ako was eating half a piece of beef, Kanade's leftovers. "She's not really a bad person deep down but there are a dozen iron walls all around it."

"I'm thankful you're with her. Urara changed in the last few weeks, for the better." Karen put down her dish and tableware. "She was, even all things considered, a bad person when we got here." Noticing that Rin was giving her a certain look, she leaned backwards and whispered. "What?"

Leering at Kanade, who was completely in her element preparing food, Rin was happy that she was steadily improving. "Don't bring up that Urara and I used to be... friends with benefits. Kanade knows, and so does Muse, probably, but I don't want to ruin the atmosphere."

"I agree." Returning to her seat, Karen grinned at Rin. "No, I don't mind if you go and get yourself something from the grill. I dislike heavy eating, not meat." A simple white lie so the others wouldn't suspect a thing. And she would be able to talk to Muse without Rin overhearing for a moment.

Leaving, and taking Kanade with her while she was at it, Rin didn't mind letting Karen ask Muse a few personal questions.

"There is something I want to ask you." Karen thought about it for a moment. "Or rather, ask of you."

Looking at Karen, Ako emptied her dish and put it down."I'm listening. I'm not sure why you made Rouge leave for this, though. I'm well aware that Urara and she used to be together in a way. It doesn't bother me." Ako knew that it was naive to expect that a woman like Urara had been living a celibate life so far.

"Urara used to be a kind person. I'd like you to try and bring out whatever is left of that. Rin, Komachi, Nozomi, Kurumi and I... we all used to be friends. Most of us are friends, thanks to this place, but Urara is still not a part of that, and while I think she has become more like her old self thanks to you, she likely needs a push in the right direction." Karen wanted things to be at least somewhat like five years ago. With all six of them being friends. Not just five of them.

Ako hadn't known that Urara's old team was caring so much about her. It was quite unexpected. "I'm actually happy to hear that you still want to be her friend. Urara really needs people that care about her. I'll see what I can do, but if I were you, I wouldn't hope for a civil and harmless Urara. I believe she just feels too comfortable the way she is now to abandon that entirely."

Karen smiled and watched Rhythm jump up and down next to Rin while Melody was laughing so hard she was bent over. "Nobody wants that. Urara is Urara, no matter what she acts like. But I still want her to be our friend."

Back at the grill, Kanade refused to even look at Rin anymore. Standing there with her arms crossed, eyes closed and nose in the air, it was quite the sight. "Oh come on, Kanade, I remember you making carrot salad and Ellen simply kept handing you way too many carrots and you made them all! I'll never forget that mountain of orange scraps!" Hibiki was still laughing, and now that she had told the quick story, Erika and Itsuki were laughing as well.

"You left out who ate the whole thing. Alone. In one day." Kanade faced Hibiki and pointed at her stomach. "You house a black hole in there, don't you!"

"Says the girl who kept making so many cup cakes that they could be used to supply an entire African country!" Hibiki was now pointing at Kanade with her spatula.

"And who ate all those cup cakes? So many of them that no matter how many I made, it was not enough?!" Kanade leaned forward and pointed at Hibiki.

"I'm doing a lot of sport! I'm a growing girl!" Pointing back, Hibiki realized she had forgotten about the grill and quickly took care of it.

"Growing in all directions, I may add." Itsuki raised her finger. "If only all those fats would go to her chest instead."

The roaring laughter that came from Erika, Kanade and Rin at the same time made Hibiki's head almost turn more red than the raw meat in the box next to the grill. "**Itsuki**!" Shouting and throwing a piece of unlit coal after her partner, the yellow Cure dodged by diving.

Not too far from the girl, opposite to where Karen and Ako were, was Ellen, taking care of Setsuna, the latter was much enjoying being spoiled for a change. "It's so sweet of you to get my share as well." Taking a bite from the bread she had brought, Ellen wanted to do something else for her. The laughter and noise of many conversations all around the pool made for a great atmosphere but something was missing.

Getting up and turning into a Cure for just a moment, Ellen summoned her guitar, sitting down next to her partner. Starting to play a soothing and simple melody, Setsuna rested her head against Ellen's shoulder, taking great care to not make it difficult to play.

Ellen could play a melody that simple with closed eyes and so she did. Resting her head against Setsuna's, she felt extremely comfortable. Noticing footsteps coming closer and opening her eyes, she saw Bright, who was carrying a dish and sat down on one of the heated rocks nearby, quietly listening.

Starting to hum with the melody after a little while, Setsuna moved in closer, enjoying both Ellen's voice and play. It took a few more minutes until the audience grew. Nao and Akane, holding hands and walking very slowly, sat down not too far from Bright.

Snuggling up to each other, their backs against a large heated rock, they closed their eyes, listening to Beat play, their hands tightly holding together. There was something about just sitting there, listening to the simple tune and humming, that made them feel incredibly at peace.

It didn't take long before her audience grew again. Nagisa, after eating her fill and swimming for a bit, had come as well and sat with Michiru. And she wasn't the only one that had joined. Ako had brought Karen with her, the latter carrying Yayoi. Putting her down at one of the heated rocks, both she and Ako sat down, both of them appreciating the tranquil atmosphere that Beat was creating. Just listening to it seemed to clear away their exhaustion.

Back at the grill, Hibiki was just putting out the fire. The last few pieces of meat and sausages had been taken care off. The leftovers from the box could be used in next day's dinner. "I never realized how good Ellen had gotten." Hibiki just stood there, listening to the melody with all her heart, happy that she was there.

"I didn't either..." Kanade did the same, but standing a few meters away from Hibiki, leaned against a large rock, Rin a little distance away, with Itsuki. Taking a cue from the mood, both of them didn't want their partners to suffer anymore because of what happened between them. Rin still didn't like Melody or Sunshine very much, but she was in love with Kanade and wanted her to make up with a friend.

Leaving, slowly moving towards what had now become a ring of people listening to the blue Cure, Itsuki appreciated that Rouge was trying to help. "Thanks." Speaking softly, so that nobody but Rin could hear her, Itsuki felt grateful.

Looking at Itsuki, Rin smirked for a moment. "Kanade is important to me. Just like Melody is to you."

Being left alone, listening to the music next to the now cold grill, Hibiki and Kanade realized only that they were without their partners when a loud splash from the pool tore them from their tranquil state. Looking around, Hibiki didn't see her love anywhere. Thinking she might have gone to where the music was coming from, Hibiki turned around and was about to leave when Kanade grabbed her hand. "Kanade?"

"I'm trying, Hibiki... I'm trying to be a better person. So please... don't hate me." Kanade's voice was shaking just a little bit. She was trying very hard not to be pushy or demanding.

Hibiki could tell. The shaking of her hand, her voice, the desperate undertone of her words. Kanade wasn't just sorry. She was feeling real remorse. And it made her angry.

Why couldn't she forgive her already? Why did she feel like it would only end in another catastrophe if she trusted her again? Where was that silly mistrust coming from? Was she really that petty? Did she really have to hold on to a grudge like that? Did she really want to cut Kanade from being a part of her life permanently?

"I..." Hibiki glanced towards the girl she had seen as her best friend in the world for a long time, and even as her lover for a short while. She could see that the way she looked at her now was different than two weeks ago. The jealous glint was no longer there. "...I don't hate you." Forcing her hand out of Kanade's Hibiki turned her back to her. "It hurt a lot when you accused me, when you acted like I'm just something you own. I know you're sorry. I want to forgive you. But I can't. Not yet. Just give... give me some time, Kanade." Taking one step away from her former best friend, Hibiki felt like she would cry if she left Kanade all alone now. "What are you doing?"

Kanade, who had tears in her eyes, looked up. "What?"

"Everyone else is already with Ellen. Let's go." Only looking at her briefly, Hibiki could feel how happy Kanade was. Because she was, too.

=== Dissonance ===

All the others had gone to their rooms after Beat finished playing. Nobody had said much. Those who were with their partner walked arm in arm. The others seemed simply tranquil. She had stayed behind to take one last swim before going to sleep.

Nagisa liked swimming, even though she would never make a hobby out of it. Deciding to do one more round, she couldn't remember when she last enjoyed an evening like the one that had just come to an end. If Honoka had been there, it would've been even better.

A sudden loud splash at the back demanded her attention. She suspected that someone else had come back and do a little swimming. "Hello?" No answer, not even after she had waited a full minute, just floating on a spot. It was a little spooky. Had a rock fallen? That was quite likely, the labyrinth was probably going to reset itself soon.

Putting it off as a rock falling, Nagisa turned around and dove one last time. She almost screamed out underwater. In the dark, right before her, was Mai. But she could tell that there was something seriously wrong. She was completely naked but in Cure form, her hair an utter mess and blood was running from her wrists. Before she could react to the sudden appearance of Saki's partner, she was grabbed. The force of Mai's grip crushed the bone in her arm right away.

Trying to turn into a Cure, Nagisa found out that she couldn't, for some reason. Trying to scream for help wouldn't work because she was underwater. Trying to wrestle free, she was punched hard into the stomach, but not hard enough to make her spit out blood or pass out.

"Nobody will come." Mai's voice rang in Nagisa's ears despite being underwater. How was she talking? She didn't think Mai could do any kind of telepathy. "Nobody will help you."

Letting go of Nagisa's arm only to grab her throat with both hands, Mai's eyes opened wide, a sinister smirk on her face. "Azure Collar." Nagisa could feel the energy around her neck. "Scream and it will cut off your head, my love."

What was she saying? Did she mistake her for Saki again? But then again, she would never purposefully hurt Saki. Nagisa could feel fear rising up inside her. There was something incredibly wrong going on with Mai but she couldn't make sense what.

"You're... mine... my love... my love... mine... Nagisa..." Grabbing her again and throwing her up, out of the water, Nagisa hit the ground hard. She didn't doubt Mai's abilities in energy manipulation. If she screamed, the collar would cut off her head for sure. Trying to get up and run, she only got to the stage of getting up before being pushed down on the ground.

Laying on her beck, she felt energy cut her slightly. Mai had shredded her swimsuit. "Remember... last night... we had... so much fun... Nagisa." Her grin was scaring the living daylights out of Nagisa. "I'll.. make you remember... with your body..."

Sitting down on Nagisa, Mai immediately started moving, rubbing her crotch against Nagisa's. Groping her breasts without any consideration for how Nagisa felt, Mai started moaning in a loud voice just before bending over and drooling on Nagisa's face. "I'll make you feel really good." The black Cure had no choice but to watch in horrified silence as Mai was raping her.

=== End of Event XXV ===


	26. Love Infection

**Dissonance**

_Event XXVI_

**Love Infection**

Her head hurt. She couldn't quite make out where she was because her eyes refused to work properly and that wasn't all. Something heavy was making it slightly difficult to breathe, something was tickling her nose, likely waking her up in the first place. Feeling around, she realized what tickled her was a lot of long hair. Moving further down, she felt something soft and she recognized that feeling.

It was just Mai. Finally seeing something in the dark, she was able to make out the outline of her own room. The uncomfortable bed was made bearable by Mai being there with her. Laying her arm around her love, she pulled her in closer, briefly smelling Mai's hair, something that soothed her.

But she had moved around too much. Mai was waking up, unable to see anything and only half awake. "Nagisa? What are you doing?" Rubbing her cheek against Nagisa's shoulder, Mai closed her eyes again. "It's the middle of the night."

"Sorry. I just woke up and couldn't resist. You always smell nice after a shower, so I just..." Smirking, Nagisa quickly kissed the other cheek of her partner. "Go back to sleep."

"You too." About to slip away, Mai briefly remembered something. "I had a bad dream just now... can I talk to you about it?"

"Have I ever said no to that?" Caressing Mai's cheek and kissing her lips, Nagisa recalled that she dreamed of something unpleasant as well. But she didn't want to burden Mai with it. Bad dreams happened occasionally when eating heavy before sleeping.

"I was... in this room. And when I woke up, you were gone. When I wanted to go and look for you, I was suddenly assaulted by Saki... that way." Taking Nagisa's hand, Mai felt a little bit uncomfortable telling her partner about it.

Nagisa smiled softly, moving a few strands of Mai's hair out of her face. "She would never do that. You know how loyal she is to Honoka. Your dream must be because of... that one time after the party." Something Nagisa wasn't proud of at all. She had ended up sleeping with Honoka, betraying her long time partner.

Clinging to Nagisa a little more, Mai turned slightly, kissing her partner. "You're right. Let's go to sleep, I want us two to be in the battle tomorrow."

Nagisa laughed as quietly as she could. "As your highness commands."

Hitting Nagisa's shoulder gently, Mai pouted for a second before trying to go back to sleep. "Geez, you!"

Both of them didn't realize that someone had observed their conversation. Nao and Akane, just barely fitting into the same bed, just like Nagisa and Mai, had coincidentally been awake and witnessed something they thought was the single most odd thing they had seen since coming to the prison.

_Noticing a sound, Nao put her hand on Akane's mouth."Akane, stop!" Listening again, stopping Akane from continuing, she hadn't imagined it. Looking at the door, she saw Black and Egret walk in, both of them supporting each other. That alone wasn't too odd, but what happened afterward certainly was. Just short of going to their own beds, Black laid down and Egret with her._

"_They're a couple?" Akane was completely confused. "Are they cheating on their partners?"_

_Nao slowly shook her head, covering her mouth and whispering as quietly as she could. "I... can't imagine that. But it looks like it."_

_Only a few seconds passed before Black woke up after laying down._

Akane had lost all desire to go on making out with Nao now. The way they had talked made them seem crazy. It was freaking her out a little. "What is going on with those two?"

Nao shook her head. "I don't know. But at least for now, we didn't see or hear anything." Turning over slowly and embracing Akane, Nao was quite happy she didn't have to sleep alone that night. She felt a little scared of Black and Egret. "Don't leave tonight."

Akane returned the embrace and kept Nao close. "Wasn't my intention."

Neither of them slept well that night.

=== Dissonance ===

Being cold and out in the dark that late at night had not been on Miki's wish list but Yuri knew how to drive a bargain. Letting Miki stay with her for the night, they would get Tsubomi when she returned from exile, putting her to rest in Miki's bed, assuming she wouldn't be able to open her own room.

Sitting side by side, wrapped in the blanket of Yuri's bed to work against the cold, Miki warmed the silver Cure by hugging her tightly. "If I ever end up out there, are you going to wait for me, too?" Miki knew Yuri would, but she still wanted to hear her say it.

Yuri could see a mile away what Miki was hoping for and she wasn't as cruel as to deny her that little thing. "What kind of partner wouldn't?" Taking Miki's hand under the blanket, Yuri sighed. "It should be about time for-" She paused when a sphere of light appeared in front of the battle gate. It was so bright, the two Cures that had waited in the dark couldn't see anything for a few seconds. As the light vanished, Yuri could make out Tsubomi, who was just sitting there, eyes open, her expression like stone.

Getting up, taking the blanket and walking over to Tsubomi, Yuri was worried just what kind of effect the exile might have had on her. What happened next surprised Yuri. Tsubomi stood up on her own, patted some dust off her costume, saw Yuri and Miki, lowered her head to hide her face and walked straight past the two, as if they didn't even exist.

"Tsubomi, wait." Yuri grabbed the pink Cure's hand. When the girl turned around, Yuri could not even see her face because Tsubomi was staring at the ground.

"Can... I help you?" The way she spoke reminded Yuri of the past. She had heard from Erika that Tsubomi used to be an extremely timid and shy person. Had the exile forced her to revert back to that? Having no answer for her friend, Yuri just stood there, baffled, unsure what to do. "Can I... go?"

"Tsubomi, don't you remember me?" Yuri wasn't sure what she should do. There was clearly a lingering effect of the exile and from the looks of it, it was quite powerful, too.

"I'm sorry but... I don't think we have met before. I'm really sorry!" Bowing deeply, Tsubomi slowly backed off, unable to even look at the tall girl that somehow knew her name.

Walking up to Yuri, Miki watched the pink Cure turn heel and run away, only to trip after a few meters. "Did she lose her memories? At least she isn't a total wreck or going on a rampage, like Setsuna."

Yuri felt depressed, seeing Tsubomi like that. "If this doesn't fix itself, I'm going to ask Erika and Itsuki to come over." It wasn't going to be easy to ask Erika for a favor, especially not since she had decided to leave Momoka. "I'm worried about her..."

"That may be, but we should go back to your room. Standing around in the cold and guessing what is wrong with her isn't going to make her better. Sleep, get a good rest and tomorrow we'll see if she is still like that." Miki wasn't cold-hearted and she did feel sorry for Blossom, but what she said was true. Taking Yuri by her hand, Miki slowly pulled her away.

=== Dissonance ===

Miyuki woke up with goosebumps. Someone was touching her butt. Her memory was a little fuzzy, but she immediately recognized whose hand it was on her butt. Because she recognized the leg that was sprawled over her chest. She was in Nozomi's bed and her friend was sprawled out in one of the most awkward positions she could imagine. Trying to get out from under her, Miyuki only made things harder on herself.

Suddenly turning and grabbing Miyuki's waist, Nozomi started to grin and drool. "You were so cool back there, Coco..." Dirty giggling to herself, she had quite the hold on Miyuki. The younger Cure trying to push her friend away wasn't met by much success. Nozomi was in her Cure form and quite strongly holding on to her.

Pulling her cheeks, in an attempt to wake her up, had no result whatsoever. "Nozomi!" Shouting into her ear, only made the pink Cure blush. "Wake up!"

Finally letting go and rolling over, Nozomi grabbed the pillow. "Only one more hour..."

Miyuki was amazed how someone so strong and energetic could be such a sleepyhead. Getting out of the bed before Nozomi could grab her again, Miyuki felt like she had just escaped the clutches of staying in that bed for another few hours.

She was incredibly thankful to Nozomi for taking care of her despite the horrific sleeping situation. The time between getting out of exile and the late afternoon of the day before were a massive blur but she didn't even want to remember. That she could recall what the exile had made her believe was bad enough all on it's own.

Trying to leave posed a new problem. She couldn't get the door open. It was one of the mechanisms that prevented others from coming and going as they pleased. Looking back at Nozomi, who had by now halfway rolled out of bed, her head hanging over the edge. Just as she thought dropping her out of bed would be enough, Nozomi started to kiss the air.

Getting her coin bag, Miyuki wished for a thick story book, so she could pass the time. Leaning against the foot end of the bed, she sat down on the ground and started reading, laughing out loud when Nozomi suddenly burst out "I'm not fat, Coco!"

In the room right above them, Urara just woke up, pulling herself out of bed, trying to ignore her horrible bed hair. Noticing that Kurumi was still asleep, she remembered their argument from the day before. It was time to pay her back. She already knew just how. With a sinister smile, Urara summoned her coin bag, not shying away of using a bit of money for this.

Grabbing her own comb and leaving the room, Urara couldn't wait to see the result of her payback. Going into the bathroom, she was going to take a shower before going anywhere. Seeing Beauty leave her room just as she headed into the bath, Urara briefly wondered what the blue Cure looked like normally. The vocalist doubted that the cool beauty would be as hot as Ako through. Cringing at her own pun, she went for a shower.

Reika, at the same time, headed downstairs, seeing Honoka just pass around the corner. Taking a few stairs at once, she caught up. "Good morning. Did you sleep well?" One look at Honoka's face answered that question. "My, you look very exhausted. Did you not sleep at all?"

Exhaling like she was trying to breathe out smoke, Honoka's expression got even worse. "Whenever I fall asleep, I have the same stupid dream. And five minutes later, I'm wide awake, again." She really needed to have Nagisa back. It was starting to negatively affect her day to day life now. And it wasn't really the lack of sex. It was just having Nagisa not by her side.

Honoka noticed that Reika was showing no signs of stress at all. "Are you fine without March?" She was a little jealous if that was the case.

Reika smiled a little. "Of course not." Looking up at the ceiling, Reika considered telling Honoka that the fact she was unable to be with Nao for weeks at a time in some cases had almost made her quit her work as vigilante several times. "I miss her a lot. But it isn't the right path to become all depressed over it since I made the decision myself."

"I understand what you mean." Honoka yawned loudly, the black rings under her eyes giving her a scary look. "I've been with Nagisa for so many years now, I can't imagine a life without her." Sighing, Honoka wanted a coffee strong enough to dissolve her tiredness. "And I didn't expect being away from Nagisa would affect me so badly."

"You should attempt to switch teams in that case." Reika felt that she would only complicate things if she switched teams to be with Nao right after Akane did so. "I believe it highly likely that today's race will have a high level of competition."

"And then it ends with Nagisa and me switching teams, just like Saki and Mai did. I'll talk to her before I sign up, in any case." Both of them heading towards the kitchen, they spotted a group of three. Peach, Pine and Berry. Reika had known about Yuri letting Miki stay in the room, and against all her expectations, Miki had behaved herself. Or they simply had managed to be extremely quiet, as Reika had a very light sleep.

"You spent the night with Moonlight? How did it go?" Love was all sorts of curious about how Miki's, as far as she knew, first serious relationship was progressing.

"I would be in pieces if I hadn't kept my hands to myself. But I must say... it's really nice to spoon with Yuri." Blushing just a tiny bit, Miki earned a small applause from her friends. "What about you, Love? Aren't you going to try and get on the other team? Setsuna hasn't been in any races."

"I was thinking of trying the race today. I really want to see those two again." Looking at Inori, Love was already aware of the fact that she had spent most of yesterday with Windy. She just couldn't entirely make sense of it yet. Windy was too much of an oddity.

Miki grinned. "It's been a while and I still have trouble thinking of Beat as part of you two. But if there is anyone who can work this out, it's you."

"Ellen is incredibly nice and caring. She can be a bit of a klutz, too, though." Passing around the corner and heading into the kitchen, they were early. Nobody else was there, and no breakfast had been made. "I should have slept in." Love stretched, thinking the empty dining room was a little bit bleak.

"Meet back here in an hour?" Miki wanted to go and wake up Yuri in case she was still sleeping. Seeing Blossom like that late at night had kept her awake, apparently.

Inori wondered if Kaoru had woken up yet. "I'm fine with that. I think I'll just grab a book and wait here, though. I'm still a bit sore." The last evening with Kaoru had been interesting but at the same time not very productive. It wasn't often that she didn't know how to continue with something.

"Then..." Love turned around, "I'll go shower. Maybe take a nap, too." Walking back the way she had come, Reika greeted her with a smile while Honoka just continued to head towards the kitchen. All of them separating, Reika greeted both Miki and Inori with the same smile before following Honoka. She tried to avoid coffee whenever she wasn't working. She much preferred tea.

Entering the kitchen, Honoka's mood took another blow. Saki was there, baking, much too early in the morning for Honoka's tastes. And if she was honest, Saki was the last person she wanted to see right now. The last night, dreams of her night with Saki had started to haunt her, there was no other way to say it. No matter how hard she tried to think of other things, it always came back to that night. Not being able to sleep was a secondary concern. What irritated her more was that one single mistake was tormenting her.

Saki didn't say anything either. She had managed to sleep, with the exact same dream continually being shown to her, but it didn't improve her mood any over Honoka's. Trying to stay out of the white Cure's way the best she could, Saki kept kneading dough.

Reika waited at the door, noticing the tension in the air. She didn't know what was happening between Honoka and Saki, and she didn't want to pry. As soon as Honoka had made coffee, she took the whole can with her, out on the table.

"Sorry about that." Saki apologized to Reika, while putting some of the finished dough on a metal plate. "Had a pretty tough night." She didn't want to get into details. It had already become a much bigger issue than she wanted. Saki had hoped to forget about it.

Reika was considering spending her own money on ways to prepare **real** tea and not the teabag variant that she was forced to use. But for now, it had to suffice. She didn't want to make any big deal out of it while the atmosphere was so tense.

Seeing Pine and Kaoru come into the dining hall, Saki wondered what their relationship was. She didn't want to pry, but anything that distracted her from the foul mood her dreams had gotten her into would be a welcome change of pace.

One floor up, Nozomi was finally waking up, after Miyuki kept shaking her pretty hard. Still half asleep, she looked at her friend. "You're... not Coco." Yawning loudly, Nozomi was about to roll over and go back to sleep, Miyuki pulled the sheets away. "Ah..."

Finally waking up proper, Nozomi yawned again. "Morning... Miyuki. Where is Coco?" She wasn't quite awake enough yet to put things together in a way that made sense.

"Nozomi, can you open the door please? I need to pee!" Miyuki had tried to hold on but she was at her limit. Thankfully, her own room was right next door and that meant her bath, too, was right there.

"Sure..." Walking over to the door and opening it, Nozomi kept yawning, still somewhat sleepy. The last day had been really exhausting for her after all. She didn't even register Miyuki leaving, because of how fast the girl ran, and promptly went back to bed, ignoring the sheets on the chair and just laying on the mattress.

Returning from the bathroom, Miyuki almost jumped up in the air out of fright when an incredibly loud and powerful scream echoed through the base. "**Urara**!" It didn't take more than two seconds before a yellow Cure came running down the stairs.

"Dash, dash, dash!" Urara kept saying to herself while laughing so hard that her stomach hurt badly. Kurumi must have gotten into the shower, or bath, and used the lotion she had swapped. Her roaring laugh could be heard over furious screaming and ranting from above.

A good thirty seconds later, Rose showed up, jumping down the stairs, looking around like she was hunting something. With a very, very big gun. "Happy! Where is Lemonade?!" Shouting down the hallway, Kurumi didn't get an immediate answer and rushed towards the now frightened pink Cure. "Where. Is. She?" Her burning anger was ridiculed by what had happened to her hair.

All of her long hair was stuck in a messy ball of tangled up hair. She looked a lot like she was carrying a massive beach volleyball on her head. A purple one. "Downstairs." Miyuki could only get that one word out. She was both scared and about to laugh herself into the ground, which scared her even more.

Jumping down the stairs, Kurumi simply smashed against the wall with one of her adamant abilities to avoid running into it. "Urara! Come back here! I'm gonna kill you!" Running past Berry and Moonlight at full speed, both of them not quite sure if they weren't seeing things, Kurumi collided full force with Komachi, who had just come down the stairs.

Sliding over the ground, Rose got up and walked over to Komachi, helping her up. "Kurumi, what... what happened to your hair?" Komachi had to try hard to not laugh. She thought of Kurumi as a friend, despite what had happened between her and Karen, and she didn't want to laugh at her.

"Urara. She messed with my hair lotion and I only noticed when I couldn't get them apart! I'm going to kill her!" There was an insane look on Kurumi's face. She took great care to keep her hair in a good condition and now it was completely ruined.

About to storm off, Kurumi almost ran over Hikari, who had come to check what was happening. Slowing down and hoping Hikari wouldn't laugh at her, she didn't want to see her boiling with rage either.

Grabbing her hand and pulling her away with a stern face, Hikari didn't need an explanation for what had happened. "Hikari, where are we going?" Being pulled around, Kurumi was surprised that Hikari could even do that, Rose was embarrassed that so many others had seen her in this state.

"Fixing you." Hikari had her own problems with hair. Her braid had turned into a mess more than once already. She knew how to fix hair with minimal damage and hopefully no permanent one. "And you'll tell me who did this to you."

Komachi, remaining on the bottom floor, saw Urara slip out of the room that led to the activity grounds. Putting up a barrier in front of the stairs to stop her from sneaking up, Komachi stopped her from getting away. Walking up to the imprisoned Cure, Komachi had a very serious look about herself. "Urara. You went too far."

"I didn't think she'd use that much. But it's still completely hilarious." Kicking one of the barriers and suffering the backlash, Urara walked past Komachi.

"If Luminous hadn't taken her away, she would have smacked you to kingdom come. I've never seen her so angry." Grabbing Urara by her arm, Komachi held her back. "You should think before you prank people like this."

"Do I look like I have a time machine to go back and put a 'only use small amounts' label on the damn bottle? And I can beat her in a fight if it comes down to that." Forcing her arm free, Urara was starting to regret the payback. It was turning into a bigger mess than she thought.

"If you are seriously considering fighting someone from your own team, we're going to stop you." Miki had heard the whole thing. Yuri was right by her side. "That's no way to treat your friends or teammates."

She was strong but she wasn't arrogant enough to think she could beat both Berry and Moonlight in a two to one fight. Especially not if others joined in, against her, which looked rather likely. "Fine, fine, I'm gonna lay low for a while." She didn't like to back off like that, but she realized that she had gone a bit too far.

=== Dissonance ===

"You're so silly, Michiru." Mai laughed and let Nagisa fed her another piece of bread. Sitting next to each other, the black and white Cure were the center of attention that morning.

For the past twenty minutes, Michiru had tried to make sense of what was going on. The way they talked, acted, looked and sounded... there was no doubt they were the real Nagisa and Mai. But what made no sense at all was that they acted like Nagisa was Mai's partner. When she asked them when they had started going out, both of them gave her the date Saki and Mai had become a pair.

Hibiki was intrigued by the situation about as much as she was weirded out by it. "Itsuki.. what's going on with those two? Did they dump their partners and decide to hook up?" She was sitting next to her partner and Peace, who was talking to Marine next to her, at the end of the table.

Shaking her head, Itsuki couldn't make sense of it either. "I don't know. I can't imagine both of them deciding to suddenly start going out. And from what they've been saying, they think they've been dating for a while." Biting in her bread, Itsuki looked at Hibiki. "How did things go with Kanade last night?"

She didn't like to talk about that. Not even with Itsuki. "Okay, I'd say. I told her that she hurt me and that I need more time to trust her again."

Itsuki decided against teasing Hibiki on the subject matter. There were certain lines she didn't want to pass. The whole ordeal with Kanade was the biggest one. "Want to go running again after breakfast? Just the two of us? I'd rather not take Nagisa when she's like this."

Finishing her breakfast egg, Hibiki looked for the butter. "Since the pool is gone, I need the exercise. I'll go." Finally spotting it, she would have to get up to get it. Seeing who sat right in front of it, just close enough to pass it, Hibiki sighed. "Kanade!" Calling out to her, the white Cure interrupted her conversation with Rin. "Pass me the butter?"

Grabbing the small dish with the butter on it, Kanade passed it over the table to Hibiki. Smiling at her, Kanade quickly went back to her conversation with Rin. "So you want to participate today? I'll go with you!"

Shoving the last bit of cheese into her mouth, Rin nearly choked from being too greedy and eating too fast. Coughing a few times, she patted Kanade on the head. "Thanks. I'll count on you to have my back." Rin ignored the issued with Black and Egret. She really didn't know either of them well and she didn't want to stick her nose into something that could blow up badly. She was keeping Kanade from being too interested in it as well.

A few Cures were still missing. Beside the two short Cures and the two couples, Michiru, Mai and Nagisa were at breakfast. Erika and Yayoi had more or less gotten a ready-to-go breakfast. Nobody was too hungry after the plentiful dinner the night before. Everyone had greatly enjoyed those moments. Coming together as a team, talking over good food and listening to some soothing music in the end, many would have liked to continue if not for being very tired.

One of the exceptionally exhausted girls was still in bed and just waking up. "Setsu...na?" Yawning softly and covering her mouth, Ellen was gently hugged from behind. "Morning..." Still sleepy, Ellen was just wearing a black bra and panties, finally able to sleep not naked, thanks to Marine.

Setsuna kissed the back of Ellen's shoulder before groaning just a tiny bit. "Let's stay in bed..." Even though they had gone to sleep after Ellen finished playing for everyone, Setsuna was still tired. Moving one of her legs between Ellen's, she played with her lover's foot.

"You're tickling me..." Reaching over the girl next to her, Ellen poked Setsuna's side. Snuggling up to her partner, Ellen closed her eyes, ready to slip away and get a bit more rest. Setsuna's arms around her waist were really comforting for her.

Nibbling on Ellen's ear for a few seconds, Setsuna was really happy to have not completely rejected Ellen a few weeks ago. "I loved to hear you play. I'd like to listen again..."

"Next time I want Love to listen with you..." Smiling, very happy that Setsuna had enjoyed the music, Ellen slipped away, back to the land of dreams. Setsuna followed her shortly after, both of them snoozing a little longer.

In the room above them was Ako, wearing a very large t-shirt that served as whatever people were expected to wear at night, attending to a book she had been meaning to read but had completely forgotten about for a while. Just staying in bed and reading a book was a welcome change from being around people all the time. She didn't mind mixing in and talking to them, but after last night, she had realized that time alone had started to feel like a privilege lately.

Just as she thought that, someone knocked on her door. "Muse? Do you feel like handling negotiations today?" It was Karen's voice. Getting up, switching to Cure form and opening the door, Ako was still holding the book.

"I'll take care of it. There is still time to read up on the rules, am I right?" She thought about participating in the battle today, if there were enough free slots. "Have the combatants been decided? Or is it still up for negotiation?"

Karen stepped out of the way, watched Ako fling the book across the room, making it land perfectly on her pillow, and then answered her question. "In a way, the number is still open. But two people have already been predetermined as participating. Melody and Rhythm. Rin will be volunteering due to Rhythm participating and I assume the same is true for Sunshine."

"Nothing too unreasonable. I wish the system would stop arbitrarily assigning people to the fight and the number of battle slots itself." Ako knew that she wasn't going to get that wish. "It wouldn't surprise me if it told me 'Insufficient Funds' now. Because I said 'I wish'."

"I think it isn't quite that pedantic." Karen smiled a little at Muse's sarcasm. "If you need something, I'll be in my room. I'm still feeling tired from yesterday." Leaving the black Cure behind, she yawned briefly. The sleepiness that was going around had to be contagious. Karen wanted a nap.

=== Dissonance ===

"Before we start, there is something I'd like to talk to you about." Sitting in front of the console, the silver Cure hadn't talked to Muse in a while. "More specifically, I'd like you to tell Marine what I'm about to tell you."

Ako was smart enough to put two and two together. If it was something that concerned Marine, and Moonlight was a member of her team, paired with the lack of an exile on the dark team, there weren't too many options that would warrant a discreet relay of information like this. "This has something to do with Blossom, I assume?"

Nodding, Yuri felt like this would be easier than she had thought. "She was the exile after yesterday's battle." Taking a deeper breath, Yuri hoped that Erika wouldn't completely go bonkers after hearing about the state Tsubomi was in. "I was there at midnight when she was released. From the looks of it then and after checking on her earlier this morning, she has reverted back to a personality that would indicate she has lost all her memories of being part of a team or other Cures."

Ako crossed legs and put her index finger to her chin. "That does sound like an effect particularly unique to the exile. So she knows who she is and where she is but she doesn't recognize anyone?" So far, all the exile victims under the new system had been from the light team. Beat, Happy and Blossom. "Are the exile effects permanent unless counteracted?"

"We don't know. I would say no on the mere assumption that both Beat and Happy have returned to normal after being cared for by friends or partners. That is why I want Marine to switch teams, as it will be impossible to convince Blossom to do so. With her personality the way it is, both Sunshine and I would likely be unable to get through to her. What made her change was Marine."

"I'll pass on your message. Should we start then?" Ako had memorized a fair bit of the rules and a clear image of what she was going for. Rouge, Kanade, Hibiki, and herself. If possible, she would like to have Peace and Sunny in it as well. Convincing Sunshine not to participate despite Hibiki being there hadn't been easy, but with the rules she wanted to force, she would only be dead weight.

Yuri looked at the console and leaned back. "I owe you for talking to Marine. I'll let you take the lead this time. If there is anything I particularly disagree with, I will argue the rule and we will have to find a compromise."

That was more than Ako could have hoped for. Remaining composed, she flicked through the terrain options. "Lake and Storm. A simple but efficient terrain." Ako didn't want to run into another catastrophe like the battlefield Urara had created.

"The bonus of this is merely fifteen percent. There are far more beneficial options available. Shouldn't we try to maximize the possible gain?" Yuri wasn't sure yet if she was going to participate. It depended on the outcome of the rules. The only two people that were already obliged to fight were Luminous and Windy. They would lend themselves well to rules that enforced their strengths but it would be difficult to create a large group of people that primarily used energy attacks, a likely choice if rules were chosen that benefited those two.

"I won't concede on the Lake, but I'm willing to switch to Super Cell and Tornado if you're set on maximizing the coin gain. In exchange for conceding, I will unconditionally be allowed to pick two rules." Crossing legs and sitting back, the black Cure leered at Moonlight. Ako drove a hard bargain.

Yuri realized that it had been an error, telling her to pick the options. She couldn't tell if she was bluffing about the terrain or not. Considering both of them had made it through the battle two days ago, she had to be well aware how dangerous those conditions could be. "No need. I suggest a middle ground. Lake, Lightning Storm and Natural Phenomena. If we are lucky, the phenomena will merely be an unnaturally thick fog." She couldn't let the younger Cure dictate all the conditions after all, being in her debt or not.

"You're not expecting to see the monster of Loch Ness, are you?" Ako was impressed with herself that she remembered a silly rumor like that. "I will concede on the condition of choosing rule fifteen." That was the single most important rule she wanted to pass. With that in play, it would be very much possible for the dark team to win again.

"We have Rose, Mint, White, Luminous, Lemonade, Dream, Happy and myself. Even with close combat ruled out, we're well capable of defending ourselves." Yuri wanted to see if it was merely a bluff. The condition came with a minus attached to it, so the other options had to be worth their time. If Muse backed off now, Yuri knew that she was confident that they could win and that she would push for rules that supported her choice.

Ako shrugged, her expression unchanged. "I know the composition of your team. Rose, while having a very powerful special attack, relies mostly on physical attacks in close combat. Mint, too, is more efficient in close combat. Of course, we have our issues as well. The condition is a requirement for one of the most powerful bonus rules, so I'd like to use it while the conditions for it are favorable."

Yuri could see the logic behind her reasoning. She still believed that Muse had to be planning to assemble a team completely composed of Cures that specialized in non-physical combat. In that case, she would have no choice but to do the same. And just as she mentioned, she did have enough people for it. "Before we continue to decide the rules, we should finalize the number of combatants." Yuri didn't want to leave that for the end when all the rules were known. Forcing the issue now would stop Muse from completely dictating the rule set.

"Seven people." Ako didn't actually want seven. Six would be optimal. A team composed of Hibiki, Kanade, Ellen, Rouge, Sunny, herself and optionally Peace if any of the previous would decline the right to participate.

"Four." Yuri replied. What Muse had said was bothering her a little. Mint and Rose did have some shortcomings when it came to the complete lack of physical combat. Even if she had to concede on a higher number eventually, as many as five or six people would still be within the boundary of allowing them to win. After missing out at sixteen-hundred coins from the last battle, she wanted to at least get in a thousand this time.

Trying to judge what Yuri's real intentions were, Ako found that to be a lot harder than she expected. It was true that some of the Cures on the light team were very powerful but handicapped if locked out of using physical attack. But she knew little about Dream and Happy, not to mention the full extent of Luminous' abilities. Was she being presumptuous in thinking that forcing rules advantageous to energy users would benefit her team more than the other side? "Seven." Being strong and unwavering would give her a better position in the long run. If she forced Moonlight to concede on this, she should be able to take control of the flow.

But Yuri had no intention of simply abandoning the case. "I see we won't be able to find a common ground. I will concede on seven in exchange for unconditionally picking two rules." Taking the first step beyond the bartering, Yuri already had one step in the door. If Muse rejected her proposal, she would be forced to give in on the number of participants. Remaining stubborn would simply prolong this.

Ako knew that as well. "Five then. Five people. That is closer to your original offer so I will be proposing the first two rules." Saying that she would merely propose them was but bait for Yuri to relax, thinking she had effectively conceded when she had gotten almost what she wanted. If possible she would try to cut Rouge from participating. Sunny was a greater asset when it came to pure energy fights, she knew that much.

"Agreed, for now." Sitting back and waiting for Ako to make her first two picks, Yuri had two rules of her own in mind. She would superimpose them on the dark team, if possible, in agreement for accepting the other rules if, and that had only a moderate chance, she was going to concede on the initial pick.

"Number twenty, Life Link Enemy, and number thirty-two, Multiply." There was one more rule she wanted but she needed to see how Moonlight would react. One rule essentially connected every light fighter to a dark fighter. In the event that one of those suffers damage, the linked enemy will, as well. Multiply served to provide a powerful boost to energy based abilities depending on the number of people participating. At ten fighters, the rule doubled all energy based effects.

"I see no issue with Multiply. But Life Link Enemy severely shortens the battle and diminishes possible gains. Why choose that?" She didn't mind either of the rules. If anything, Multiply was something that had slipped her radar and she would have brought it up eventually if Muse had not.

"With the loss of close combat, there are few Cures, including myself, that would be extremely difficult to even attack due to their abilities. Mint is another one of those. I picked this rule to avoid the battle dragging out indefinitely in a stalemate." That was a boldfaced lie. She simply wanted an insurance against the more powerful Cures on the light side. A suicide charge would provide plenty of coin and take out a dangerous enemy in the process.

Yuri figured as much but didn't object. That tactic would work against both sides. Considering that both Beat and Muse had very powerful abilities that, demonstrated during the reflection's assault, could wreck havoc over long distances, requiring not even line of sight, she didn't rule out abusing that rule to take them out. "I'll agree on the use of rule twenty under the condition of bringing in rule twenty-eight." It was a rule that seemed to be specifically made for Mint. Due to her barriers reflecting damage, not only was she near immune to the downside of twenty-eight aka Double Edge, but her damage output was doubled as well.

Ako could figure out that much with ease. However, it also benefited Ellen, Hibiki and Kanade greatly as their abilities don't rely on being in close proximity to the enemy. Sunny was likely to profit from it as well. "Agreed." Ako moved her fingers over the console and picked an additional rule. "I would like to introduce rule six, Energy Siphon."

It was one of two rules Yuri had wanted as well, but now things were going almost too well for her. Appearing to be unhappy with what Muse picked, she browsed the rule list and picked another one, something that could make or break a battle, depending on who it affected. "Thirty-seven, Lethal Risk, is what I request in return."

Ako found no issue with that rule. It was a gamble, but if Ellen or Sunny were the beneficiary ones on her team, things would become very dangerous for the other side. Quadruple damage, without factoring in the increased power due to Multiply, would devastate the field. "Fine with me. What about the Dive rule? We should pick one."

"I suggest the Pandemonium Dive. The higher instances of this provide a significant bonus and work alongside with the terrain bonus unlike many other advanced Dives." At this point she was merely looking to increase the score higher. There was no deeper logic behind it.

"That should be all then." Collapsing a menu, Ako finalized the rule set and acknowledged the decision from her side. Yuri did so as well. The final cumulative bonus came to plus twenty five percent due to terrain, sixty-five percent due to rules, with a solid hundred percent for the affected by Lethal Risk, and a final fifteen percent bonus due to Pandemonium Dive. A total of hundred and five percent. Yuri was more than satisfied with that. "I will see you in battle. I recommend not going easy on us." Ako typically didn't bother to flaunt her power, but it served a distinct purpose. To cause stress for the light team.

Yuri silently disregarded the bluff and walked away, vanishing through the gateway.

=== Dissonance ===

"I'm sorry it hurts but they're really sticking together." Hikari's finger hurt from continually holding one of three different combs. There had been no way around tearing a little bit of Kurumi's hair, but she had managed to keep it to a minimum. What had been a massive ball of hair, resembling a tumbleweed glued to her head, looked now, over two hours later, only like incredibly terrible bed hair. Trying to smooth out a small part, she desperately needed a break. She wasn't saying anything, knowing that the longer she let Kurumi's hair remain like that, the harder it would be to get it smooth again.

"Hikari, stop." Sitting on her own bed the whole time, Kurumi had already asked what would happen if she turned back into a civilian or even a fairy. The answer to that was that she probably shouldn't try or it might make the mess unresolvable. Reaching behind herself, she took Hikari's arm and forced her to stop.

"Does it hurt that much? I'm sorry, I'll be more careful." Waiting for Kurumi to let go, that moment didn't come. "Kurumi?"

"I can feel your hands shaking, Hikari. You're taking a break now." Turning around and taking the brush from the pink Cure's hands, Kurumi put it next to the others. She could see how exhausted Hikari was. Constantly taking care not to hurt hair by pulling too hard, unraveling the mess her hair had become because of Urara's idiocy, she had to be at her limit.

Just sitting there and not doing anything was already a relief. "Can I lie down for a bit?" Now that she stopped concentrating, she could really feel how the exhaustion was catching up to her.

Giving Hikari a gentle push, Kurumi smiled at her friend. "Feel at home."

Laying flat on her stomach, Hikari just wanted to fall asleep and rest. But her feelings of friendship didn't allow her to be that selfish. Kurumi was trusting her and she wouldn't hurt her feelings. Noticing some vibrations on the bed, she looked up and found Kurumi sitting right next to her, undoing her braid with great care. "You're so gentle, I can barely feel your fingers." It was a bit pleasing, even though she couldn't quite explain why.

"I always wanted to see what you look like with your hair down or a different hairstyle. Do you mind?" As skilled as Hikari was with a brush and comb, Kurumi's skill was no less. It was one of the few things she was really good at due to a lot of practice on her own person.

Giggling at some of the ideas that went through her head when she thought of Kurumi giving her a different hairstyle, Hikari saw no reason to refuse. She even looked forward to it. "I'll finish smoothing out your hair after a short rest. I'm looking forward to my new hairstyle. But!" Looking up and raising her finger, Hikari made a very important point. "No afro!" Both of them giggling for a bit, Kurumi kept smiling.

"No afro, I promise." She wouldn't do that to her friend's beautiful hair. Not to mention, it wasn't that easy to create an afro in the first place.

Laying back down, her face halfway sunken into the soft pillow that smelled very pleasant to Hikari, she felt completely at rest with Kurumi watching over her. Dozing off, Hikari only woke up when something tickled her neck. "Kurumi...?" A bit dizzy, Hikari got up, noticing that her hair felt a little heavy at the back of her head.

"Here." Handing the blonde a hand mirror, Kurumi was quite happy with her work. Undoing the long braid and putting the hair into a long ponytail that was kept up by several hair ties, she looked a lot more like an energetic person now.

"I like it. It feels a bit strange but I think it looks good. Thank you, Kurumi." Hugging her friend, a strand of hair tickled the purple Cure's nose and made her sneeze. "Oh, sorry." Laughing, Hikari felt a lot better now. "How long was I asleep?"

Rubbing her nose and smiling, Kurumi held out three fingers. "Maybe thirty minutes, tops. I wish I had a cellphone. You look so cute when you sleep." She thought that Hikari resembled a sleeping squirrel in one way or another but she didn't want to tell her that. Hikari would wind up thinking it she was teasing her.

"Turn around." Slowly pushing Kurumi to the side, taking the brush for delicate hair and holding up part of the messed up hair, Hikari started undoing the mess as carefully as she could.

"Hikari?" Sitting there, facing the mirror near the wall that had the hallway on the other side, she kept completely still. She liked to watch Hikari work.

"Yes?" She didn't need to look up.

"Let me brush your hair and braid it after you're done." She had enjoyed that much more than she would have thought. Hikari had really long and silky hair, so it was a lot of fun to work with.

"Sure." Hikari didn't mind at all. It would save her the effort of brushing her hair by herself, too. "This is gonna sting just a little bit." Forced to pull apart two small strands that were so thoroughly intervened that it was impossible to get them apart with just a brush, Hikari felt bad for hurting Kurumi. "I'll be in the battle later. I don't know who is handling the negotiation but I hope you can come with me."

Kurumi felt happy that Hikari relied on her. "I'll protect you." Just as she thought that, someone knocked on the door. "Yes?" Kurumi didn't bother getting up yet.

"It's Moonlight. The negotiations are done. Luminous is one of the predetermined fighters so I will inform her of the rules." Yuri, standing just outside the room, was also just shoving Miki away. Lowering her voice, she gave her partner a stern look. "Restrain yourself or I will." It didn't take any great insight to know where Luminous would be if she wasn't in her own room. And the emblem hadn't been lit.

Deciding to tease her a little, Miki was about to approach her from behind and tickle her sides when the door opened. Rose's hair had significantly improved but was still in a messy state. "Are we interrupting something?" Miki's grin was so incredibly obvious to Kurumi and Yuri that both of them groaned.

"What do you mean?" Hikari's innocence caught Miki so heavily off guard that the blue Cure only opened and then closed her mouth, shrugging, looking to Yuri with a smile.

Explaining the rules to Luminous, Yuri wasn't too happy that Rose was adamant about participating too. Her special move would be absurdly powerful but that was likely all she could do. But by the way she acted, she didn't doubt that, if necessary, she would shield Luminous with her body. "Fine then. Rose is the third volunteer. Windy and White are first and second. Pine is participating as well."

"An all-star energy specialists team." Miki wondered if there would be a turn when the opposite would happen. An all-star close combat specialists team. She'd certainly like to go head to head with some of the others, especially with Yuri backing her up.

"Speaking of White, have either of you seen her?" Yuri had tried to look for her but after she left the breakfast table, supposedly going back to bed according to what she said to Reika, nobody had seen her. And she was not in her room.

"Maybe she is spending some quality time with Bloom somewhere." Miki liked to poke a bit of fun at how similar Black and Bloom looked. She wouldn't have said those words if she had known what was happening at the same time.

Working out in the labyrinth, practicing techniques and keeping fit, Saki could not shake the feeling that someone was watching her. Intensely. But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't find anyone or even a sign of there having been anyone.

"I should probably get back. I don't want to miss the race. I need to get back to Mai before the look Honoka is giving me gets any worse." Talking to herself to simply get the issue out of her head, Saki did a last stretch and turned around, not quite remember which entrance to the room she had come from. But she remembered passing down some stairs to the room so she would recognize that.

She had barely turned her back towards the wall when she got goosebumps. There **was** someone there after all. She could sense someone's presence. Waiting, standing completely still, she felt whoever it was coming closer. Was it the mysterious assailant she had heard about from the others? Whirling around when she could feel the steps of whoever it was on the ground, Saki was immediately thrown across the entire room, brutally smashed into a wall and blinded. Coughing up blood, she couldn't believe that there was someone other than Michiru who had so much power. She had been in Cure form, wearing her full armor, and still got nearly knocked out in one blow.

Falling off the wall and hitting the ground, someone kicked her in the face, hard enough to make her vision go double. Trying to grab the leg of whoever it was, she managed to do so just for a brief moment. A corded boot. But she didn't need to make any guesses who it was who attacked her.

"Whitelight Blast." The explosion was far stronger than she had expected. Smashed into the ground, pieces of her armor showing cracks, Saki spit out blood yet again. Had Honoka completely lost her mind now? "Honoka, what are you-" Her head was smashed face first into the ground, forcing her to be quiet.

Sitting down on Saki's back, Honoka stomped on her hands. "Be quiet, dear." Her voice was a bit deeper than what Saki remembered and knew. And what did she mean, 'dear'? "I'm so sick of Nagisa. You'll be my new partner. Who needs that worthless idiot. You're much cuter."

Saki felt rage surge through her veins but trying to push Honoka off her was met with a feeling of being powerless. Her body wasn't obeying her. "Now, lets have some... fun."As Honoka stomped on Saki's hand, the pink Cure screamed out in pain. Being a Cure or not had become meaningless. She had no power, no defense, no chance to resist. "More!" Another stomp, another outcry. "That's it... ah... it's making me wet." Sliding one hand under her skirt and pantie, Honoka started moaning right away, still sitting on Saki's back. Stomping on her foot again, Saki started to space out. She couldn't make sense of what was happening anymore.

=== Dissonance ===

"What do we do? Those two have gone completely insane." Karen was more than just worried. She felt threatened. "I talked to Komachi about it. She said that White and Bloom have been in bad moods the whole day. Not only that, but as I just explained, the mysterious attacks seem to be getting worse quickly." Having gathered a few of the others in the small room that contained the three gateways, she wanted to discuss the matter of Black and Egret.

"It's the same thing that kicked Dream down the stairs. That's the first instance of an attack happening I can think of." Ako was present, along with Michiru, Itsuki and Setsuna. Getting together a few people to try and think of a way to stop whatever it was from spreading, the atmosphere was tense. "The explanation with the highest likelihood of being correct is that whatever this is, it came from the reflections or the destroyed area."

"I believe we can rule out an organic infection." Michiru wasn't in good condition. Seeing Mai openly betray Saki like that, even if she was under the influence of something, which they couldn't be sure of yet, was quite the shock to her. "That leaves something that could affect the mind alone, particularly memory. From what they have said, it seems to be that both of them believe that Nagisa has taken Saki's place."

She really didn't like the idea but it seemed rather obvious. "A lingering effect of the reflections?" Setsuna really hoped that it wasn't Nightmare trying to resurrect herself or anything similar.

"But why manifest like that? What purpose could it have to split those two couples apart? Worse yet, what is the purpose behind simply mixing them up?" Itsuki had asked Hibiki to stay away from Black and Egret until it was clear what had gone wrong.

"We were overlooking something very obvious." Sunshine's talk of splitting couples up had made Ako realize something. "After Nightmare was killed, there was one reflection still remaining. Eclipse." She didn't wait for any great moments of realization. "When Moonlight and Eclipse became one, the mirror burst after a horrible scream hurt several of the Cures present pretty badly. What if Eclipse didn't truly merge with Moonlight? What if the scream and the force that hurt the others was actually Eclipse?"

"You're saying Eclipse was evil and simply went to hide in someone's mind?" Itsuki absolutely couldn't imagine that. "The reflections all had personalities opposite to ours. Eclipse was never showing any signs of being conscious or having been. I don't think she had time to develop into a monster."

"That is not what I am getting at. I dislike revealing personal information about people without their consent but this could very well be the cause of what is happening. Moonlight was tormented by her choice of dating a regular human. She was worried about her being in danger because she was a Cure. By the time Moonlight was exiled, she had to be very emotionally unstable. Her personality may have been the opposite of Moonlight's, but Eclipse's memories were the same. What if a portion was split from her then, when the mirror burst?" Looking around, Ako hoped that someone got where she was going with this.

"You're saying a part of Eclipse implanted itself in someone else and is affecting their mind? But neither Black nor Egret were present when Yuri's mind was mended. Not to mention, you do know how ridiculous that sounds, don't you?" Michiru wasn't sure that something like that was even possible.

"Do I need to remind you of where we're standing? I think we shouldn't think of anything as **ridiculous** at this point." Ako had an uneasy feeling. "If we assume that this is really Eclipse, or at least something, taking over their mind, what should we do?"

"Something that can free up their minds..." Setsuna wasn't sure that there was anyone that had an ability like that.

"There is Kaoru's Stormflair to render someone unconscious. But I'd rather not try that outside of a battle on a living person. Pine's domination to take over their mind. But I believe it is unlikely she is powerful enough to continuously control two people. I don't know about the abilities of the new Cures." Michiru was a walking encyclopedia of information.

"Muse, do you think that Ellen would be able to use her hymn to get rid of whatever is affecting them?" Setsuna knew that there had been some traumatic experiences with that hymn for Ellen, but using it to help people might actually be good for her.

"In theory? Maybe. It isn't one of my hymns, which means I don't know all that much about it." Ako really wished she was older and had already been taught the effects of the hymns that existed in major land. She didn't want to admit in front of everyone that it was just a school of study she hadn't been allowed to take part in, yet.

"I believe it's our best shot. Kaoru and Pine are on the other team so we would have to bring Mai and Nagisa forcefully into the dome and hold them there." She didn't have to spell out to anyone that she wouldn't approve of using force against Mai. It was a last resort she wasn't willing to consider yet.

Karen could feel that there was someone eavesdropping on them. She just couldn't tell where from. It was hard to tell one was being watched, but Karen had some experience with people stalking her. She was a bit of a celebrity after all. Raising her finger to her lips and signaling the others to be quiet, Karen committed a grave mistake. All four of them could hear that someone was running down the hallway, but by the time they looked, nobody was seen.

"I have a feeling that we're going to have a hard time finding Black and Egret now." Karen hadn't anticipated that they would be smart enough to watch how everyone else was reacting. To anticipate that other Cures would try to remedy whatever was affecting them.. to them, it must sound like everyone around them had turned against them. That everyone thought they had gone crazy. The sad truth was that the ones that had lost their mind could never tell. "Passion, I think it's worth trying. Muse, can you go with her? Bright, you stick with me please. Black is a formidable enemy, and I don't know what she might do if she thinks we're her enemies."

"I'm stronger than Nagisa so she shouldn't be a problem. I just hope Mai won't attack us. I'd hate to hurt her." Cracking her neck, Michiru took a deep breath and exhaled equally deeply. She was more tense than ever, facing the uncomfortable possibility that Mai was her enemy.

None of the four knew that they were looking at a much larger problem than they thought.

=== Dissonance ===

Hikari had finally finished cleaning up Kurumi's hair and was now sound asleep, resting her head on the purple Cure's lap. Slowly caressing her cheek, Kurumi hadn't felt so thankful in a long time. The blonde was really looking out for her. When Karen ended their relationship, she had felt a bit lost. But being around Hikari had helped her move on. And now, she was thinking how lucky she had been to have ever met her. "She looks so incredibly cute when she's asleep." Smiling to herself, Kurumi slowly started to doze off, exhausted from tensely sitting still for so long.

Both of them would not witness the commotion that was going on outside. Bloom, beaten to a pulp, had returned to the base, carrying an equally beaten White on her back, not allowing anyone as much as to touch her. When Kaoru witnessed the state she was in and tried to force an answer out of her, grabbing onto White, Bloom had hit her hard enough to launch her across the room, yelling loudly that nobody shall touch her love.

Only a minute later, Bloom had been surrounded by other Cures. Miki and Inori were among those that took the most offensive stance towards Bloom. They knew how horrid mind control and brain washing could be. It woke up bad memories of Labyrinth, seeing Bloom like that. "Bukki." Thankfully, there was a painless and absolute surefire way to take down Bloom. At least momentarily.

"Domination!" Trying to take control of Bloom's mind, Inori immediately got goosebumps. There was... something else affecting Bloom's mind. Something that warped her memories and emotions. She could just barely tell that much before she broke through whatever else there was and assumed total control. "Can someone find Mint? I want to keep them suspended until we know what's going on." She suspected that the exile effect was somehow leaking out, but that didn't explain the physical injuries.

"I'll take care of it!" Being present by coincidence, Miyuki found the situation at hand to be perfect for her ability. Standing up in front of the dominated Bloom, she made a fist and only extended her index finger from it. Tipping Bloom's head, the others could have sworn that there was some kind of dust being emitted by Happy's finger. "Once Upon A Time!"

Both Pine and Bloom slowly sunk to the ground, a satisfied and peaceful look on their faces. "If you don't disturb them they'll wake up in a few hours!" Miyuki was quite content she was able to be useful. Her ability was very peculiar but it came in handy right there. "I... didn't want to put Pine to sleep, too. I wonder why that happened?"

Ignoring Miyuki completely, the pink Cure pouting as soon as she realized that, Miki turned to Yuri. "We need to talk to the other team. I have a bad feeling about this. You should probably tell Marine about Blossom, too."

"Happy, can you take them to the dining room? If White wakes up, do the same thing you did to Bloom." Looking back to Miki, Yuri grabbed her hand, pulling Miki along as she headed towards the stairs that run up to the dome.

They were up the stairs by a fair deal before Miki said out loud what she had been thinking for the past minute. Yuri's hand was a bit damp and cold, a clear sign that she was under a lot of stress. Well, that was to be expected. Meeting Marine for the first time since she had accepted Miki as her partner would be hard on Yuri. And then telling her about Blossom... "I'll be with you the entire time, don't worry. I don't shy away from my responsibilities.

The two of them had barely entered the dome when they saw four other Cures already present, one of them nervously walking around. While Passion and Muse were talking to Beat, Aqua was scanning the distance in hope that someone from the other team would show up. She was in luck. Quickly walking over there, almost running, Miki and Yuri found the four Cures tense and stressed.

"I can tell by your face that there is a situation on your side as well." Yuri's words didn't have the desired result.

"**As well**?" Ako was now starting to become worried. "I'm just taking a wild guess here... White and Bloom?"

"Yes. They're-" Miki didn't have to finish her sentence. Karen stopped right in front of the barrier.

"They're thinking they are partners, correct? The same thing is happening to Black and Egret over here. They overheard us talking about them and took off. We can't find them anywhere." Swiping sweat that wasn't there off her forehead, Karen hoped that March, Sunshine, Rouge and Melody was enough to bring them back, by force if necessary.

"Have you found out what is causing it?" Yuri was seriously concerned about the situation. If something like that spread, it could have disastrous results.

Looking to Muse, Karen wasn't sure if she should be that honest. "Well..."

But Ako didn't see any reason to hold back. "We believe it's some kind of mental inflicting leftover from Eclipse, or you, that burst out of the mirror when they brought you back. I don't intent to play the blame game here, I just want to do something about it." The plan she had come up with after talking to Ellen was risky but they needed to do something about it before it all spiraled out of control. Taking in a Hymn from someone else was an extremely advanced technique and she had never learned how to do it, only read about it in books.

Fact and problem at the same time was that Ellen had too little control over the fine tuning of Purger. Ako had received some training and learned on her own, but she was still worlds apart from the skill level her mother had.

"As soon as we find Black and Egret, I will try to use Ellen's Purger Hymn to destroy whatever is affecting their mind. Sound and light seem to be the only things the barrier in here allows to go through so we need you to bring White and Bloom up here." Ako was nervous. She had dealt with things on her own so many times, but for some reason she was just a lot more nervous now than before. And seeing Miki and Yuri, she realized why. She didn't want to look stupid in front of Urara. Feeling silly for thinking that, she calmed down just a little.

Miki felt relieved that the other side had already come up with something. That left the problem of them not being able to find Black and Egret "Can you call Marine up here? We need to talk to her about Blossom."

Karen took it upon herself to go and call the short girl. Coming across Melody and Rhythm, both of them looking for Black and Egret together, she realized that the entire base was tense. Nobody was in their civilian forms, everyone was ready to be attacked or attack at any moment.

Yuri was uneasy, waiting for Erika. That Muse was focusing solely on Beat, talking to her about things Yuri couldn't quite grasp, and Passion just watched over them like a guardian, didn't help at all. Miki was holding her hand still, but she still didn't feel comfortable facing Erika. It brought her face to face with the fact that she had decided to abandon Momoka, no matter the reasons.

"Stop fretting. You thought long and hard about this, haven't you? You didn't just leave your old girlfriend for stupid reasons. If Marine isn't a moron, she'll eventually understand." Miki had come head to head with Marine before and she wasn't going to leave Yuri all on her own. If necessary, she'd take the initiative and defend her.

It only took a few minutes before Marine came running up the stairs, a worried look on her face. If the other team called her to talk about Tsubomi, then there had to be something wrong. She didn't **want** to think that, but given the place they were in, it was the only thing she **could** think about. Seeing Berry together with Yuri pissed her off immediately, but there were more important things to talk about. "So?" She was still pissed after all. And it was extremely obvious just from the way she looked at Yuri.

"Tsubomi ended up as the exile yesterday. Miki and I were waiting for her at midnight out in the hallway. Physically, she seemed completely fine. But when I talked to her, she shied away from me, not even realizing who I was. Just by that... I think whatever happened in the exile suppressed her memories." Yuri didn't even want to think about the possibility of her memories being gone entirely.

Erika spun around, grabbed Passion and almost yelled at her. "When is the next exchange race?!"

"It should start any moment now. I don't think you'll be able to-" Setsuna, Ako and Ellen were almost knocked over when Erika dashed off at maximum power, kicking herself off the ground and basically flying down the stairs.

Gripping the corner of the wall, the impact on the ground shaking her whole body, Erika turned and rushed into the hallway. What she saw in the distance was surprising. Black and Egret stood over Aqua, the latter on the ground, not moving. There were no obvious injuries or puddles of blood so she was likely just unconscious.

Realizing that Marine was rapidly closing in, Nagisa took a battle stance. But she underestimated the power of the short Cure. "Tidal Wave!" Nagisa instinctively took a step back when the entire hallway behind Marine turned into one massive wave, rushing at them even faster than the blue Cure. "Mai!" She wanted to tell her partner to take cover, but there was nowhere to go. Going out into the hallway, they would meet the force of the wave head on and staying inside the room, the force of the wave would create enough of a whirl to throw them for a loop. Grabbing Mai, hugging her tightly and turning around, Nagisa used her own back to shield her love. "Hold your breath!"

Erika's expression had rarely been that serious. She didn't care about Black, Egret or Aqua at this point. She only wanted to make sure that nobody but herself got into the exchange gate. She **had** to get to Tsubomi right away and if she had to move heaven and hell for that to happen. "Marine Royal Blast!" Repeating those words as fast as she could, Erika launched an array of blue energy blasts, the space in front of her hand appearing like the nuzzle of a machine gun.

Nagisa took several of the hits straight to the back, protecting Mai as if her life depended on it. Hearing the gushing sound of the wave approach, she took as deep a breath as she could. The impact was more than she had expected. Barely able to keep hold on to Mai, the two were thrown around in the room, now completely filled with water, as if they were inside a pinball machine.

Just as the gate opened, Erika swam inside, only she capable of moving anywhere on purpose in the chaotic current. Just as she vanished, she reversed the power of the wave, flooding Aqua, Black and Egret out of the room. "Tsubomi, I'm coming."

=== Dissonance ===

"This is more of a puzzle than it is a race." Urara looked at the area before them. A room without any exists and two glowing portals, at opposing ends. "The beams go out in patterns, so it's a test of memory? Shit." She wasn't good at memorizing seemingly arbitrary patterns. "Where the hell are those from the other team?"

The room was shaped like the letter I, roughly eighty rows and twenty columns of plates, beams of lights going horizontally and vertically between each plate. Making it through the artificial labyrinth would mean winning. The beams went on and off without any warning. There was no danger in staying on a plate but when moving, one had to be quick. The beams covered the entire airspace of the room, making it impossible to fly over the contraption.

Komachi looked at Peach for a moment and then decided to just leave Urara to her devices. She had a great idea on how to win the race but she didn't want the other two to follow her. She wanted to get back to Karen already.

"Maybe there was only one? Since only one can be the winner, they don't have to participate." Love trusted her gut instinct and stepped on the center plate in the first row. Waiting a few seconds, she moved to the second row, then to the left, advancing again and realizing she was in a dead end. Going back and going left again, she advanced twice. Another dead end.

Urara now joined the fray, starting from a corner. Komachi remained behind, watching the patterns and the paths the other two took. Arriving at the tenth row, Love had to go back to the eight row again. It was becoming difficult to remember which way she had come. Urara managed to get to the fourteenth row and had to return all the way back to the eight.

"This is bullshit! How many goddamn rows is this?" Wildly whipping the beams, Urara found that they were completely undistorted by her attacks. The chains simply went through the beams as if they didn't exist. After the last and previous race, she didn't dare to try and touch them, in fear of being instantly disqualified. Was that what Komachi was going for? Wait until everyone else ran out of patience and got disqualified? Peach didn't seem to be the type for that and Komachi should know. So what was she planning?

Peach had advanced to the twentieth row in a hurry and was now trying to decide which direction she should go next. The path split into four directions, with each of the adjacent plates splitting into two more yet again. She really wished she had Bukki's memory right now.

It wasn't until Urara had managed to get to the twenty-fourth row that Komachi started to move. Making sure that both Cures were occupied with finding the right path, she stepped all the way to the back of the room. "Clear Zone." A barrier-like sphere extended in every direction around her, just barely touching the first beams that simply ceased to be as soon as they touched the zone.

Speed wasn't exactly her forte, but she would make do. Making the Zone as small as possible, only a few meters in every direction, Komachi started to run, the beams unable to penetrate her zone that rejected most forms of pure energy. Rushing straight past Urara and Love, both of them too surprised to instantly act on on every single beam around them vanishing for about a second, Komachi was more than halfway through the contraption before either of the other two realized that she had cheated.

""Komachi! You dirty cheat!" Shouting after her teammate, Urara cursed and stomped on the spot. It only took a few more seconds before Urara and Love found themselves back in front of the gateway they had entered a while ago. "**Fuck**!" Shouting and kicking the gate, Urara stormed off.

Noticing that the ground was littered with small puddles of water, Love wondered what if they had started another water fight. Following the puddles, they led her to her own room. Thinking about it, whoever had come from the other side would have switched with Komachi, taking her place. About to open the door, Love could hear someone crying on the inside.

Just a few minutes ago, Erika had entered the room, finally seeing Tsubomi again. The pink Cure had been reading a novel, sitting in silence on her bed. Upon seeing Erika, she dropped the book, her eyes going wide. "Erika...?" She knew the name of the girl. And more than that. A thousand images ran through her mind, of Erika laughing, pouting, shouting, working without rest, of every possible situation she could have imagined. There was no doubt that this was the one person she knew best. But she couldn't tell how or why. Backing off a little, Tsubomi was scared by the sudden onslaught of memories she had no recollection of ever making.

"Stay... stay away please. Who.. who are you? Why do I know your name? What... what are all those memories?" Trying to get off the bed and flee to a corner of the room, Erika grabbed Tsubomi by her wrist before she could get anywhere.

In Erika's mind, the situation was just like one straight out of a fairy tale. A kiss of true love would wake her up, surely. Pulling her in close, Erika's lips met those of her partner. Tsubomi had not the confidence to defend herself. And as she started to feel Erika through her fright, she started to recall who the short girl was.

The person who made her life worthwhile. The girl who had helped her become a much better person. The center of her life. The girl she would give everything for. The one person she loved more than anyone else.

How could she have ever forgotten the day Erika had entered her life? At first, she had disliked her, but as days became weeks became months, she learned to love her. Back then, it wasn't the same kind of love she felt now. She saw her as best friend, someone that she would support in everything she did.

Only later, when she had finished middle school, she had started to see Erika as more than that. Not just a friend, but someone that made her life bright and warm. Someone she couldn't live without. Feelings changed and while she wanted to be more than just friends, she couldn't risk saying it out loud.

And finally, the moment when her desires had become fulfilled. That moment Erika told her she felt the same way as she did. It was the same kiss, the same feeling she felt now, that had turned a life she was satisfied with into one she felt joyous to have.

Hugging her partner and falling to her knees, taking Erika with her, breaking apart their passionate kiss, starting to cry loudly, Tsubomi realized that if by chance Erika had not come to get her, she might have never managed to regain her memories. She could tell they were truly hers and not just an illusion. This was who she really was. "I'm... I'm so sorry Erika... I didn't... want to forget... I just..."

Being able to say what she felt was one of Tsubomi's good points, according to Erika. Petting her head, Erika just let her cry. She didn't speak up until Tsubomi had calmed down a little. "I knew a kiss of true love would wake you up. I'm your knight in shinning armor after all."

"You're too short to be a knight... and you're all wet... great knight you are. And what would you have done if kissing me hadn't worked?" Resting her head against Erika's shoulder, Tsubomi felt a little weirded out by Erika's slick hair because it was sticking to her.

"Kiss you again. It'll have to work eventually. And even if it didn't, I'd just have to make you fall for me all over again!" Confident that it was all within her power, Erika grinned. Tsubomi just sighed. Confidence in herself was the one thing Erika never lacked.

"A knight shouldn't be so full of themselves." Reprimanding Erika, Tsubomi kissed her on the cheek. "You're ice cold, you should take a shower. I'll wait for you."

"You're not coming with me?" Tugging at Tsubomi's skirt, Erika hoped for a chance to get some more loving care from Tsubomi. And of course provide some of her own.

"The showers are really small so we'd have to really squeeze ourselves in there." Tsubomi didn't know if she could handle being naked right next to Erika right after being ripped out of her delusion. It was all a bit much.

Clicking her fingers, Erika created a small sphere of water right above their heads. Tsubomi could only gasp before the sphere hit them, thoroughly soaking both of them. Tsubomi's face was quickly turning red, not from embarrassment but because of shallow anger. "Erika!"

Her outburst could be heard all the way out in the hallway. Love was leaned against the wall next to the door. She felt happy for both of them. She didn't quite know what had happened, but there was no doubt that they had made up in some way.

She did feel a little disappointed that she hadn't made it to the other side. She really wanted to see Setsuna and Ellen. "Next time."

Walking down the hall and checking the dining hall, Love found Black and Egret still soundly under Happy's spell. The pink Cure was sitting on a chair close to them. "What are they seeing?" Love was a little curious about how Happy's ability worked. She had asked Inori a minute ago, but she didn't remember anything. Which wasn't surprising, considering they had woken her up right afterward.

"I don't really know. Everyone sees different things. It puts them into a fairy tale that suits their inner selves and they remain there as long as they're undisturbed." Smiling wide and looking at Peach, Miyuki scratched her cheek. "Sometimes I just use it on myself and have an alarm clock wake me up."

"Makes me wonder what kind of fairy tale I'd be in. I hope I'll be the hero that saves two princesses from the clutches of an evil wizard." Love liked to imagine herself like that. Riding on a white horse, in shining armor, to the aid of Setsuna and Ellen, saving them from the evil wizard Moebius.

"Want to try it out? It's really harmless and if you want, I can wake you up in ten or twenty minutes. I only need to shake you a bit to make it wear off." Miyuki was always eager to have people experience fairy tales for themselves. Once Upon a Time, her ability, was the result of wanting to bring fairy tales to people.

"Don't you miss having an offensive ability like Beauty or Sunny?" Love wasn't exactly one to talk as all her ability did was shuffle abilities around. Not very offensive either.

"I trust my friends to handle that. I focus on defense. We all used to work together, but Reika said it would be better if each of us specialized in the one thing we're best at." Looking a little bit embarrassed, Miyuki looked at the ground. "When the others focused more on fighting, especially Reika, I really fell behind at some point. When I looked what I'm good at, I ended up with this." Raising her index finger and creating a pink magic circle around Love's right wrist, she moved her finger and the bind forced the same movement. "Defense and locking up others."

"That's impressive in it's own right. I only know of one other Cure here that specializes in defense. You have a rare talent!" Love really thought so. While being able to attack and take out the enemy was important, being able to protect your friends from being attacked wasn't inferior in any way, shape or form.

Laughing awkwardly, Miyuki wasn't sure if Peach was being honest. At times, she felt like she was lagging behind everyone else. "Miyuki!" Hearing Nozomi's voice, Miyuki got up and looked past Peach, waving her friend. "Are they still out of it?"

"Dreaming and completely harmless." Miyuki was proud that she had been useful to everyone. "Do you know who came over in the.. exchange?" She wasn't entirely used to the process yet, but she was starting to get the hang of it.

"Marine came, Mint left." Love filled them in quickly. "Come to think of it, isn't White signed up for battle later? She isn't gonna be able to fight like that..." Leaning forward, Love gave White a close look. They didn't actually know if she was in the same state as Bloom, but it was highly likely. "We'll need someone to substitute for her. I remember that being part of the rules."

"I'll go." Miyuki wanted another chance. She hadn't really been able to do much in the last battle, not knowing what to expect. She wouldn't get pushed around like that this time.

"Looking at them like this, they do fit together." Love was a little iffy on the details of what was going on between those two. With both of them in the land of dreams, she couldn't really ask them either. "I wonder what their actual partners on the other side are doing."

=== Dissonance ===

"**Let me go! What did you do to Mai?**" Shouting as loud as she could, Nagisa was trying to get out of Itsuki's hold, something she should have known was impossible for her. Itsuki was an expert in martial arts. But she wouldn't have to keep her locked down much longer.

Not using any kind of special technique, Bright simply punched Nagisa in the stomach, hard enough to make her violently gasp for air. A second punch was all she needed to knock Nagisa out, at least for the moment. "I hate hurting Saki's and Mai's friends but she is too strong to just let her go wild." Picking up the body, Michiru hoped that things would be back to normal before the fight.

When Komachi had arrived at the base, she found Black unconscious, with Egret on the ground, violently coughing up water. The walls were all slick, as if the entire part had been submerged. Before Egret could even get up, Sunshine and Melody showed up, yelling at Mint to restrain them. A minute later, things had come to what they were now. Peace was helping Mint with restraining Egret inside a movable sphere and Bright was carrying the knocked out Black.

Considering how violent they had gotten with Aqua, who luckily had not drowned in Marine's attack, there was no telling how far they would go. Restraining them or knocking them out had been the best option. Rouge had already gone ahead and told Berry, who had remained in the dome, that they captured the infected.

Ellen and Ako were unsure how it was all going to go. Setsuna and Love were both there for Ellen, even though Love was unable to do anything but talk to her partners. The barrier was relentless in that aspect. Of the four, only Mai was still conscious.

"You need to wake them up." Ako was talking to Miki, almost successfully concealing how nervous she was. She thought that this must be what people felt like when they went on stage the first time.

Urara restrained both White and Bloom with her chains very thoroughly before they were woken up. Nobody quite expected what followed. The moment White and Bloom woke up, they saw their real partners. And they scorned them with contempt. Unwilling to even look at them, they glared at their captors.

Waking up Nagisa was proving to be more difficult. Only after being slapped and being soaked in ice cold water did she finally come to, only to be restrained by both Itsuki and Michiru, forcing her on the ground, paying detailed attention to her every move. Mai and Nagisa both shared the reaction of their real partners. Contempt for Saki and Honoka.

"You'll be fine." Setsuna pushed Ellen forward, next to Muse, who stood in the center point between the two captured parties. Taking a deep breath, both Ellen and Ako looked at each other for a few seconds before joining hands. A blue magic sphere extended from her, becoming bigger and bigger, penetrating the energy barrier without any trouble. Only when the sphere stopped growing did it start to change. Golden spots littered the sphere until they had taken more than a third but less than half of it.

Ellen opened her mouth but no voice could be heard. The rings of a bell rung through the large dome at first, followed by a brief silence and more ringing. Ellen was Ako's orchestra. Giving her the design, blinking twice, Ako started to sing, able to tap into Ellen's knowledge of Purger as long as they were connected.

"_I sing this song for you who are soiled. Evil spirits, leave!" _As soon as she started, blue and golden notes started to spring forth from the sphere, dancing around the two girls, settling into the empty score one by one. "_I – turn – into – the – song." _ Ako could feel the power rushing through her as both she and Ellen were slowly lifted off the ground, levitating a meter in the air. "_I sing this song for you who are soiled. Evil spirits, leave!"_

The notes in the scores assembled, forming small spheres. "_Dressing myself with the twilled darkness and light –" _Ellen's voice finally came through, supporting Ako's._**"Oh, child of sin" **_"- _I land on this world, the space between the sky and the ground"_

"_Now awake-"_ **"Now awake-" **_"Return back to me,"_** "Return back to me," **_"From the faraway prison"_** "Now awake – along with your true soul mate." **The ground was trembling beneath them, the notes amassing into even larger spheres, their singing voices intervening, their faces growing closer. They were surrounded by sixteen spheres, hovering in place. There was no visible effect or change in attitude on the infected.

"_Now awake-"_ **"Now awake-" **_"and raise your voice"_** "and raise your voice," **_"in joy and despair"_** "Now awake – live!." **The sound sped up and Ellen's voice faded to the background again. _"With that burden on you now"_ **"A sin it is, the worst sin to ever commit."** _"given to you by a cursed spirit, viler than all!" _**"A sin it is, the worst sin to ever commit."**

Sixteen spheres had become four, each at least as big as Muse and Ellen together. "_I – turn – into – the – song." _The spheres started to shift form. ""_I sing this song for you who are soiled. Evil spirits, leave!"_

"Embracing the love and sin engraved on me, by you, I go back and forth between the endless dream and reality!" _**"Oh, child of sin" **_Ellen's voice rose up again, joining Ako in a duet.

"_Now die-"_ **"Now die-" **_"be released"_** "be released" **_"from these chains of false belief!"_** "Now wake from your eternal sleep, along with your soul mate." **

"_Now die-"_ **"Now die-" **_"come out"_** "come out" **_"and beg for forgiveness"_** "Now wake from your eternal sleep, live!" **

By now, the spheres had shaped into what Reika recognized as lances, each aimed at one of the infected. They had already sung for over three minutes and the purification process was still on-going. She was impressed by the power and stamina those two displayed. But it was showing on their faces. Ellen was breathing hard and starting to turn a little pale and Muse was looking even worse, clearly in pain.

"_What does it take for me to save you?"_ **"A sin it is, the worst sin to ever commit." **_"The road to salvation shall be opened by my song."_ **"A sin it is, the worst sin to ever commit." **_**"**__The burden __placed on you"_ **A sin it is, the worst sin to ever commit." ** _"I will smash it to pieces."_ **A sin it is, the worst sin to ever commit."**

Ako could feel a thin stream of blood running from the corner of her mouth but she didn't want to falter when she had come this far. The next part would be much harder on Ellen, so she couldn't give in. While Ako's part was slow and clear, Ellen's was convoluted and rapid.

"_At the bottom of my heart - "_ **"My words and melodies shall reach you, for they come from the bottom of my heart!"** _"I can hear your voices."_ **"Your nightmares and reality, breath deeply and return to yourself."**

They were at their limit. The song was incomplete but neither of them had the stamina or expertise to completely sing it. Ako looked at White and Bloom while Ellen looked at Black and Egret. Both of them exclaimed at the same time. "Purger!"

Four lances, each composed of the hymn's energy, launched at the targets, piercing their chests, passing through matter and energy alike. For a moment, nothing happened. What followed was something quite a few of them recognized. That horrible, ear piercing wail, as if a banshee was inside them.

Itsuki and Michiru had to back away from Black, their ears ringing so hard that they could see the others wildly opening their mouth but not hear what they were saying. Reika was the first to actually arm herself and go into full battle mode. Her intuition for danger was top notch and it was ringing every single alarm bell possible. Using her powers to push everyone on her own side away from White and Bloom, the captured now started to writhe in pain as some kind of dark mist started to rise out of their very skin.

At first it failed to make any coherent form but after several failed attempts, the dark mist mixed with the one that was coming from Bloom, finally forming something recognizable. Yuri instinctively stepped back. It was a distorted version of her own face, she could tell. On the other side, the same thing was happening, but here it was Aqua, Rouge and Mint who put themselves between the shadowy creatures and the other Cures. Setsuna was looking after Ellen and Ako, both of them horribly drained.

"Why... why do you interfere... you... you... Dream! How dare... how dare you still... **live!" **The shadow form on Reika's side was glaring at Yuri, the featureless face distorting as it let out another horrifying wail, the creature on the other side mimicking it's actions, seemingly searching for something.

The four captured were rendered completely unconscious, the black mist that rose from their body getting less already. "I.. won't forgive you.. won't forgive you... **You shall pay for your actions, Dream!**" Sucking up the last bits of shadow energy from the bodies of Honoka and Saki, Reika was already right in front of it.

"Zero Celsius Divider!" Slashing with two swords right through the shadow form, Reika jumped back, realizing that it wasn't a corporeal being. Physical attacks wouldn't work. She wasn't too well versed in energy attacks, that was more Akane's and Yayoi's domain.

The next wail made Nozomi take a step back. The shadow form screamed her name so loudly that the ground shook. Emerging from the two bodies and flying up into the air, it headed straight for it's target, Cure Dream. Materializing a scythe made of black energy, it was suddenly locked down by dozens of pink energy binds.

Miyuki had jumped in front of Nozomi. "I won't let you!" Tightening her binds, the shadow form was struggling to come free of it. Just as she was sure she had it under control, the creature on the other side wailed, finally having found it's target. Rising from the bodies the same was as it's other part, it headed straight for Ako and Ellen, the origin of the attack that had forced them out. "How dare... how dare you **interfere!" **The wail was powerful enough to force several of the Cures to cover their ears. Without summoning a weapon, the shadow was already halfway there. Standing up and withstanding the scream, Setsuna hadn't been able to pay attention to what was happening on the other side. "Quattro-" Readying her stance, Setsuna wouldn't let anyone hurt Ellen. She couldn't hear the screams of Love, warning her that it wasn't possible to hit the thing with physical attacks. "Assault!" Attempting to hit the shadow's face, or the part that resembled one, Setsuna realized on contact that she had committed a grave error.

In one go, the shadow went right into Setsuna, not emerging from her back. On the other side, Miyuki had managed to keep control over the situation by locking the creature down. It continued to scream Dream's name, cursing her, yelling how it won't forgive her. And Nozomi knew. She knew what had caused the shadow to target her. The shadow knew that she was the reason the reflections had come to life. That Yuri had become trapped in exile for so long. Frozen by that knowledge, she watched helplessly as Miyuki kept protecting her.

Looking at Miyuki's back, the girl trying her hardest to protect her friend, she remembered something from years ago. Seeing Miyuki like that made her think of Coco. He would have jumped right in front of her as well. And she would have needed to save him.

Looking over her shoulder, Miyuki grinned. "I'll protect you just like you helped me." But that one moment of taking her eyes off the enemy would become her undoing. Wriggling out of the binds by completely giving up it's form, the shadow flew straight at Miyuki, who, alarmed by Nozomi's outcry, only turned around in time to have the shadow jump straight into her.

"Ahhhhhhhhh!" Setsuna started to tumble, covering her eyes with her hands, screaming out in terror. Her mind was being flooded by something she very much recognized. Something she didn't want to feel ever again. The exile was rooting itself into her mind. "Ellen... Ellen... **run!**" Yelling as loud as she could while she was still in her right mind, Setsuna's form violently changed. Her costume flashed, her hair shortened, she was turning back into Eas, denizen of Labyrinth. "Get... out... of my... head... Moebius... I'm... not... not..." Screaming out again and turning back into Passion, she changed right back, the violent make over happening several times. Blood started to run from the self-inflicted wound her fingernails caused on her face, her voice echoing through the dome. With an outburst of dark energy, Eas took her hands off her face, breathing hard, her teeth grit hard for everyone to see, her eyes hatefully glancing at every single Cure until she found Peach behind the barrier. "**You!**" Taking one step, she reverted back to Passion, trying to force herself away from the barrier and everyone else.

Ellen could see now what Setsuna had been talking about when she told her about the past. That was Setsuna's original form, Eas. The short, silver hair, the black clothes, the red eyes. Rapidly switching forms back and forth, it was taking a horrible toll on Setsuna's body.

Ignoring her own pain, Ellen started to sprint towards Setsuna, tacking her and forcing her on the ground. Sitting on top of her, she had surprisingly little trouble keeping Setsuna's arms occupied, even as she turned back into Eas and hatefully glared at the blue Cure. "You can fight it, Setsuna! Love trusts you! I trust you! You're not Eas anymore! You're the girl I fell in love with! The girl that cherishes both Love and me!"

"Shut up! Shut up! **Shut up! I'm... I'm... Eas... servant of... Moebius... no... that's not true..." **Her mind was split apart by pain.

"Fight it!" Ellen leaned down and kissed the struggling Eas. Even as she returned the favor by violently biting her lips, Ellen didn't budge. She would bring Setsuna back, no matter what.

With a final wail, Eas' mouth opened wide, the dark mist pouring out of it in one big stream. Struggling to regain it's form outside, it left Setsuna unconscious as Eas. "Stay down!" Ellen couldn't make out who yelled but she held on tightly to Setsuna.

A massive stream of fire hit the shadow form right above. The flames were too wild and hot, burning Ellen's costume off her back. The flames were joined by a powerful electric blast, the shadow form wailing in agony and rage until it dissipated into thin air.

The situation on the other side was even worse. All but a few Cures that had realized the danger were bound by Happy's pink rings, denying them any movement at all. "**You will pay for what you did, Dream."** Her voice was oddly distorted, as if she was speaking from far away. "**You'll pay for what you did to me!**"

Nozomi wasn't the brightest but she could put one and one together. What she was facing was the resent, grief and anger that Yuri had felt for the one that caused her to be stuck in exile. And it was possible that Eclipse knew who had brought them about. It seemed like the logical decision. But even if Yuri's rage was justified, she wouldn't just stand there and be punished. But she found Happy's binds to be surprisingly difficult to break.

Reaching out to Dream, the possessed Miyuki grabbed her throat, only to stop there. "I... won't let you... hurt her..." Miyuki was fighting the shadowy creature inside of her. She had never experienced negative feelings this powerful before. It was tremendously difficult just to stop her from hurting Nozomi. "She... she... is... dear..." Miyuki took a step back, her right arm trying to choke herself, her left trying to prevent the same.

The binds weakened just as Miyuki started to struggle against the shadow and that was enough for Nozomi to break free. Shattering the binds all at once, she relied on an attack she had come up with after becoming the Rose Guardian but never truly got to use it. "Nightmare Shatter!" Focusing an energy blast in both of her hands, Nozomi rammed them straight into Miyuki.

With another ear piercing wail, the shadowy creature was forcing out of Miyuki's body, raising into the air, trying to attack Nozomi again. But this time, she was ready. Tapping into power she wasn't supposed to draw from without being aided by either the Rose Garden or a lot of other Cures, she turned into her Rose Guardian form. "Rose Starlight!" Shooting a single focused blast straight upwards against the shadow, it eradicated it almost instantly. Despite being a blast attack, a short range energy beam, it traveled all the way to the ceiling and still caused a lot of destruction.

Turning back into Dream, Nozomi's eyes went blank as she fainted and fell forward, right into the arms of the heavily exhausted Happy. Feeling her pulse, Miyuki had sighed with relief. Silence covered the dome as everyone looked around, making sure that the entities were truly gone.

"The **hell** was **that**?" Urara kept looking around while walking to where Nozomi and Happy were. "Why the fuck was it so dead set on making Nozomi pay? Hey Moonlight, it looked like **you**, got any ideas?"

Yuri couldn't imagine that the little grudge she kept against Dream over putting her through hell in that one battle more a week ago would blow up like that. There had to be something else. Shaking her head slowly, unable to give an answer, she was slowly pushed away from the scene by Miki.

"Let's get all the injured out of here first." Reika didn't trust the silence. Stepping towards the barrier, she was met by Nao. "Are you hurt, Nao?"

"I'm fine. I don't think the same can be said of Muse, Beat and Passion... she is still looking like that." Nao obviously wasn't aware that Eas and Setsuna were the same person.

"Dream and Happy seem to be injured. I would very much like to know what happened." And Reika was not the only one to think that way.

=== Dissonance ===

Honoka woke with a splitting headache. Her memory was somewhat fuzzy as she couldn't quite place what she had done in the last twenty-four hours. "I didn't get drunk again.. did I?" Checking around, she was relieved to see that there was nothing to worry about. Saki was right next to her, gleefully passed out. "Hey, sleepyhead. Wake up." Something felt odd. She couldn't quite put it, but there was something different about Saki. Had her hair always been that spiky? "I must be seeing things." Poking her partner's cheek, Honoka tried to ignore the splitting headache. "Hey, sleepyhead. Wake up."

Just groaning and refusing to come to, Saki tried to turn around. A little annoyed at how sound asleep her lover was, Honoka leaned down and kissed her, finally waking up Saki. "How long were you planning on sleeping?"

Just as Saki looked at Honoka, smiling, taking her hand and kissing it's back, someone came into the room. Honoka had expected that much. There were four beds in the room, and the one they were in belonged to Saki after all. She could tell by it's smell. "Don't worry, you're not interrupting anything, Miki."

She didn't know what to say. While they didn't seem to be aggressive anymore, they still thought of each other as lovers. Had Muse and Ellen failed to drive all of the miasma, which was the name the others had given the shadow forms, out of their bodies?

"Are you feeling alright, Honoka?" Miki didn't know if she should bring up the issue of her being with Saki.

"Physically, I think so. But I have no recollection of the last twenty-four hours, give or take a few. What happened?" Getting out of bed and standing up, Honoka felt a little weird.

"Complicated. Most of the others are in the dining room so we should probably discuss this there." She definitely didn't want to handle this alone. Miki wasn't bad at explaining but this was a little beyond her.

After getting to the dining room and hearing from everyone what had transpired, Honoka and Saki looked at each other, not sure what to say. There were obvious errors in their memories. Saki knew that she lived in the same town as Mai. Honoka knew she lived in the same town as Nagisa. So how exactly did they end up a couple? Not only that, but their names obviously made it look like the story Miki and the others told was the truth.

Saki couldn't shake the feeling that what they were saying was the truth. But at the same time, her feelings of loving Honoka felt real as well. "Even believing you... what are we supposed to do?" Saki didn't know if she could handle changing teams and pretending to love Mai, even if it was how things were supposed to be. "When I think of Mai... all I see is a friend."

"Whatever possessed you isn't gone entirely. We got rid of the main body, I think, so... I hope it's just a matter of time before you go back to normal. I talked to Sunshine and they should be explaining the same thing to Black and Egret when they wake up." Miki felt a headache coming. "Honoka, I hate to bring this up, but do you think you can participate in the battle later?"

"I'm physically fine so I see no problem with that." Standing up, Saki following her, Honoka excused the two of them and left. They were barely outside the dining room when they stopped. "I'm surprised I found it this easy to believe them. But what they're saying is true. There are some obvious clues that our memories were adjusted. So... we should stay away from each other, Saki." Honoka didn't want to return to her old life eventually only to find that being with Saki had ruined her relationship with Nagisa.

"Is that really alright with you?" Saki couldn't handle that idea very well. "What if we **don't** get back to normal? What if we stay like this forever? Will we just avoid each other until we die? Go back to our supposedly real partners and pretend the feelings we have for each other right now?"

"Stop it." Honoka wasn't happy about it either. In reality, she just wanted to turn around, tell Saki she was joking and kiss her. If Saki had merely taken Nagisa's place, and there were many clues to that being the truth, she couldn't forgive herself if she cheated on Nagisa. But there was some truth to what Saki was saying, as well. What if things would stay this way? To begin with, if Nagisa and Mai felt the same way, wasn't it better to just let things stay that way?

Honoka was scared that she thought that way. Walking away from Saki, she felt completely drawn to her. She never had that much trouble telling apart what she wanted to do and what the right thing to do would be. She was a chemist. She knew emotions and desire were all just chemical reactions. Trying to make a science out of her attraction to Saki sadly didn't help her ignore it. Just walking away from her _partner_ was painful.

She managed to get up to the stairs before Saki came running after her, grabbing Honoka by her wrist, holding her back. "If... if we go back to normal.. would it really be that bad if we followed what we feel right now? If Mai couldn't ignore her feelings either I think I'd understand. If we have been together with them as long as we think we've been with each other, we should be able to see past this."

"Why do you want to make this harder on your-" Honoka felt the grip on her wrist tighten.

"Because there is nothing I can do about what I feel for you!" Shouting, wildly shaking her head, Saki pulled Honoka back. "Right now, right here, I love you! Even if I'm really supposed to love Mai, even if I'll return to loving her someday, I still have feelings right now!"

Honoka couldn't face Saki. Why did she have to be so emotional? She had tried really hard to do the right thing, but if Saki wasn't able to cooperate, how was she supposed to stay strong all alone? She remembered the time when Saki... or Nagisa... had been mind controlled and it had been a hard fight to get her back. This was different. Their memories and feelings were altered but their minds were their own. "Saki... You know how I feel. But if these feelings really belong to Nagisa... I shouldn't give in to _this._"

Honoka was completely caught off guard when Saki forcefully pulled her back, embraced her, kissed her gently. She couldn't deny that what she felt right then was genuine. Ever since listening to the explanation, she had longed for this. Her self-control had always been top-notch, but right now, she couldn't manage to overcome her desires. She wanted to be with Saki, with her _partner_.

The other side of the tragedy was experiencing a similar breakdown of morals. Having listened to the truth, Nagisa just couldn't accept it. In her mind and heart, Mai was the most important thing to her on the planet. She had gone to hell and back with her. And Mai didn't have the strength to completely deny what she felt. Both of them stood silently in front of the room they shared with March. "We.. shouldn't..."

Nagisa was behind Mai, holding her in her arms. The white Cure was torn on the inside. If not Nagisa but Saki was her real partner, she was committing a horrible sin. But the touch of the black Cure, her scent, her voice... they all reached out to Mai's heart, breaking down her reservations and self-restraint. She loved that girl so much that she couldn't put it in words. "If... if we go back to normal... won't we regret this?"

"Would you blame Saki or Honoka for not being strong enough to simply shut away what they feel for each other?" Nagisa knew that she wouldn't. If they ever returned to what was supposedly _normal_, then they would still know that back then their feelings had appeared genuine. For all four of them to put blame on each other, that would accomplish nothing.

Mai couldn't deny that she wanted to just follow her feelings on this. There was no way to tell if they ever got back to _normal_ in the first place. And given how strong their feelings for each other were, it wasn't simply a matter of going back to their _real_ partner and trying to rekindle feelings, in the case of never returning to _normal_. It would ruin both relationships.

Taking Nagisa's hand, Mai gave in. There were too many uncertain things for her to try and ignore Nagisa. She remembered Nagisa being gone for just two days once, a memory that was supposedly about Saki, and she had felt horrible. If it took weeks or months for them to go back to normal... she couldn't even imagine what it would be like to be without the girl she loved. "If we notice there are signs of us going back to normal... we need to stop being together."

"I know." Kissing Mai's neck, Nagisa breathed a sigh of relief. The situation was incredibly screwed up, but at least it wouldn't get any worse. She didn't realize that she was being watched. Michiru, biting her thumb, was hiding around a corner, listening in and spying on them. She didn't like to do that to Mai, but she couldn't stand by and just let Mai betray Saki.

She was aware that what they were saying was the truth, that they felt that way about each other **now**, but why couldn't they just put their emotions aside and go their separate ways for some time? At least until things returned to normal. Michiru wished that she could talk to Kaoru about it and see if Saki was committing the same error. If walking blindly into a trap was what it meant to really understand their own feelings, Michiru could do without that. Surely, her sister would think the same.

On the contrary. Inori was there with Windy, watching the unlikely pair from the distance. And Kaoru had asked the same question Michiru had kept inside her. "Because they might regret denying their feelings more than following them. Even if what they remember and feel right now is a fabrication, rejecting those feelings would almost be like rejecting the love they feel for their _real_ partner."

Kaoru hadn't thought of it that way. There really was no way for Saki and Mai to reject what they felt for each other. If Honoka had taken Mai's place in Saki's eyes, then it would be impossible for Saki to ignore her. Even if she knew better..." Kaoru felt a little sad. "There... is no right answer to what they should do." It wasn't a question. She was stating it as a fact, derived from her own conclusion.

"Following your feelings often means following your desires, your heart. But that isn't always the right choice. But it never is the wrong choice either."

Trying to argue her choice of semantics, "If it isn't always the right-" Kaoru only got a few words in before Inori shook her head.

"Choices aren't limited to right and wrong." Grabbing Kaoru by her arm, Inori coerced her to leave. "I think we violated their privacy enough." Looking back at White and Bloom, Inori feared that their hardships were only still beginning.

=== Dissonance ===

It would be a good chance to stop thinking about Saki for a while. Honoka was waiting in the room that contained the gateways. Two of the four other participants were already with her. Windy and Pine, talking about the battle itself. She didn't pay a lot of attention, trying to simply clear her mind from everything that had happened in the last hour. Ending up cuddling with Saki for almost an hour in the end, Honoka was a little bit depressed that she couldn't master her own feelings and just stay away from her.

Luminous and Rose showed up together, both of them having heard about everything that had happened from Berry. Lemonade was still staying out of Kurumi's sight, for now, and Kurumi didn't want to make the situation any more complicated than it already was. She had already asked Hikari to spend the night in her room. By morning, surely she would have cooled off and be able to face Urara without taking off her head. If she hadn't done it out of malice, she would even have felt a little thankful since she got to experience Hikari combing her hair and play around with Hikari's silky smooth blond hair as well.

"Everyone aware of the rules?" Inori wasn't too comfortable with the rule that prevented close combat. Both Rose and herself were specialized on that. "I'll summarize the rules briefly for everyone." Inori cleared her throat. "Close combat is prohibited. A percentage of damage taken is negated and taken from our energy reserves instead. Everyone of us is linked with someone on the other side. If we take damage, they do as well. All attacks are doubled in strength but energy consumption and damage taken is also doubled. Energy attacks are additionally twice as strong, giving them a total of quadruple strength. The lethal risk rule is in play. One of us will receive triple damage, someone else will cause double damage to the enemy. On top of all of this, the Pandemonium Dive is in play, which will spawn _creatures_ we have previously encountered. I don't know how extreme this will be, so be on guard." Clearing her throat again, Inori hoped that her theory was right, regarding the close combat prohibition.

"Stay by my side, Hikari." Kurumi grabbed her friends hand just as the gate opened, the red light greeting them.

Stepping through, it only took a second for all five of them to be thoroughly soaked. They stood at the edge of a lake, thick forest right behind them, an unnaturally thick fog obscuring the view. Far above them, thunder rolled every few seconds, a lightning bolt hitting a tree somewhere in the distance. The intense rain and and fog made it impossible to see anything but a few meters around them.

"We need to figure out the link system first." Honoka tried to make out where the other team could be but that was a waste of effort. It was completely impossible to make out anything in the fog they were in. "Most of us have tremendously stronger abilities in here, so we have to beware of friendly fire. Don't fire randomly."

The other team was thinking of the same thing. "We don't know who we're up against. It'll be a disaster if we walk right up to Moonlight, Dream or Luminous." Ako was vary of those three the most. With close combat being forbidden, they had to beat any of those three at their own game. In the worst case scenario, they had to beat Luminous with energy attacks. Something she wanted to avoid at all costs. Even if it meant sacrificing someone from their own team, it was still a better choice than trying to go head to head with her.

Hibiki and Kanade covered the back of the team, both of them equally worried about Ellen and Ako. They had been in a bad state right after incident with Black and Egret. Ellen was in an even worse state than Ako since she was worried sick about Passion. "Ellen! Snap out of it!" Hibiki had to call out to her, seeing that she was spacing out in the middle of a battle.

"Sorry." Trying to get her act together, Ellen materialized her guitar and played a powerful accord, trying to break apart the fog all around them. "Why isn't it working?"

"One of the terrain conditions is Natural Phenomena. This fog isn't going to go away, no matter what we do." Ako flinched. She was still hurt from earlier. The battle wasn't going to end very well for her, she knew that much. Her best choice was to be the sacrifice. Charge in, cause a lot of damage but not knock anyone out, and get taken out. "Considering the system picked out two people, we can assume that the other three are their strongest energy users. White, Blossom, Windy, Luminous, Dream and Moonlight are the top candidates for it I believe."

"White got possessed. I think its safe to rule her out, don't ya think so?" Akane was walking circles around the other four. She specialized in large scale energy attacks like her Solar Rain, but it was going to be difficult to target anything with the visibility as is. "The heck is that?" Pointing at a massive shadow that was looming over the trees behind them, Akane had her question answered by the object in question.

"_Nega!"_ Something that four of the five recognized. "It didn't come as a surprise. Out of all the things they associated with evil, the weakest and most common ones in memory were the Negatones created with the energy of Noise. But to their surprise, this particular Negatone was completely white. Ako quickly concluded that it was created from light energy.

"Solar Detonation!" Launching several fireballs, each the size of a human body, against the monster, Akane turned several dozen meters of the forest to charcoal with the follow-up explosive burst. "What was **that**?" Akane looked at her hands. She knew about the two rules that quadrupled all energy attacks in damage but she didn't expect it to be that powerful.

"It's pretty clear who is benefiting from the Lethal Risk rule now." Ako had no doubt that power like that was more than just four times. "You should probably refrain from using attacks up close. Move into the forest, that attack just now gave away our position." Ako was worried about the fact that most of the energy users on the other side were also the ones that fought more strategically.

Running, Ako noticed that Hibiki was staying behind. "Melody! What are you doing? Move!" She couldn't wait for her to get going. Taking off on her own, with Sunny and Beat, Rhythm fell behind, waiting for Hibiki.

"Hibiki, what are you doing?" Taking her teammates hand and trying to pull her away, Hibiki just stood there. "Hibi-" The blast came completely out of nowhere and caught Kanade completely off guard. The pink Cure had put enough energy into it to lift her several meters into the air. Jumping up, Hibiki coldly stared at the injured white Cure. "Glory Crash." Firing a three phase blast against her former best friend, the pressure from the attack smashed Kanade into the ground.

The moment Hibiki landed, a stream of blue notes exploded in her face, flinging her right into the lake behind. Ellen had come back, smelling a trap. Grabbing Kanade, she pulled her up. "Glory Fall!" Shooting several bullets up into the air, Hibiki fought without concern for her own safety.

There were too many unknowns to decide what exactly was going on. Pulling Kanade with her, Ellen barely managed to avoid the massive explosions Melody's attack was causing the moment the projectiles rained down on them.

Further into the thicket of the forest, Ako and Sunny had been ambushed. White, Rose and Luminous had surrounded them. There was no fourth and fifth member in sight. Ako miscalculated. She didn't expect White to be in any condition to fight. Back to back with Sunny, she considered trying to force their way out of the situation. But if any of those three was the benefactor of Lethal Risk on their side, that could go both ways. That Luminous **and** Rose were both there was just really bad news. Her body was still acting up from singing Purger so she couldn't pull out all the stops.

Hikari and Kurumi looked at each other. They would follow the plan to the letter. Creating a single metal fragment, Kurumi threw it to Hikari, who caught it and cut her palm slightly. Throwing it back, Kurumi didn't bother to catch it and let the shard cut her cheek. At the same time her wound started bleeding slightly, Sunny suffered the same wound. That established all five. In just a few attacks, the light team had managed to completely confirm who was linked to whom.

"Rise of Dawn!" Raising her hands above her hand, Hikari spawned a massive sphere in the air, emitting a dazzling light. By the time Muse and Sunny had settled on a course of action, the three enemies were gone.

Beat and Rhythm were running as fast as they could. They couldn't tell if Melody was still chasing them, but for now, they needed to regroup with Muse and Sunny. "I think Pine is here." Ellen had heard about Inori's ability from Setsuna. "She can take over someone's mind and make them her puppet."

"Why Hibiki?" Kanade hid behind a large tree. She could hear several loud growls in the distance, one of them coming closer quickly. "Are there more Negatones out there?"

"That doesn't sound like a Negatone." Ellen's chest hurt, just from running and breathing a little harder than normally. She wondered if Ako was feeling the same kind of pain. Just as she tried to relax, she felt a stinging pain from her hand. There was a thin cut going through her palm. "Is this what Ako meant by sharing our life energy with an enemy? They can hurt themselves to hurt us?"

"I hate this rule already." Kanade realized that the only reason Hibiki had been possessed to attack was to find out who she was linked to. At this point, they probably knew most of the links. While she didn't even know who the enemy was. Looking up, Kanade stared right into the massive head of a gray colored monster. "What is **that**?"

"**Zakenna!**" Whatever it was, it was just another Negatone-like enemy the Pandemonium Dive was creating. Kanade focused, took aim and prepared an attack.

"Serene Lance!" Kanade launched a single, massive projectile, a white glowing lance, right at the monster, obliterating it's head. With a burst of energy, the creature vanished altogether. They were hardly enemies they had to take seriously.

"Down!" Jumping on top of Kanade, Ellen barely managed to get her out of harms way. With the sound of a dragonfly swarm rushing over them, trees were cut into the tiniest pieces, completely shredding them. If that had hit them, they would've been cut clear in half. "That attack gave us away. Run!"

Inori was hidden inside a tree top, keeping Melody under control. Honoka had quickly met with her and explained their next step. Based on the powerful fire attack that destroyed the forest, they ruled Sunny the benefactor of the Lethal Risk ability. Melody and Rhythm both didn't take significantly more damage than they should have, leaving only Muse and Beat as the possible candidates for the victim of the same rule.

Taking out Muse would also take out Pine, which would in turn free Melody, so they had to adjust their initial plan. The best course of action would be for each link to take each other out to avoid a lack of score. Their first target was Sunny while Windy would keep Rhythm and Beat on the run, simply scaring them around.

If she had wanted, Kaoru could have concealed her presence entirely, cutting both her enemies in half. But that would have destroyed Luminous and White as well. The rule they had chosen was very difficult to handle. Thankfully, everyone on their team was smart enough to follow the plan exactly.

Chasing the white and blue Cure away from where Muse and Sunny had last been, Kaoru did her job flawlessly. It was a gamble, but according to White, it was very possible that destroying the Pandemonium creatures would net points as well. Flinging attacks into the directions of the beasts whenever she could, she could feel from the distance that Luminous was doing the same. Seeing colossal explosions in the distance, it was pretty obvious that the pink Cure was the benefactor of Lethal Risk on their side.

Ascending beyond the tree tops, Kaoru could see dozens of shadows in every direction, slowly making their way towards specific points of convergence. The locations of Cures. Hunting Muse and Sunny from the cover of trees and fog, White launched another series of energy pillars at them, finally forcing them apart. Sunny had to evade to the left while Muse found herself encircled by energy pillars erupting from the ground. But she wasn't quite as defenseless as White thought her to be. "Silent Symphony!" With a single violent extension of magical power, Ako overrode White's attacks in her immediate surroundings, trying to run right after Sunny.

"Whitelight Illumination!" Spawning another dozen pillars from the ground, Honoka glared at Muse in an intimidating way. "You will run out of stamina before I do."

Ako hated to admit that what White was saying was true. She had little choice but to fight her if she wanted to get away. But could she really beat one of the most experienced Cures? She couldn't get close and use physical attacks and fighting her at long range would but her at a significant disadvantage. It didn't surprise her in the least that she was simply stalling for time. Someone else was going after Sunny.

"Solar Detonation!" Launching a dozen projectiles in the direction she believed Rose to be in, Akane obliterated the lower half of a monster she hadn't seen before. But she could tell that Rose hadn't gotten hit. Sensing something behind her, Akane was shocked by how brazenly close Rose had gotten. She was practically right behind her. About to kick her, the red Cure realized that she would be immediately disqualified doing that. "Solar-"

"Metal Hazard!" Jumping back, Kurumi raised her right hand towards the sky. The ground itself was torn to pieces when innumerable metal fragments burst forth, relentlessly cutting Akane. The attack lasted only for a little more than three seconds but was damaging enough to force the redhead on her knees. She was bleeding from over a hundred small wounds all over her body, her costume having taken significant damage and her hair shredded short. Looking at Rose, she was bleeding just as much, but clearly superior in terms of stamina and physical strength. Only realizing right then that even if she burned Rose alive, she would likely pass out before her. "Adamant Eruption!" Coating her right arm in metal, Rose hit the ground as hard as she could, a large section of the rock beneath them rising up and pushing Sunny into the air. Kurumi withstood the damage but she wasn't going to last much longer. Playing tough only got her that far.

"Solar Rain!" Akane didn't care if she had to burn the entire forest to the ground, she would get Rose before she was taken out by her. They would both be knocked out anyway, so she didn't need to hold back at all.

"Rose Abaddon!" But while Sunny's ability profited from the rules, Rose's did not, being mainly a physical based attack. The fragments were incinerated in the near infinite hail of fireballs that originated from right above Sunny. The forest around them turned into a hellfire of destruction. Screaming out in pain, the flames trying to burn her alive, Kurumi passed out and immediately vanished.

A few seconds passed before Akane's outcry could be heard thorough the forest. Countless horrible burns appearing on her skin instantly, she lost consciousness and vanished even before hitting the ground.

That was the signal for Kaoru and Inori. Melody was linked to Kaoru, so until now, Inori had kept her out of danger and just defended against any creatures that showed up. With Melody's power, it was easy enough to utterly destroy them. She was nearing the time limit for taking control over Melody as well, so the signal didn't come any second too early.

Beat and Rhythm, hunted and paranoid, were hiding behind a particularly majestic tree. There were no more wind blades flying in their general direction. It was easy to look back and see what path they had followed, a lane of destruction depicting their route.

While Ellen was simply out of breath, Kanade's breathing had become rapid and irregular from being hunted by someone she couldn't even see. Scanning the surrounding area with her eyes repeatedly, she couldn't find any rest. "Is she gone?" Kanade didn't want to run into another trap. "She might just be hiding out there." She didn't deal well with situations like these.

"Rock Dimension!" Ellen fell on her knees and coughed up blood as soon as she used one of her more taxing abilities. Her body couldn't handle the stress. But at least they were safe. Countless blue notes, well hidden in the fog and never ending rain, surrounded them. If anyone tried to get close, they would be blown to pieces. "I'm sorry, Kanade. I don't think I'll be a lot of help today." Launching into a regular coughing fit, Ellen disliked the taste of iron in her mouth.

Near the lake, Kaoru had returned to Inori's side, the two showing an excellent display of teamwork. Kaoru hadn't gained significant amounts of points yet. "Release her. You should get ready to fight Muse." Standing on the ground, Inori still hiding on a thick branch in the tree's crown above Kaoru, the blue Cure was completely focused on their plan and mission. Her long, blue hair that stuck to her back was no more than a trivial annoyance, the rain that kept obscuring her vision not even that.

Closing her mental link to Melody, Inori jumped down. "Don't take her lightly." Inori didn't feel it necessary to warn her but she did anyway. She enjoyed being around Kaoru, even though it was a little headache inducing at times.

"Muse is weakened but still powerful. Don't take any risks." Kaoru found herself unusually concerned about Inori's well being. The yellow Cure was exceptionally smart and a very fast fighter, so she should have no problems. It seemed illogical to worry.

With a single nod, both Cures started to head in opposite directions. At the same time, Honoka was still pushing Muse around. Ako still didn't know who she was linked to and how many of the others were still in the battle to begin with. She knew that there had to be at least two of the others as she kept seeing massive domes of light, explosions caused by Luminous. It also meant that it was entirely possible two others were already taken out. Which two was the big question.

She tried to calculate who was linked to who by going over the order of attacks their team had faced. But it was all but easy to think when White kept chasing her around. One moment she was merely toying with her, the next she was genuinely aiming to take her out.

"Whitelight Essence!" Clicking her fingers, she created twelve hovering spheres of white energy around Muse, each sphere linked to the next by a thin thread of energy. The spheres would follow her and slowly close in, until they came together and detonated. There was only one way to escape the delayed blast.

"Symphonia Forza!" Ako slammed her hands onto the magical keys she summoned in front of her, creating a very loud and powerful sound wave that broke apart White's ring, leaving the spheres levitating in place. Taking the chance and hoping she would catch her off guard, Ako first ran towards White, seemingly to attack, then jumped against a tree, turned and catapulted herself off into the distance.

She hadn't anticipated what happened next. Each of the twelve spheres was following her on it's own, rapidly closing in. "Sound Guard!" Creating a solid wall of magic keys, two of the spheres detonated with the force of several pounds of explosives, the shock wave alone throwing Ako higher into the air.

Down on the ground, Honoka was long gone. Heading towards the meeting spot, she came right across Pine, both of them not slowing down at all. Inori only had to nod into a specific direction to tell Honoka what she needed to know. Honoka responded by pointing up. The sound and force of the next detonation of her essences was very easily to follow for Inori.

Both of them changed directions, on track with their targets. They felt no remorse for completely trapping and taking advantage of the terrain and rules. Back at the lake, Melody and Windy faced four monsters at once, two of them a variety they had never seen before. Attacking them without giving each other any openings, Hibiki knew exactly what was going on. Having her body dominated didn't mean that she couldn't see, hear or feel what was going on. Defeating the sole Negatone of the group by blowing it half, Hibiki jumped into the lake, the near ice cold water chilling her to the bone.

No matter how powerful Windy was with the current rules, the water would drastically decrease the power of her attacks. Hibiki needed a little time to come up with a plan. Considering she was more of a attack-first think-later type, that was much easier said than done.

Kaoru on the other hand had no trouble adjusting her plans. "Storm Slash!" Unleashing a series of wind blades against the trees, she left most of them intact entirely, only cutting them off from their stump. She wasn't as strong as Michiru, but lifting a tree and throwing it was a small feat for a Cure. Kicking and throwing tree after tree into the lake, she was creating a deadly labyrinth for Melody. Eventually, she would need to surface, and by forcing her into certain directions, it would be easy to catch her off guard. "Storm Vanquish!" The weaker but more widespread version of her Storm Slash. "Storm Atmosphere!" Raising her hand, all of the felled tree's rose high up into the air. Manipulating the air around them, Kaoru found herself surprisingly strained for energy. "I see.. not a bad plan. But too late." She had used up a lot of power so far, but the battle would be over soon. For her, at least.

Having moved all of the trees over the lake, Kaoru ceased the use of her ability and started running. Based on her point of entry, the first assault and the impact point of the second assault, there were only two points of exit that were likely.

The only decent plan Hibiki could come up with was that she had to make Windy use up all of her energy. But she was nearing the limit of how long she could hold her breath. And being crushed by a tree the moment she surfaced to breathe would be disastrous even for a Cure.

Swimming in the opposite direction of where the trees were falling from, Hibiki was finally able to surface. Breathing in as hard as she could, her lungs hurt from staying underwater for too long. She only managed to get a little bit of air in before something brutally hit her face. Kaoru had easily predicted where she would come up and waited for her. Violently grabbing Melody by her hair, Kaoru pushed her down underwater. She wouldn't drown her, but she might as well weaken her before finishing her off.

Struggling to get away from Windy, the pain in her lugs was getting worse with every fraction of a second. Her head hurt and she felt sick. She could feel herself choking. Using an attack while underwater would be a one-time make or break thing. But she didn't see any other choice. "Brutal Melody!" Firing a massive blast of energy right where the hand was coming from, she managed to get away and surface, hastily breathing in as much air as she could.

But Kaoru was sure that she had enough points by now. "Storm Blast!" Firing into the water, the resulting explosion forced Melody out of the lake, making her an easy target, helplessly thrown into mid-air. "Stormflair."

White was hiding just outside a zone she perceived to be extremely dangerous. By coincidence, a creature that continued to scream "Sorewatase" had passed by her, entering the zone just before Honoka. There was nothing left of the monster **or** the forest. The crater reached several meters deep, as if someone had simply dropped a powerful missile on it. Spying into the crater, Honoka could see blue notes floating around, multiplying constantly. It was a trap. She wasn't impressed but she had gained just a little bit of respect.

The blue notes belonged to Beat, there was no doubt about that. And if they kept multiplying, there was no way to get through. Passing through the air was not an option. She would need to land eventually and jumping into a deadly minefield was far from being a well thought out plan. "Whitelight Illumination!" Firing several pillars into the crater, the notes didn't care about the energy attacks. That confirmed her suspicion. They only reacted actual beings, Cures and the creatures.

Noticing that she could no longer hear the massive blasts going off in the distance, it meant that Luminous was on her way back. The plan had been for her to keep most of the creatures at bay until they had hit the last phase of the plan. Honoka already had a plan for how to get past the minefield.

Several kilometers away, Ako was at a complete standstill. Having created a small clearing in the forest by pure force, she was paying minute attention to the forest around her. She knew that they hadn't just left her. If not White, someone else was out there, waiting for her to let her guard down.

And time was running. Having noticing the lack of explosions as well, Ako was now seeing gigantic shadows all over the place. She really wasn't allowed to get a break. Being constantly chased around, it didn't take a master of strategy to figure out that the other team was vastly superior in terms of strategy. Both their abilities and team composition were more suited to the rules of the battle. If not for the life link, they would have surely lost five to zero.

"Akan... Akanbe..." One of the creatures was coming closer. Ako had three choices. Attack the creature, avoid the creature by leaving the clearing, or simply try to defend against it until it gave up. She was tired of being pushed around and she didn't know how much longer she could hold out. The longer the battle dragged on, the worse the side effects of singing Purger got.

"Grand Symphony!" Several dozen magic keys formed the barrel of a cannon, releasing a rainbow colored blast, shredding the upper half of the monster to pieces, the leftovers dispersing. Ako was completely ready to be assaulted at any time now, but nothing happened. That was worse than being attacked as she started to doubt herself. Was she being paranoid? Was there really someone watching her?

Scanning the edge of the clearing, Ako got more worried with every passing second. The rain was hitting her hard, with no trees to lessen the downpour. She was cold, tired, hurt and badly on edge. Turning around constantly, expecting an attack from behind, Ako only then realized that it wasn't just a clearing. The shape of the ground resembled a small crater, and the rain was filling it up. The water already reached to her ankles. She couldn't stay there forever. Picking a spot that gave her a more safe feelings than the others, she rushed towards it. She barely moved a few meters with over a dozen diamond formed shards flew straight past her face, two of them grazing her cheek. Stopping immediately, turning around and heading for the opposite direction, the same thing happened again.

She was trapped. The clearing had worked against her. If she couldn't get out, then she had to force her opponent to come out. But how? She didn't have the energy left to unleash any of her greater attacks. The constant damage she had taken from being pushed around by White had depleted a lot of her reserves.

Just as lightning struck nearby, Ako realized that no matter what she did, she was doomed. The sky above her was filling with the same diamond shards that had just prevented her from leaving. It was a death trap. Keeping her inside the clearing, without any cover to take, her enemy had just slowly prepared for this. Covering her face, Ako realized that she had already lost. The shards descended.

Muse's and Pine's outcries could be heard in the distance. Hikari disliked that sound but being in a battle, it really couldn't be helped. Rushing through the forest, she was leading literal horde of creatures that kept following her. She was aiming to obliterate them all at the same time as her link, Beat. By this time, not many of the others could be left.

Firing a single sphere of light into the air, Hikari did exactly as Honoka had instructed. It took over a minute before she was joined by the sole remnant of her team. "Pine, Windy and Rose are already finished. Beat and Rhythm have barricaded themselves inside a impassable minefield that regenerates. I scouted the area and it's a large ring surrounding them."

Explaining the follow up plan to Hikari, she wasn't too happy with it, but it was better than dragging out a fight that wasn't doing much good at all. Both of them kept running, moving at much less than their maximum speed, both to keep the creatures on their track and because it was impossible to react fast enough in the thick forest. Moving at several hundred kilometers per hour would simply result in crashing into tree after tree.

Closing in on the mine field, Honoka and Hikari ascended to the tree tops. Honoka knew the rough layout of the size of the ring but she didn't know much safe space there was in the center. With the fog and the thunderstorm above them, it was impossible, even for her, to accurately predict where to land. They had to clear a path through the ground. Watching the steadily growing horde, both of them waited on top of a large tree. "Ready?"

They could start hearing the mindless noises of the creatures when they jumped as hard as they could. The scenery flew by in a blurry, both of them taking a straight route right over the minefield. "Be ready." Honoka was tense. It would drag out the fight a lot more if the plan failed. It all came down to their timing.

Ellen and Kanade, believing themselves safe, got immediately on high alert when one side of the minefield once again started to violently explode. But that wasn't all. There wasn't just a single incident. Ellen immediately ascended to the tree top and took a look at the situation. One of the edges of the field was completely covered in gray, a horde of creatures approaching them. She would need to reinforce the field, but she wasn't sure she could even do that.

The much safer decision was to escape. Run into the opposite direction of the creatures. While one was easy to defeat, Ellen was already at her limits and Kanade alone would have problems with them if they all attacked at the same time.

"We're making a run for it." As Ellen jumped down, Kanade was already running slowly, just waiting for Ellen to catch up. She wouldn't leave her friend and teammate behind. Ellen simply removed a small part of the field with a click of her fingers. Passing through it, she didn't slow down at all. "We need to get away from here. They'll no doubt find our position from the explosions.

Kanade realized too late that they had overlooked something quite important. Those things followed other Cures. Why were they all coming towards them? "Ellen, we're-" Kanade couldn't even finish her sentence before a pillar of white energy launched her high into the air.

Ellen couldn't see where the attack had come from. But she could see White, flying through the air, right towards Kanade. That was the smallest of her problems. The horde of creatures, a few of them having died in the minefield, had just passed the center point. Even if half of them died in the other half of the field, that would still leave over a dozen or more. And the problems didn't end there. Noticing a faint glimmer in the distance, the same direction they had been running towards, Ellen knew that there was someone else, ready to attack.

With her body as exhausted as it was, she had no chance to fight someone else off. But at the least, she could help Kanade. "Blast Tune!" Releasing a stream of notes towards White, Ellen realized too late that Kanade would get caught in the blast as well. Trying to change the vector of the attack, she lacked the necessary focus.

Honoka knew that she had no way to avoid the attack. But she didn't have to, anyway. Rhythm was high up in the air and an easy target. Even without having any solid surfaces to launch her energy pillars from, Honoka wasn't out of options just yet. Putting both of her hands together, Honoka used her own palms as a launching pad for her attack. "Whitelight Ray!" A single, high speed and high precision, blast erupted from her hands, badly damaging them but going straight through the chest of the blond Cure. At the same time, Beat's blast hit both of the Cures. Both of them vanished in the explosion cloud.

Hikari was almost finished with her preparations. Focusing her power into four large spheres, one in each cardinal direction, she was done charging them. Considering that it took a long time to prepare the attack, she had never been able to use it in a battle yet. When she had developed it, the plan had been for Nagisa and Honoka to stall the enemy or keep them in check. "As Queen of Light, I declare judgment on my enemies! **Royal Luminario!**"

The spheres unleashed their power, combining into one massive beam that simply eradicated the forest and ground alike. It consumed Ellen and traveled through the minefield unhindered, obliterating the horde. Her most powerful attack, something that would always use up all of her remaining energy, the beam illuminated the forest, breaking through the magic fog, lighting up the area if it the sun had come out.

A cone of absolute destruction, nearly a hundred meters wide and several kilometers long. Hikari was on her knees, exhausted. She closed her eyes for a brief second, just as the scenery around her started to change.

=== Dissonance ===

"Please come again!" Greeting and seeing her customers off with a smile was just part of the job. Looking at the shelf, there were so many products unsold, a lot of them her own. It wasn't that people didn't like them anymore, or that they were too pricey. They just didn't sell.

It wasn't a bad job by any means, and she had her family to support her. Spying on the little calendar behind the register, she sighed. It was cold outside, and earlier in the morning, a bit of snow had fallen. The twenty-second of November used to be a day she enjoyed. But nowadays, it was just another day of work.

Business was even slower than normal around this time of the year and day, especially with the sky low and gray as it was. People didn't want to leave their houses. Kanade didn't want to either. "It's been four years..."

Four years ago, Kanade had confessed to Hibiki, while they were imprisoned in the dimensional gap. What a disaster it had turned out to be in the end. Driving her back to Sunshine, Kanade had spent the better part of her time there with Rin and even fallen in love with her. It wasn't until the day that Rin decided to try and find a job as a player in a club close to Kanade that things started to really go downhill.

Something had happened to Dream, something that must have been eating away at her mind for months. Nobody knew exactly what happened. All they ever found of the rest of her team were pieces. There wasn't enough left to bury anything. She wasn't the only one that was devastated. Ako didn't talk to anyone for weeks. Rose just wandered off one day, never coming back. Happy spent days in her room, depressed.

And she? She cried. And she realized. That she just wasn't meant to be happy. Trying to get close to Hibiki had hurt her badly. Getting even closer than that to Rin, and she had died the day right after. All the progress she had made toward being a better person had been lost that day. She couldn't even look at Hibiki or Itsuki anymore. Jealousy was eating away at her inside. She would never forget that look that Hibiki had given her a few weeks later.

"Don't ever talk or show your face to me again." There was nothing but contempt in her eyes. Kanade had lost her nerves and seriously attacked Itsuki, breaking her arm. And it wasn't just those two that shunned her after that. She had to make her own meals, eat alone, and she could never count on anyone else. In battles, she was always the first to be targeted. There was no more exile at that point but every day she spent there felt like she was inside it.

Spending her days in solitude, knowing that it all boiled down to her first screw up with Hibiki... if that hadn't happened, Rin might have been somewhere else that day and she would still be alive. She was tormented. And when the day came they could go home, Kanade asked herself what was even waiting for her?

Hibiki moved away, leaving behind family and friends. Ellen stayed behind for a few days, rarely walking past the shop and checking if Kanade was there. But eventually, she left when Peach and Passion came to get her. Ako returned to major land. She never heard from her again. All of that was four years ago.

She had graduated from school and started working at her familiy's shop. A few months later, a large chain bakery opened nearby, taking away a lot of their customers. Since then, they had been losing a lot of customers, gradually over the years. It was at the point where they all tried to keep the shop going together but didn't know how much longer they could hold on.

Closing up shop, Kanade was in charge of making dinner that day. She used to enjoy it, but with Souta attending a boarding school after being granted a scholarship, it was just herself and her father, who spent his evenings brooding over bills. Her mother had taken up a night shift job in a service center, to help support the family through the rough times.

"Here. Eat it before it's cold." Putting his dinner on the table, Kanade washed her hands and left for her room. Her father didn't say anything.

Kanade's room was her last refuge. Sitting down on the chair at her desk, she simply stared at the mirror. She had grown just a little since then. But she had lost that glint in her eyes that made a person attractive. No matter how pretty she was, her eyes told people that she had already surrendered her heart.

Pulling open a drawer, she slowly took out a cheap locket. A gift from five years ago. Hibiki had given it to her, the twenty-fifth of May, Kanade's birthday. Opening the locket, she looked at the image. Hibiki, fifteen years old, smiling and waving.

Looking at it for a long time, the sun set completely outside. The house was eerily silent. She did this every year, to remind herself to never feel anything for anyone again. It would only drive them away. But the one feeling she couldn't lock away was her loneliness. As long as she sat there and looked at the image, she silently cried until her eyes hurt and she could no longer bear looking at her lost love.

She didn't even have a picture of Rin to mourn. Putting the locket back into her drawer, Kanade stood up and sat down on her bed. If she could have traded the rest of her life for spending just one more night together with Hibiki or Rin, she would have done so.

She was scared of falling asleep. In her dreams, she relived the days her life still had meaning. Attending school with Hibiki. Trying hard to become a better person with Rin at her side. Those dreams scared her. They always ended in the same way as reality. With her being left alone, either inside a school that felt empty, or inside a dark room, a puddle of blood and shreds of red cloth and hair the only thing that remained.

Especially today, on Hibiki's birthday, she knew she would dream of her. And she knew she would wake up hating herself a little more than today. But she couldn't avoid it. After everything that had happened, Kanade believed that it was simply her punishment. That she was meant to suffer no matter what she did.

The next morning was no different than any other. Outside, snow was falling. Getting dressed, taking a brief shower and going downstairs, Kanade found that the shop was still closed, even though it was past opening time. Seeing her mother and father in the living room, she already knew. Entering the room, both of her parents looked up at her. "Kanade, we need to talk about the shop."

"I know. We can't afford to keep it." Kanade could feel herself tear up. "I knew this would happen. But don't worry, I have a friend I can ask for a job. She runs a bakery in another town."

"I'm really sorry, Kanade. I wanted you to take-" Her father didn't finish the sentence. He could tell from the look in Kanade's eyes that nothing he could say would make her feel any better.

A few days later, Kanade's dad had started working in the very same bakery that had run them out of business. Her mother continued to work in the service center at night. Kanade, having packed a large bag, sat on her bed, the house cold and empty.

Standing up, going to the desk, she opened it and took out the locket. Leaving her bag behind, she slowly descended the stairs, the locket's chain in her hand, swinging slightly with her every step. Looking at the empty shelves of the shop, she walked up to the counter, standing behind it, smiling happily. "Welcome!"

But her smile vanished as quickly as it had come. Leaving through the front door, Kanade walked through the snow that was piling up. The sky was as gray as her life. Looking around town, she visited all the spots that she held dear, where she had shared happy memories with Hibiki.

It was already late in the evening, the street lanterns shining their dim light through the dark that had covered the town now, when she finally stopped at the last location. The now frozen lake. It was here that Hibiki had given her the locket, where her happiest memory was. Facing the ice, Kanade knelt down and slowly took off her shoes, then her socks. Stepping barefoot onto the ice, it creaked loudly. Holding the locket with both of her hands, Kanade slowly walked towards the one spot she remembered. Rowing over the lake in a small boat, Hibiki had surprised her there, handing her the locket.

Her feet were red and swollen by the time she got to the spot. "Hibiki... Rin..." Twice had she loved. Twice had she lost them. And now, the little that remained of her life was falling apart. The ice creaked dangerously now, right beneath her feet. Opening the locket, she looked at the image. Leading it slowly to her lips, at the very moment she kissed it, the ground beneath her feet gave in and an icy and unforgiving world of water surrounded her.

But she didn't mind. Pressing the locket to her lips, thinking of Hibiki and Rin, the pain was fading away. The pain of losing Hibiki, the pain of losing Rin, the pain of losing her future. The pain of being alone. The single kiss she shared with Hibiki's picture continued as she sunk deeper and deeper into the lake, her silhouette disappearing into the solitude of the lake.

=== Dissonance ===

After hearing from White that Ellen had been in the battle, Love kept waiting in the dome, in hope that someone would show up. She was worried about both of them. It took almost an hour of patiently waiting before Bright came up the stairs, hoping to find someone that could bring her up to speed on what was happening with Saki.

"They still think of each other as partners." Love could tell that much easily after seeing how worried Bloom had been after White came back from fighting. She was fidgeting all around her and only calmed down when White kissed her on the cheek. "Bright, I have a favor to ask. Can you bring Beat up here?"

But that wasn't necessary. Just as she asked, Love saw someone with silvery hair coming up the stairs. "Setsuna!" Calling out to her partner, Love jumped up, hitting the barrier. If only they were on the same team! She calmed down somewhat when she saw a very exhausted Ellen following her. Seeing that Love was already waiting for them, Eas grabbed Ellen's hand and pulled her along. "Are you two okay?"

Walking up right to the barrier, Eas got a little embarrassed. She knew how to turn between forms but after Ellen had come out and said that she really liked how she looked like that, she had just stayed like that. "Beside me having a splitting headache and Ellen being really drained, we're both fine."

Ellen thought it was a good decision to not let someone substitute for her in the fight. She had woken up more exhausted than ever, but she didn't feel in pain anymore. The after-battle healing mechanism had taken care of all the damage singing Purger had caused. But she felt a little guilty. After hearing that Black and Egret were still all over each other, she knew that it was because they had failed to sing the full hymn. Even if they tried to use it again now, the infection was too trivial to target.

Love sunk to her knees, incredibly relieved and all of a sudden feeling very tired. " I want to come over but there are still some others that want to switch. I don't know if I can go another week without kissing either of you." Complaining, Love sighed. She was a bit sick of sleeping alone. And she was even more sick of not being able to cuddle and kiss her lovers.

Ellen blushed a little hearing that. "We could come over instead. There is no risk of exile, so I don't mind trying." The blue Cure didn't mind leaving her current room for something else and Setsuna was all the way down in the worst room, too. "I think only Aqua tried to switch and Mint came to our side, so there probably won't be any volunteers tomorrow."

Taking Ellen's hand and kissing her cheek, Setsuna liked the idea. "You'll have to pick who you want to see first. One of us tomorrow, the other a day after."

"You super tease." Pouting a little, Love pointed at Ellen. "I'll pick Ellen in that case. She smells better than you do." Saying the first thing that came to mind, both Love and Setsuna laughed over how much Ellen blushed at the supposed compliment.

Bright had long left, leaving the three love birds to their own devices. Coming across Nagisa and Mai, the two just entering the dining hall, holding hands and looking rather happy together, Michiru felt annoyed. Annoyed with herself that despite seeing how happy Mai was, she couldn't accept it.

Most of the team was trying to be considerate and not say anything about Black and Egret showing up like any other couple. Most of them were already eating, dinner prepared by Aqua and Mint, who, according to March, had been virtually glued together.

But not everyone was in good spirits. Beside Bright, who was depressed over Mai's memories still being screwed up, Peace and Rouge looked very unhappy. Melody wasn't in the best mood either. "I know I'm not at fault here but I still feel guilty that someone from my team ended up in exile. And of all times, this happens right when I was starting to make up with her." Hibiki played with her salad instead of eating it. She didn't have a lot of appetite.

"Beat is on your team too and she was in exile a few days ago. She looks fine to me, so Kanade will be okay. Stop moping, your face is gonna stay like that." Grinning, Itsuki had a nice idea . "Actually, never mind, make your face stay like that, you're even cuter than normal when you mope."

Rouge was in an even worse mood and on her own. Being Kanade's current partner, she was really worried about long lasting negative effects the exile might have on her. Trying to chow down as much as she could before feeling sick of it, Rin left her food almost untouched. Getting up and leaving for the labyrinth, she would try to take her mind off worrying by training.

Nobody could quite put their finger on why Peace looked so depressed. If Nao or Akane knew about that little accident with Marine at the pool, they might have had an idea. Yayoi didn't know about Blossom having been the exile. The only explanation for Erika suddenly leaving was that she had come on to her.

Seeing Akane and Nao actually having sex.. she hadn't been prepared for that. She found a kindred soul in Erika and after being around her for just those few days, she had gotten pretty close. Drawing them and being as horny as she was, her mind just short circuited. Before she knew what she was doing, she was trying to imitate the scene she had been watching so intently.

Erika was funny, cute, smart and a lot of other things. Shaking her head, Yayoi really needed to get that idea out of her head. She was taken! She couldn't just fall for someone's girl... that would be netorare. She didn't like that genre. She wasn't even sure if she was actually falling for Erika or just confused. She felt kinda ridiculous. Considering how much she talked about shipping, yuri doujinshi and other related material, she never even had a girlfriend of any kind before.

She absolutely wouldn't mind having Erika take that role. But that was more of a pipe dream. But that only made her want it more. She needed a shower, a really cold one. Or maybe just a lukewarm one, she didn't like cold water. In any case, she had to get that idea of wanting Erika out of her head. Getting up and heading to the showers, she wondered if Erika would mind if she made a doujin of Miracle Peace and Cure Marine. The dirty grin mixed with the confused expression looked exceptionally weird, but thankfully nobody could see it.

The dinner was far from lively. The couples kept to themselves, those who were in a bad mood did as well. But at the very least, there was no longer any danger.

=== Dissonance ===

"It's... my fault." Nozomi was alone in her room, sitting on her bed, her expression a mask, fear and despair hiding beneath it. "It's my fault... again... I hurt them.. created the reflections.. and now I've destroyed two relationships... and almost got four others killed... Happy... Passion... Beat.. Muse... they all tried so hard to remedy the situation... and I caused it all."

"_You bring nothing but misfortune on those you're close to."_

Nozomi jumped up, her eyes hastily scanning every bit of the room. Nothing was there. But she was sure she had heard her voice. _Her_ voice. "No.. I killed you... with my own hands... I ended the terror..."

Something hugged her from behind, a tongue licking her neck. Looking down on herself, she could see two transparent arms holding her. Something was breathing on her neck._ "No welcome back? You're so cold... Dream."_ Breaking out in laughter, the voice was high pitched and undoubtedly up to no good.

"No! No! No no no no nonononono..." Nozomi wildly shook her head, trying to claw the transparent arms off, her hands going right through it. **"Get off, get out, get away, leave me, leave us, just leave!" **Screaming hysterically, Nozomi threw herself against the wall, over and over, until her back hurt so bad that she could no longer stand.

"_You can't get rid of me. I __**am**__ you._" The laughter grew louder and louder in her head until it completely filled her mind.

Pulling herself off the ground, Nozomi's eyes were wide open with terror. She had to get out. Get away. Far away from everyone else. Trying to open her door, she found herself locked in. "Why... why won't it open?"

"_Because I don't want you to leave."_

Nozomi started to pull on the door as hard as she could, punch it, kick it. "Dream Blast!" Nothing happened. She couldn't even user her abilities. Her breathing was racing, she couldn't control what she was doing anymore. Suddenly feeling sick, Nozomi knelt over, puking on the ground. Covering her mouth, she felt a sticky, slimy substance, very much unlike blood. When she looked down, she saw black, boiling mud smeared all over the ground.

Backing off into a corner of her room, Nozomi didn't understand anything anymore. In her entire life, she hadn't been so afraid. "What.. what are you doing... what are you doing to me?" But her question remained unanswered. Feeling sick again, she looked at her arms, out of instinct. The pink cloth of her gloves was slowly turning black, as if it was being infested with the mud. Trying to get them off, she couldn't even tear the cloth. "Nightmare! Answer me!" Her eyes were rotating, wildly twitching, switching from one corner to another.

The transparent arm started to caress her cheek, while another was simply laid around her shoulders. _"Silly, isn't it obvious?"_ Nozomi could feel wet, cold lips on her cheek. Cold sweat was running down her body.

Nozomi couldn't even get a single word out when a transparent copy of herself, with her costume swapped to black and an insane look in the eyes, slowly materialized before her. Wildly swinging her arm at it, her couldn't touch her at all.

The apparition knelt down, continuously caressing Nozomi's cheek until she forced a deep kiss on her. Nozomi almost choked when she felt the apparition's tongue inside her mouth. And her body was no longer obeying her. Playing with the evil copy's tongue, Nozomi could feel one of the transparent hands ripping her chest piece off with ease. It turned black immediately as soon as it was touched.

Having her breasts fondled against her will, Nozomi had never felt fear like that before. Finally, the kiss ended and the apparition licked her lips suggestively, a small amount of black mud dropping from her chin. "You're so cute, Dream. You still don't realize?"

Kneeling down and whispering in Nozomi's ear, the pink Cure opened her mouth wide and tried to bite her own tongue, but she was denied even that.

The apparition laughed and laughed at her despair, at her fear. She laughed until Nozomi could no longer hear anything else. And finally, she looked at her with contempt.

"**I'm taking over."**

=== Event of Event XXVI ===


	27. Vanishing Truth

**Dissonance**

_Event XXVII_

**Vanishing Truth**

Standing out in the cold hallway, Saki left her head hanging, facing the ground. Leaning against the door to Honoka's room, she knew that going back in there was only going to make her feel worse. The last hour inside had pretty much shown her that trying to ignore the truth was only going to hurt herself and those she held dear. No matter what she felt, she couldn't shake off the guilt.

"_You can tell, can't you?" Laying behind Honoka, Saki just couldn't find peace. In her memory, she had spent hundreds of nights with her like this, but there were so many discrepancies that she knew it wasn't right. Honoka's scent was different from the one in her memory. The feeling of her skin didn't match. Her posture, the way she kept her arms and legs, her tone of voice in bed. It were just little things_

_Letting go of Honoka, Saki got out of bed, turning back into a Cure just as Honoka sat up, looking depressed. Her memories were altered but it was far from perfect. Saki was much more muscular than she remembered. The thickness of her arms was slightly different. The way Saki's breasts pushed against her back when they snuggled up. Both of them felt attracted to each other, they could tell that they loved each other. But at the same time, they realized that those emotions were not really directed to who they looked at. _

"_When I think about the past, there are so many things that don't make sense... How we met, what we did, back then, what we went through. I look at you and it feels right, but I know it's not." The scientist slowly exhaled, looking up at the ceiling. "And that's not all... the more I think about the past, the more I realize that I've been not quite myself for a long time. Work conditions, the expectations of sponsors, the jealousy of colleagues... thinking back on it, I should have known better than to let it get to me." Her memories told her that she had been very strict on Saki, teasing and scolding her too much. She didn't have any excuse for venting her piled up stress like that._

"_I'm not any better." Saki crouched down and shared Honoka's anguish. "The last few years, I've been trying so hard to find something I can be as successful at as... Mai." Her memories were messed up. Honoka was not a painter, despite her memories telling her so, she knew that much. "I don't even remember why. I think I just started out, trying to be on equal grounds with her, and somewhere along the line things went too far... I didn't realize that we were never on different ground to begin with. I put so much work into sports and my training... I spent less and less time with you, I mean, with Mai." It was still hard for her to consciously use Mai's name instead of simply talking to Honoka. She hated the way she felt guilty every time she used Mai's name, despite her being the girl she **really** loved. "I guess we're both a bit screwed up."_

"_I want to go back to normal. And even more than that, I want to go back to being happy just having... Nagisa at my side." Being locked up in some sort of dimensional prison hadn't exactly improved her condition. But realizing how bad it had gotten... that it had changed the way she lived her life and treated her partner... Honoka didn't want to continue like that._

_Saki turned around, sitting on the ground, her back leaned against the frame of the bed. "That sounds like a good idea. I wish it was that easy for me." Stretching her arms for a few seconds, Saki rested her head against her knees. "I'm not even sure how to fix things. I like doing sports and I wish I could just go back to playing softball."_

"_Why don't you? Professional softball is not a bad choice. I think it would suit you." Honoka felt bad for Saki. Japan didn't have many professional sports leagues. The closest thing to a softball league she knew of was the V-League for volleyball. But that wasn't the only reason she felt guilty._

_While she found it easy to at least realize what she wanted to do to get things back to normal, Saki was struggling. Petting Saki's head while covering herself up with the blanket, Honoka went through her own memories. Looking for memories that were about Nagisa, she knew that it was really Saki. "You used to be more... I suppose refined is too strong a term. Cute? Feminine? I think that works."_

"_You think so?" Thinking about herself and how she was acting now compared to when she hadn't started doing hardcore sports yet, she saw right away what Honoka meant. During training, there was no sense of being girly or manly. All that counted were the results. And considering how much time she had spent doing it... how the time she had spent with Mai was gradually getting less and less as she tried harder and harder... "You're right... I didn't even realize that." Looking at her legs, she started to regret her past. "But it's a bit late for that I guess. I'm even more muscular than Nagisa or Michiru. It would just look weird if-" Saki twitched when Honoka gently slapped the top of her head._

"_You're so silly, Saki. Just because you've got some muscles doesn't mean you can't behave the way you did before becoming obsessed with training. It wasn't what I remember but... it didn't feel bad when you held me." She couldn't help but blush, saying it. She tried to resist it, knowing that Saki belonged to Mai and not her, but her feelings rejected that notion right away._

_Smiling and blushing at the same time, Saki slightly turned her head, looking at Honoka in the dark. "Thanks." She would try. Hopefully, Mai would be happy too... when... if they got back to normal. "I hope we won't stay like this. Right now, I just want to crawl on the bed, hug you and nibble on your ear. But I know it's not you who I really want to do that too."_

"_Saki... I feel bad asking you this but can you sleep in your own room tonight? We both know that we're not a real couple. I don't want to make things even more complicated than they are." It wasn't that she disliked Saki. She just didn't want to lose two friends when everything went back to normal._

"_You don't need to feel bad. To be honest, even when I think about the memories that have Mai in them, I keep thinking I wouldn't mind being that girls partner. If I had never met Mai and you never met Nagisa..." Saki was interrupted when a few strands of long hair tickled her neck and a single finger sealed her lips._

"_Don't make things even harder than they already are." Before she realized what she was doing, Honoka kissed Saki on the cheek and backed off. "We should go to sleep."_

_Just nodding, and feeling guilty for bringing it up, Saki got up and sat down on the bed for a moment, taking Honoka's hand. It was something she had done with Mai when they were younger... something she had forgotten until now. Four of their fingers intervened with each other, Saki kept playing with Honoka's index finger, the white Cure going along with it, a love struck expression on her face. "Good night, Honoka."_

_Refusing to let go, Honoka got up and opened the door for Saki, letting her out. She had to gather all of her self-control to finally stop and close the door, leaving Saki out in the cold hallway._

"I wonder how Nagisa is doing..." Slowly walking towards the stairs, Saki felt miserable. Despite being somewhat aware that her feelings were real but misdirected, it hadn't hit home until now. Hopefully, things would go back to normal soon.

Reaching her own room, the only one inside was Pine, sound asleep. Berry's bed was empty. Saki felt a little bit jealous. Getting under her blanket, so it completely covered her, and turning back into civilian form, Saki laid down, feeling a bit lonely.

And she wasn't the only one. Nagisa and Mai experienced the same thing. Having lived with their partners for so long, they intuitively knew that something was amiss. They hadn't gone to bed together. Even before that, Mai had asked Nagisa to stay separated. Both of them were laying in their own beds, unable to sleep, dwelling on memories.

Most of Nagisa's recent memories were full of Mai getting angry with her. Knowing it was really Honoka who got angry, and thinking back on what she had been like when they still attended school, Nagisa wondered what had triggered the change in personality. Honoka used to be strict when she had to be but also forgiving when she could. It was a very nice balance, Nagisa thought. But lately, Mai... Honoka, had changed quite a bit. Maybe the reason was that she often worked overtime... Nagisa hadn't even bothered to think about it until now. That realization by itself showed her another issue.

Herself. Thinking back on it, ever since Honoka started working, she had become a little thoughtless. Whether it was just forgetting to put away her dirty clothes after a shower and hang up the towels, clean the sink after brushing her teeth, forget to cook dinner when Honoka was working into the evening... The less she saw Honoka, the more she started forgetting those little things. It wasn't that she didn't care. Her feelings were as fierce as they had been years ago. So why did she forget?

Was it because she still hadn't found a job she truly wanted to do? It bothered her, yes, and at times, she felt unhappy with her life. Honoka worked long hours and sometimes she only saw her when waking up to get to work early, and when Honoka came home, hours after Nagisa had finished working. The one thing she really had wanted to do, play lacrosse professionally, was a pipe dream. Only America had professional leagues for it, and that was a long, long way from Japan. Even if Honoka came with her, surely able to find work at a private or public laboratory in America, she would have to leave behind all of her friends and family. Back then, Honoka had suggested joining an amateur club, but she had been reluctant. It meant spending even less time with her partner.

Turning over, Nagisa peeked out of her bed and up, curious of Mai had fallen asleep. It was hard on her, being in the same room as the girl she loved or at least was made to feel that way, but unable to sleep next to her. "Mai?"

A muffled sound, asking what she wanted, came from under Mai's blanket. It was impossible to fall asleep with Nagisa sleeping in the bed right below her. No matter what she knew and thought, her heart was still aching, telling her to give in and fall into Nagisa's embrace.

"In your memories... what am I doing? Was I happy with our life?" Prying into the relationship of someone else wasn't something Nagisa did often. But she wanted to know how Saki dealt with her life.

Getting out from under the blanket, Mai laid on her side, facing the wall that was closer to her bed. "Maybe. Lately, I don't know what... Saki is thinking. We don't see each other much and she changed a lot. She used to be really thoughtful, always looking out for me, sometimes just watching me draw for hours. Now... I need to constantly remind her of things she would have done by herself. Maybe it's because she is training by herself so much. I always tell her I'd support her no matter what she wants to do... but I really want her to just be there with me. I understand she wants to feel accomplished... and I think that's a good thing, but she could do that without picking something so extreme." Mai was surprised how easily all of those things came out. Talking to Nagisa seemed so easy... maybe because she saw her as her partner.

"I'm sure Saki would understand if you told her this. I felt the same. I wanted to do something with my life. Achieve something. Honoka is really smart and could easily support us both, but I would feel horrible, not doing anything." Pausing for a moment, Nagisa sat at the edge of her bed. "I've been wondering if I should pick up Lacrosse again. I could only play in amateur clubs as there are no professional, paid leagues. I've only been working part time at a gym, but the hours there are pretty silly and I've been seeing you, I mean Honoka, hardly at all."

Mai turned over and waited for almost a minute before she responded. "Don't you think Honoka would be happier, too, if you weren't worried about what you're doing with your life?"

"Maybe you're right. When we get back to normal, I'll talk to her. You should talk to Saki, too." Letting her feet touch the cold ground, Nagisa felt a little bit better but also weird at the same time. Mai was, in her heart, still the girl she loved. Honoka was just a friend.

"What do you think of Saki? You've known each other for a long time, and you're not living with her, so it should be easy for you to tell if she's any different." Mai knew very well that the girl in her memories was Saki, and not Nagisa. That the behavior she recalled was Saki's. She just needed confirmation that she wasn't exaggerating it inside her head.

"She lost a lot of the charm that made her fun to be around. I remember you commenting on this about a year ago. You said that Saki had become too focused on what she is supposed to do. That she lost track of enjoying her life with her caring partner." Nagisa recalled the rest of the conversation as well but she didn't know if she should tell Mai. It was a bit personal.

"Honoka also talked about you. When we last met, you were constantly correcting Saki. Honoka thought you were trying to compensate for the way Saki had changed by changing yourself." Considering Mai hadn't left out any details, Nagisa didn't want to keep this from her.

"Maybe so. I can't imagine life without y-, without Saki. I'd do anything to stay with her. No matter what she does, I'm not going to leave her." Nothing of what she said was exaggerated. For Mai, being with Saki was the very epitome of being happy. Although lately, that epitome had been tarnished a bit.

"After this is over... or at least when we get back to normal... I hope we can all go back to things as they were before." Getting out of bed and peeking over the frame of Mai's bed, Nagisa reached out and took the white Cure's hand. "Until then, I'll at least try to be a better person for you. Even if you're not the girl I **really** love, you're still one of my best friends."

Mai wanted to pull away her hand but didn't. "Stop it... what if I really fall for you?"

Grinning and smiling, Nagisa let go. "I think Saki would hit me pretty hard. But you're right. I'll go to sleep." Getting back in her bed, Nagisa felt a lot better now. "Mai?"

"Weren't you going to bed?" She couldn't help but smile a little. She could see what Honoka liked about her. "What is it?"

"Thanks for talking. I feel a lot better."

"I do, too. Thanks for listening, Nagisa."

=== Dissonance ===

Her breath was racing, a warm liquid dropping from her mouth and chin, sticking to her hands like glue. Kneeling over the corpse of the girl, she licked her teeth, stained red with the lifeblood of her victim. She liked the taste, if only because she could taste the fear of the girl in it. She hadn't even seen it coming.

"How do you like my **present**, Dream?" Her own voice was just barely making it to the edges of the room. Slowly getting up, wiping the thick blood from her hands on her black sleeves, she leaned down and grabbed the right arm of the corpse, slowly pulling her up. The expression of the dead girl was frozen in surprise and horror, her throat torn open by violent bites. She had suffered lethal damage before she knew what happened.

Nozomi could not even close her eyes for she was forced to witness everything her Nightmare did. Pulling the dead Miyuki up, the corrupt Cure's expression exploded in a grimace of sadism, suddenly pulling the arm out of it's socket, blood spraying all over her own body for a few seconds. Throwing the arm away, she grabbed the body again, lifting it up, grabbing Miyuki by her destroyed throat. "You hate her, loathe her, don't you? She makes you remember. That fur ball creature you love so much. That he will never be yours. Because she acted just like him."

"You **hated** her, didn't you?" Nightmare's words echoed in Nozomi's head. It was a lie. It was a complete lie. She had felt the opposite. Seeing Miyuki protect her despite only getting to know her recently had left the same kind of impression Coco had left all those years ago. She didn't hate her!

As Nightmare opened her mouth, Nozomi could feel the dark mud rise up from her throat. They didn't share the body but she could feel everything Nightmare did. "Now watch."

Shoving two of her fingers into Miyuki's mouth, Nightmare forced open her jaw. Nozomi could feel the still warm lips on her own when Nightmare forced a deep kiss on the corpse, dark mud pouring into the dead body of the innocent girl. With every second, more and more of Miyuki's costume turned to black and her throat started regenerating. It wasn't healing her. It was corrupting her, turning her into a puppet of Nightmare.

"**Nozomi!"**

The scene changed drastically from one moment to another. Looking up, towards the ceiling, she could tell that she was lying down, on a bed. Looking up, she saw Miyuki's face, worry written all over her face. "Are you awake now? You were screaming in your sleep."

Nozomi tried to call down. Had it just been a dream? Had she cracked under the pressure of guilt and hiding it? It seemed that way. It had to be that way. "Miyuki... thanks for waking me up..."

She couldn't possibly tell her what she had just seen in her dreams. She couldn't tell anyone. Just like she couldn't tell anyone that she had caused the reflections and the recent events. Closing her eyes briefly, breathing a sigh of relief, Nozomi gasped for air when two hands suddenly grabbed her throat. Her eyes flung wide open in fear, she knew it hadn't been a dream. A dark Happy, her costume tainted black, her eyes full of hatred, was choking her violently, her body restrained by binds. It was the same! It hadn't been a dream!

"You will pay, **Dream! Pay for our suffering!"**

With an ear-piercing scream, Nozomi woke up a second time, facing Miyuki yet again. She couldn't believe her own senses anymore. To begin with, how would Miyuki even get into her room? **"Suffer!"** With a single lightning fast move, Nozomi put both of her hands on Miyuki's throat, her eyes wide open, twitching wildly. Before the pink Cure being attacked could defend herself, Nozomi snapped her neck. "**Suffer! Suffer! More! Suffer more! Pay for your sin!"**

Grabbing her own throat, Nozomi started laughing as she started choking herself. And just as the room around her faded away, she woke up another time. Simply screaming, she jumped out of bed, flung the door open and ran without looking where she was going. Hitting the wall, unable to even decide if she should go left or right, Nozomi got on her knees, frightened to death of her own room.

And just when she thought it couldn't get any worse, the door to Miyuki's room opened, the pink Cure coming running out and towards Nozomi. "**Stay away!**" Screaming as loud as she could, Nozomi raised her right hand. "Dream Blast!" Firing roughly in the direction Happy was at, Nozomi couldn't think straight anymore. She couldn't take another scenario of her killing Miyuki. "Don't come!" Nozomi tried to get up but her legs didn't quite obey her. About to launch another attack against Happy, her body gave in to fear and fright, her consciousness fading.

=== Dissonance ===

"Can't we go a single night without someone going completely bonkers?" Urara, sleep deprived, pissed off, and also on Ako withdrawal, was keeping a completely hysteric Dream locked up so tightly that she couldn't even move a finger. The pink Cure resembled a big ball of chains. "Why is Nozomi going crazy the moment one of us gets near her? Pine, you can pry into her mind, can't you?"

"That's not what Domination is made for." Inori knew that she didn't have a whole lot of choice in this matter. The state Dream was in was catastrophic, to put it simple. The moment she saw anyone, she started screaming, trying to keep them away. It was especially bad when Happy got near, turning Dream into a screaming, crying and hysteric mess. The pink Cure was devastated, being treated like that. Using two daggers and a large piece of cloth, Beauty had forced a full face blindfold on Dream, getting the situation somewhat under control.

As Inori looked at the back, she saw Happy sitting at the stairs, depressed, Beauty trying to console her somehow, with no success at all. "Kaoru, if I start behaving even a little weird, hit me with Stormflair." She didn't trust anyone else to knock her out, no questions asked. She had never considered the possibility, but after taking over Bloom, she had **felt** the anger, wrath and hostility. If Happy hadn't put Bloom under her spell, Inori was afraid what **might** have happened.

"I will." Turning to Berry and Moonlight, both of them observing the scene, the former very much worried about Inori, Kaoru addressed them directly. "Berry, can you take care of Inori when she falls?"

Inori thought it was sweet of Kaoru to be worried. But as a Cure, just hitting the ground after going unconscious wouldn't put as much as a scratch on her. "I've never taken someone over with the intent of just peeking at their thoughts..."

"I'll help." Hikari, despite Kurumi trying to stop her, put both of her hands on Inori's back, using her special ability, channeling it entirely into Pine. The yellow Cure could feel that all her senses were heightened.

She was afraid. After having seen what was inside Bloom and White when Beat and Muse purged them, she was afraid. Confusedly looking at her right hand, Kaoru was holding it. "This is what people do when they aim to provide mental support, right?"

The awkward gesture and explanation put a tiny smile on Inori's face. Looking at Dream, who was still blind folded, Inori took a deep breath. "Domination!"

She stench of decay was overwhelming. Finding herself, half-translucent and floating, in the middle of a wasteland, Inori couldn't believe she was inside the mind of **Dream**. The idealist that had saved them from Nightmare. The ground was burning hot and slightly sticky, pools of blood boiling in the distance, large charred trees littering the landscape. The sky was covered by pitch black clouds, burning hot winds whipped up the stench of decay even more. It was a perfect depiction of what she imagined hell itself would look like. Moving herself into one direction, Inori stopped, feeling something extremely familiar but also extremely alienating behind her. Turning around, she saw something that sent a chill down her spine.

Turning around she stared right into two deep orange colored eyes. Eyes, filled with incomparable contempt and hatred. Backing off and getting a good view on what she was looking at, it was a copy of herself, the costume pitch black with golden linings, the hair a bright silver. It looked a whole lot like she was wearing the same things as Setsuna had worn back when she was Eas. She wasn't moving, just staring at her.

Inori couldn't move. Just like prey that was being stared down by a snake. Considering the mental link, if she **died** right here and now, she would likely die in the real world as well. Cold sweat was running down her back and forehead. She always liked to be prepared, but there were some situations that voided all contingency plans, no matter what. Blinking, the stoic expression on her clone changed into a creepy smile. She knew. She could smell Inori's fear. Taste her fright. Hear her heart beating wildly against her chest. And Inori knew that her copy knew. Trying to cut the link, she couldn't find the way out. Getting into a mind and getting out was both similar to finding an open door in a room with a dozen. Usually, most were open, but this time, she couldn't find an exit at all. Unable to avoid blinking any longer, the copy instantly vanished without a trace. Rapidly turning and checking every direction, Inori made sure that she was really gone.

And she still couldn't cut the link. Something was blocking her, keeping her in. She had jumped into a dark pit with a rope but there had been superglue at the bottom of it. And she was standing knee-deep in it. Looking around, she could spot three points that seemed different from the rest of the wasteland. A storm cell in the sky. A several dozen meter high fire pillar. And the source of the stench.

Inori headed towards the fire pillar first. If she couldn't leave, she had to find out what was going on inside Dream's head. But whatever it was, Inori knew it wasn't just Dream having a bad day or nightmare. Something was violently mutating her thoughts.

=== Dissonance ===

"I don't like the color of her face." Kaoru was still holding Inori's hand, ready to forcibly shut down her consciousness at any second. "Her body temperature has fallen as well." Kaoru felt a tightness in her chest. She knew she wasn't confused about feeling worried. She had a pretty firm grasp on that. But she couldn't get a single moment of peace. Inori was leaned against the wall. Both she and Dream had gone entirely silent.

Hikari was still keeping the energy link open, Kurumi by her side, having brought a blanket so Hikari wouldn't feel cold. Honoka and Saki had joined the group by now. "This... isn't our fault, is it?" Standing right next to her fake partner, Saki was worried that whatever had possessed them was now attacking Dream.

"It's possible. I asked Miki and she said that the shadow was targeting Dream, crying her name in anger. I hope Pine is doing okay." Honoka could see that everyone was worried. Not a single Cure of the light team was asleep. Even Marine and Blossom had shown up.

"Anyone need a drink?" Urara sat down at the wall opposite to where Nozomi was. Using some of her favor to get a few assorted bottles of alcohol, she settled down, expecting a very long night. "The way I know Nozomi, this is going to take a while. If something is strong enough to make her go bonkers, we're in for the real deal."

Miki stared her down. "Don't you think it's pretty damn inappropriate to start drinking when your team leader is in god knows what condition?"

Getting up and staring back, Urara's tone changed drastically. "So, little miss perfect, what would you have me do? Hold her hand and hope she doesn't randomly blast it off? Get closer and drive her even more insane? Worry my ass off and end up in a super shitty condition when she snaps out of this, just so she can feel bad about it?"

Grabbing Miki's hand and pulling her away, Yuri put an end to the argument before it got out of hand. Noticing how tense the atmosphere was, Urara didn't pursue the issue either but instead took a big mouthful of her drink, straight out of the bottle. She didn't need to have that overgrown smurf stick her nose into this. She was worried enough as is.

"Yuri!" Miki complained about being pulled away. "Don't tell me you're on her side."

"I'm not. You didn't look at her hands, right?" Yuri had a keen eye for these things. Primarily because she knew exactly what it meant to be worried sick. "The bottle in her hand was constantly shaking." Miki looked back at Lemonade, who was peering at Dream constantly while taking a mouthful now and then.

"What do you think Bukki is seeing in there?" Miki was more worried about her friend than about Dream. Using Domination while being the sole benefactor of Luminous' buff had to be close to a mind dive.

"Going by what Dream is acting like? Hell." Yuri didn't mince her words. And she couldn't shake off the fear that this was all related to Eclipse somehow. "I hope Bloom and White don't have any kind of relapse into going crazy after this. We're all on edge as is. I hope Beauty keeps an eye on Happy."

"I'm going to keep an eye on Bloom and White, just in case. You should get some rest, Yuri." Taking her partners hand, Miki could feel that she was nervously shaking a little bit. "Although I guess that's not really an option while all of this is going on. Want to lay down on my lap while I hold your hand?"

Yuri looked at Miki like she was an alien. "Miki, you can't be serious about that." Yuri would rather end up with no sleep whatsoever than do something that embarrassing. She liked having Miki by her side, but the blue Cure was constantly pushing it. Trying to put a damper on that had been largely futile, too.

"I'm dead serious. I'll sit down and you can use me as a lap pillow." Grinning, knowing exactly that Yuri wouldn't agree to that, Miki liked to tease her a little. The fun came to an abrupt end when a chill ran through Miki's body. Looking at Yuri, she could tell that her partner had felt it, too. The smell of something burnt was in the air.

Looking to Dream the most likely source of it, Miki hoped she was just hallucinating things from being sleep deprived. Several large, black and translucent tentacles had formed on Nozomi's back, slowly feeling their surroundings. Miki's face was distorted in disgust. "Can you see that, Yuri?" Slowly backing off, Miki was ready to unleash a blast at full power.

"Yeah..." Facing the same shadow as a few hours ago, a distortion of her own shadow, Yuri felt every single hair on her body stand up in fear. Was that thing immortal? Didn't they completely obliterate it? How was it still here? Why was Eclipse still here? Her teeth hurt from gritting them too hard, her hands were clenched fists. She couldn't deal with this again. It would just possess someone else anyway! Slowly taking a step back, the proud and usually fearless Moonlight wasn't able to see any hope of winning.

Everyone around Dream was having the same reactions. Slowly backing off, getting some distance between themselves and the now black Cure, they couldn't convince themselves to get any closer or even stay their ground. Luminous, Rose and Windy remained with Pine, those three seemingly unaffected.

But it was Pine that was affected the most.

=== Dissonance ===

She couldn't even avert her eyes from what was happening. A pot, as large as a pond, seething blood inside, a fire that seemed to burn even the air raising from it. And inside the blood were innumerable parts of humans and animals alike. That alone was horrifying enough. What froze her in place were the care takers of the pot. Dozens of copies of herself, tasting, stirring and adding ingredients.

Standing there, in one synchronous move, all the copies stopped their activities, turning about and facing her, their orange glowing eyes like those of a predator that had spotted it's dinner. Her legs didn't obey her. If she moved, they would undoubtedly catch her and throw her into the pond.

Blinking, Inori almost screamed when every single copy had advanced a dozen meters towards her, standing completely still, staring at her. The fear of being slaughtered, cooked and devoured ripped her out of her trance. "Diamond-"

Just as she launched her attack and blinked, the copies were all gone. The pot was gone. The seething blood and the flames were gone. The stench in the air, the thunderous roar of the sky, those were still there. Feeling something dangerous behind her, Inori spun around, facing another copy. But this time, she knew it was different. Her labyrinth clone was walking, slowly circling around Inori, not saying a word.

Inori wouldn't bother asking where she was, what the clone was or why she was being questioned. Those questions never resulted in any favorable answers. "What is happening to Dream?"

"Punishment." The eyes of the labyrinthian Inori were completely fixated on the Cure. She didn't blink, nor did she have need to breathe or open her mouth to speak. There were no foot prints on the ground where she stepped. Her breasts didn't bounce, no matter how big a step she took. She was completely detached from physical and biological laws, from Inori's point of view.

Before she could say anything else, the scenery around Inori changed drastically. It showed a small room. And she could her Dream's voice. _"I wish that we no longer need to fight each other." _What happened next explained a lot of things for Inori. As the events unfolded before her, the wasteland returned. the clone now standing right in front of her.

"Payment." Inori couldn't fight back when her clone grabbed her arms and forced an ice cold kiss on the Cure, the copy's tongue sliding into her mouth. The body was not truly alive. It was cold as stone, and there was no emotion in it. Feeling a stinging and unfamiliar pain in her whole body, Inori fell to her knees when the clone dissipated into black particles, vanishing into thin air.

Feeling sick to the bone, Inori couldn't hold it in and threw up, right on the ground. What she saw scared her enough to make her scream out, flinch and hastily crawl backwards from the pile. Black mud and blood. Looking at her body, she still felt normal. She wasn't cold and her costume hadn't turned black. She now knew why Dream was being punished. She was the one responsible for creating the reflections.

Inori wasn't surprised that keeping something like that a secret would eventually cause stress or even hysteric behavior. But nothing like what she was experiencing now. She had to keep going. Slowly getting up, she didn't notice that there were dozens of her copies staring at her from the distance. What they saw was what Inori couldn't. Silver hair and orange eyes. Inori had paid for knowledge with part of herself.

Heading towards the storm cell next, Inori wasn't sure what to do with the knowledge she had gained. Revealing it to everyone would undoubtedly and permanently cast Dream out. Nobody would want anything to do with her. Nobody would be able to trust her ever again. And it wouldn't solve anything. Even if they had known all along that Dream was responsible, there was likely nothing they could have done to prevent the current events.

The closer she got to the storm cell, the more she got the feeling that something was watching her. But no matter how much she tried to keep a clear view on the area, there was always at least one blind spot. It felt difficult to breathe and her head had started to ache. Finally reaching the area beneath the storm cell, she was looking at a bizarre and disgusting scene. Pieces of human bodies were littered all over the area. She could make out at least three separate people just based off clothing and skin color. To her surprise, there was no smell of death or decay, only the grotesque scene. Getting closer to the absolute center, Inori witnessed how a large crux materialized. It only got more bizarre when Moonlight was both standing in front of it and nailed to the crux.

Getting close enough to take a look at their faces, Inori stepped back the second the crucified Moonlight glared at her. Those eyes no longer belonged to a sane human. There was only rage, contempt and hatred in it.

Blinking once, Inori found the same copy as before walking out from behind the large crux, both Moonlights simply staring at each other. "Rejection and Hatred." The copy was different now. Both hair and eyes were the same color as Inori's. "A cast off shell."

The copy just stood there after saying her lines, observing Inori without blinking or moving at all. "Are those... Eclipse and Moonlight?" Inori had no idea what exactly happened between the original and the copy. Moonlight had been in a coma when they recovered her from exile. Eclipse had been in the same state.

"No" Walking towards the two Moonlights, the copy stopped at the first. "Restraint. Imprisonment." Continuing on to the crucified one, both of the silver Cures completely ignored the clone, as if she didn't exist. "Resentment, Hatred, Revenge, Guilt." Stopping at the second one, the scene changed. A third Moonlight appeared, slowly walking towards the first one. "Half became whole. And half was discarded." The first and the third Moonlight joined hands, glaring at the crucified one. With one powerful outburst, the crucified Moonlight had a long silver blade driven through her chest, letting out a powerful wail that shook Inori to the bone.

She didn't like that at all. "Moonlight was split into half after her exile? A part of her was created that kept the exile under control? And that part was completed by Eclipse? Then what happened to the remains of the hate filled Moonlight?"

"Termination." The scene changed yet again, the crux going up in flames, burning the impaled Moonlight who kept screaming. With a final glare, filled with a level of hatred that Inori had never seen before, the burning Moonlight spat at her original. Black ash rose into the sky from the burning cross, the remaining Moonlights slowly vanishing. "Payment."

Inori took a step back as the clone approached but she was immediately grabbed by a multitude of hands. Looking behind herself, six copies each were holding each leg and arm, another six holding on to her torso, two forcing her head in position. Her heart was racing badly. Despite there having been no effects, she was still horrified by the act.

But no kiss came. The clone stood in front of her, completely still, until it suddenly turned translucent and walked straight through her. Inori felt like she had fallen into a pond of water much colder than ice. The sensation stuck. Her whole body felt cold as the clones let go and dissipated. And this time, she realized right away that there was an effect on her. Falling to her knees, she could see strands of silver hair falling over her shoulder. Large parts of her costume were black. To her own surprise, she barely cared. She needed to know what else happened, what caused the situation to turn into this. She couldn't stop now.

=== Dissonance ===

"Move." Urara's eyes had a glint of danger in them. Bloom was blocking her way of getting to where Dream and the other four she had infected were. Their costumes were showing large black blotches and none of them even seemed to realize what was happening. Getting them out of there by force was Urara's sole idea.

"You don't know whats going to happen if you pull them out. What if you infect everyone else?"

"That is going to happen anyway at the rate this is going. **Move.**" Urara created several chains. **"Or I'll move you."** Forcing her way past Bloom, Urara had no other Cures oppose her. White was on other side of the hallway for now, and the air was dangerously rich with black particles the closer one got to Dream.

"Lemonade, stop it!" Grabbing Urara's right arm, Saki immediately let go again, the yellow Cure glaring at her with eyes that were completely hostile. She didn't go along with most of them but she wasn't about to let them become fodder for some kind of evil whatever. About to launch her chains, she saw Happy walk right into the zone towards Windy.

"The fuck you're doing? Get out of there!" Launching her chains at Happy instead, Urara missed, the chains flying straight into the walls instead. Whatever the particles were, it was messing with her ability. Not only that, but she felt sick the moment, putting her right hand on the wall, just trying to stand. Her vision was getting hazy. "What's... whats going on..." She could taste iron in her mouth just before she passed out.

Walking through the particle infested area, Miyuki witnessed Lemonade shouting at her and then doing nothing, simply standing there, frozen, not even blinking. Reaching Windy and looking into her eyes, she was in a trance. Gathering her strength, Miyuki put her palm right over Windy's eyes. "Once Upon A Time!"

Her ability worked in such a way that it took as much energy as necessary to induce the dreaming status. Miyuki felt like someone had ripped out part of her lungs. Starting to cough and falling on her knees, the pink Cure could already felt drained. But she had to keep going. If she managed to shut all five of them into a fairytale world, no matter what kind of mental influence they were under would be broken. Ignoring Pine, Miyuki held her hand over Rose's eyes next. "Once Upon A Time!" This time, there were physical repercussions. Several cuts appeared on her arms and legs. She wasn't bleeding much, no more than a really bad scratch, but it still was a lot worse than she expected. Going after Luminous next, she had heard from Reika that shutting her down would likely have catastrophic results if she didn't shut down Dream right after that.

"You can't do it." Miyuki's heart stopped for a second as she heard a very familiar voice. "It seems you have finally reached the end of this little adventure. It is time for you to reset **again**." Right in front of Miyuki's eyes materialized Joker, the same one she and her team had destroyed years ago. "I've seen your dream of beating me and Lord Pierrot. What a foolish vision! Mere humans couldn't possibly hope to overcome his Lordship! Let me let you in on a little secret." Leaning down and whispering in Miyuki's ears, the unpredictable jester started to laugh.

"No... that can't be... I remember breaking out... with everyone... we beat you and Pierrot..." Miyuki could feel the anguish. Was he right? If he wasn't, then how could he be here? Was everything she had experienced, all the hardship she had gone through since then... had it all just been an illusion inside an illusion? "I won't let you-" Miyuki could **feel** the force of the glacial weapons flying past her, tearing the Joker in front of her to pieces instantly. Looking back, she saw Reika, summoning even more weapons.

"Shut them down, Miyuki!" Reika couldn't see what Miyuki saw, but she could very well tell that Miyuki **was** seeing something. It was just her hypothesis, but the way everyone reacted, it seemed to put them into a trance like state that made them hallucinate something they were truly scared of.

Grabbing Luminous and pulling her closer to where Dream was, Miyuki could hear Joker's voice echo in her head. But she trusted Reika. Focusing on what she was doing, it took her what felt like a minute to pull Luminous the few meters to Dream. Putting her right hand on Nozomi's face and her left on Luminous face, Miyuki felt scared. Considering how much energy it had cost her to put both Windy and Rose into trace, there was the possibility that... her ability could kill it's user. But if she didn't shut them down now, they could all die.

"Once Upon A Time!" A violent shock ran through her entire body. Without warning, Miyuki vomited a large amount of blood. The red liquid was running from her nose and mouth as she lost consciousness and fell over, skin bursting open in large wounds all over her body.

Several seconds passed with Miyuki seemingly dead before her body violently twitched under the extreme drain. At the same time, the dark particles completely dissipated, as their sources were cut off. Completely and utter silence dominated the hall. Miyuki, laying wounded among the five infected, didn't move at all.

"Tsubomi, heal her!" Erika was already pulling Tsubomi's hand, both of them having kept away from the particles as far as possible without going out of sight. Getting there as fast as they could, Erika could already smell the blood that Happy was losing.

"She's really badly hurt! Reborn!" Using her special ability, Tsubomi starting to convert her own energy into life force and pour it into Happy's body. Succeeding in closing most of the major wounds, she wasn't going to be able to replace the lost blood and life energy on her own. "If only Luminous was able to help..."

Kneeling down next to her partner, Erika put her hands together and focused. Healing was far from her specialty, so she really needed to block out all other thoughts. Copying Tsubomi's ability, she focused as hard as she could. Even for Erika, the situation was a little bit too serious to crack a funny line. "Reborn!"

Reika rushed to Miyuki's side the second she thought it safe. Not bothering to ask any questions, she knew how important it was for those that were providing medical support to focus on the task at hand. Checking on Pine and Dream, Reika hoped that they would find a way to contain it. She put Miyuki up to using her ability on them, in an attempt to stop any further spread. Once established, she could simply continue to keep them dreaming for close to a day and half.

It was likely best to wait a few hours before waking any of them. One of the problems that presented themselves now, was what to do with the unconscious Cures that had their own room. Both Happy and Dream were on the second floor, the same floor they were on, and nobody could open their rooms. Rose was with Lemonade, the latter having snapped out of her trance, while Luminous had her own room. Windy and Pine posed no problem.

Violently coughing and spitting blood, Miyuki was returning from being nearly-dead. Both Blossom and Marine were burning themselves out to bring her back. It was complete luck that they had those two on the team. Without them, Miyuki would have died, and the dream trance with her, causing a catastrophic end.

Without any warning, Pine started to cough as well. Everyone but Blossom and Marine focused their attention on the yellow Cure when a high pitched scream escaped her lips, hurting her throat. Inori's eyes wide open, she rolled over, coughing even more than before, fear written on her face.

"I'm... I'm back?" Inori didn't have her bearings yet, still conflicted on what was real and what wasn't. Plucking a hair from her head, she gave it a close look and was relieved to find out that it wasn't silver. Her costume wasn't pitch black. Thankfully, she remembered everything she had learned in Dream's mind. The source of the reflections. What happened when Moonlight and Eclipse merged. What was infecting Dream this very moment. Someone helped her up, lifting her by her right arm. Taking a look, she saw one of her oldest friends. "Miki... where is Happy?"

The blue Cure was confused why the whereabouts of that girl would be Bukki's first question. If she asked, that meant there had to be something meaningful to it. "She is being healed by Blossom and Marine." Getting Inori up on her feet, the yellow Cure was still shaking slightly.

Taking a look around, Inori figured that they would only have a few minutes before things got bad again. They had exactly two options she could think of. Use Happy's ability until it eradicated even the last bit of the infection. Or kill Dream. The latter option was something she didn't even want to think about.

Finally able to stand without support, Inori walked over to where Blossom and Marine were, both of them looked exhausted, finally having finished healing Miyuki. "Can you wake her up?"

"Pine! You're okay?" Noticing the grim and distraught look on the yellow Cure's face, Tsubomi answered her question. "She should rest for a few hours. Healing magic doesn't provide a complete recovery, even if it looks that way from the outside."

"We don't have that long. Right now, Happy's ability is fighting the infection inside Dream's mind. It's doing well, for now, but it won't last." Inori had seen the forests, castles and clear sky violently take over the wasteland in the distance. But the infection was fighting back, corrupting the forests so the fairytale had to convert it again. "We need her. Kaoru won't be able to get rid of the infection with her Stormflair, and I can only do so much." She felt sick. If they didn't stop this now, things would get very bad, very quickly.

Taking a quick look around, Inori was grateful that everyone needed for the plan was actually present. Happy, Luminous and Kaoru. "Miki, wake up Luminous please. We're going to need her to help Happy. I'll wake up Kaoru. I don't know how long we have before the infection completely beats out Happy's ability and starts to take over Dream again."

Kneeling next to the unconscious blue Cure, Inori felt bad about being rough but she didn't have much choice. Shaking her really hard, Kaoru opened her eyes after a few seconds, quickly looking around, trying to make sense of the situation. "There is a problem, right?"

"I'll explain in a second. Miki!" Turning around, Inori faced the back of her friend.

"She's coming to." Pulling Luminous up, Miki didn't like up force people into things when they were clearly not ready for it. But the current situation didn't give her a whole lot of alternatives.

"Happy. Happy! Wake up!" Tsubomi tried to wake up the pink Cure, with no success at all. "Erika. Wait, don't-" Tsubomi, focused on getting Happy back to her senses, had not noticed Erika doing some extremely suspicious stretched right behind her.

"Marine Spark!" Firing a very weak energy shot at point blank range into Happy's chest, the pink Cure startled to scratch the spot like crazy, immediately waking up, rolling over the ground for a few seconds before the energy dispersed completely. "Pine! Your order is ready. One Cure Happy, awake and ready for takeout!" Erika tried to ignore Tsubomi's 'we will talk about this later' look as well as she could.

Gathering the three Cures together, Inori didn't want to go into full detail. For now, they had to act swiftly and decidedly. "I'll give you a full explanation later. Just trust me for now. Happy, I need you to apply your ability to Dream **constantly**. Luminous, you need to support Happy the same way you supported me. Kaoru, before she starts, I need you to shut down Dream's mind. Don't worry, I'll watch over you."

The blue haired girl felt her heart beat accelerate slightly. She couldn't quite place how, but Inori was causing her to feel reluctant to say anything as she couldn't find an acceptable choice of words. Simply nodding, she would have to think about it more at a later point.

"What are we doing this for? What is wrong with Nozomi?" Miyuki wasn't one to blindly follow orders. Even if Reika had asked her to just do it, she would've asked for an explanation.

"You like Dream, don't you?" Inori was going out on a hunch with it. "If she means anything to you, don't ask, just do it. If we wait too long, the Dream you know will be gone, forever." Those lasts few words were enough to convince Miyuki. The thought of losing Nozomi just because she insisted on an explanation was unbearable.

Taking point behind Kaoru, Inori took a deep breath. She really, really hoped that it would work. The theory was sound but magic and things like that were very hard to properly predict. "Kaoru, do it."

Barely a second passed before the blue Cure forced an overload of Dream's mind. "Stormflair!" Her own body going completely limp, she could feel the immense conflict that was going inside the pink Cure's mind in that tiny moment she connected to her on a mental level to shut her down.

Catching Kaoru and slowly putting her down, Inori watched Luminous and Happy kneel in front of Dream, the former supporting the Cure whose ability was likely their only chance to put an end to the situation.

Miyuki wasn't sure what the effect would be if she used 'Once Upon a Time' on someone that was unconscious. She felt no resistance from Dream for several seconds. Then, she did feel **something**. Something that scared her so much that she could neither retreat nor advance in overriding her consciousness. She had fought Pierrot, was trapped in a warped world and dealt with Bad End Happy. But despite all of that, she had never touched upon fear quite like this.

Her arms were shaking as every single hair on her body rose up, trying to tell her mind that she was in incredible danger. Her tongue felt numb, her eyes hurt with every blink. She felt cold and hot at the same time, breaking out in cold sweat. She couldn't talk and only one distinct thought was dominating her mind. **What kind of unspeakable terror was inside Nozomi's mind? **Her body wanted to flee, survival instinct driving her to break off her use of her ability. Willpower and the desire to help Nozomi was all that amounted to stalling that.

"Happy, don't be afraid. As long as you're fighting it, it can't touch you!" Inori didn't know if that was really true, but considering that the landscape had drastically changed and all of her clones had suddenly turned to dust, she theorized that whatever Happy was doing, it was hurting the infection very badly.

Looking at Nozomi's pale face, Miyuki ignored how much she was shaking, ignored how weak she felt as her energy was pouring into Nozomi. She wanted to help her, protect her. Focusing the best she could, Miyuki advanced instead of treading safe ground. She advanced into the territory of the unspeakable. And she realized that **its** only weapon was fear. And now that she was pushing it back, she could tell something else.

**It was afraid of dying. She was killing whatever abomination was infesting Nozomi's mind.** Keeping going, Miyuki started to bleed from her nose, a horrible stinging pain in her head. She could tell that she was driving, whatever it was, steadily back, against a wall.

Miyuki's mind froze for a few seconds when Joker appeared before her again, the other generals of the Bad End Kingdom randomly appearing in the hallway in front of her. Telling herself she was just imagining them, Miyuki increased her output to a level where it was actively hurting her body. A steady stream of blood was running from her nose now. She could taste blood in her mouth as well. Small wounds all over her body was breaking up again.

Letting out a single, courageous cry, Miyuki poured her last bit of energy into Nozomi, knowing that there was only a tiny little bit of the **thing** inside of her was left. She had never truly wanted to **kill** something before. The desire felt alien and disturbing, but she never once had considered something so vile and malicious as the thing she was fighting now.

Fainting and falling right on top of Nozomi, the hallway was eerily silent. But the silence didn't last long. With an ear piercing wail, a massive mass of black mist erupted from Dream, pouring out right of her skin. Forming an human but unidentifiable black mass in the air, it roared in pain, obvious to anyone who could see it. No intelligible words came from it, only screaming and howling as the black mist slowly disintegrated. With a final, hate filled look, the creature looked at Pine. "**May the secret rot your mind." **And it was gone. No trace remained of it. Nobody exhibited odd behavior. It was finally over.

=== Dissonance ===

Nobody had quite been able to sleep. Dream and Happy remained unconscious, but Pine had confirmed that Dream was merely in the world of fairytales. Kaoru had recovered, but Luminous had passed out and Rose had put the blonde into her own bed on the third floor. Blossom and Marine were both barely staying awake, waiting for Pine to explain what exactly had happened.

She still wasn't sure how much information she should disclose. Part of it would merely instigate a witch hunt against Dream. The other parts would kindle the fear of the exile. But at the same time, it would hopefully prevent any more events like this happening. "I'll start at the beginning."

Sitting in the dining room, at the long table, Inori herself was a little pale, Miki and Love openly worried about her. "When the reflections were absorbed by Nightmare, and Dream killed Nightmare, she took in part of Nightmare. It was just a little part, nothing that could have possessed her. Merely a leftover fragment that remained dormant in her mind. The real problem starts there." The part where she explained that Dream had been responsible for the creation of the reflections would remain unspoken forever. She didn't want Dream to be ostracized. She had suffered plenty already to pay for her mistake. "That by itself was not doing any damage. The problems begin when Moonlight and Eclipse were merged into one being." Looking at Yuri, she couldn't think of a way to talk around it without completely lying to everyone. "I'm sorry Moonlight, but this something I have to tell everyone. I hope you understand."

Pausing for a few seconds, Inori continued. "Moonlight, when she was in exile, was already split in half." Waiting for the confusion to yield from their faces, she explained more in detail. "She was exposed to an uncontrolled exile for a very long time. By the time a group of us found her, she was mentally divided into two. Pure hatred, contempt, a thirst for revenge, malicious thoughts for those that wronged her. And her willpower, her ethics of what was right and wrong, her desire to be just. The latter was keeping the former in check, but just barely. A part of her was lost completely to the exile, which is why the Moonlight we know now is slightly different than the one we knew prior to the reflection incident."

"How do you know all of this, Bukki?" Miki was sitting next to Yuri, the silver Cure taking it in with an expressionless face. "I want to believe you since you wouldn't lie about something like this, but if even Yuri herself doesn't know, how do you?"

"I'm getting to that now." Looking at Yuri, Inori felt bad for laying bare as much as she did. "When Moonlight and Eclipse became one, they cast out the hateful part of Moonlight. That was the wail and the outcry we heard when the mirror burst. It first hid in Berry, deep in her subconsciousness, unable to grow because it was just a shadow. From there, it jumped from person to person. The first victim was Happy. Attacking Nozomi, she was the source of her injuries when she supposedly fell down the stairs. It was strong enough to briefly take a person over, but not strong enough to permanently alter them. Not yet. When it found Nightmare's remains in Nozomi's mind, they merged and deeply rooted themselves into her mind."

"That explains why you would know about Yuri's state of mind. Whatever was forced out of her ended up in Dream..." Miki didn't feel good about that at all. But at least they were getting some closure on the matter.

"It gets worse from here. After merging with the leftovers of Nightmare, their combined hatred enabled them to grow on Dream's guilt. She was struggling with the knowledge of having brutally killed Nightmare with her bare hands when the monster was already on death's doorstep. It was something inside her, something that had overtaken her ideals and reason, that frightened her."

"That's just like Nozomi. I'd have tied her up and wrenched every single drop of blood out of her, crushing her body until I was sure there was no way of her getting back." Urara couldn't understand how her leader could still feel sympathy for monsters like that.

"It gets worse from here. The attacks on the others, all of them came from Dream. Her Utopia usually makes people lose the will to fight. But when she was infected, it became corrupted with her. It allowed her to create a vision of fear in her target. At first, it was just a weak effect, similar to a hallucination. Memories didn't match up with what was happening. But it became stronger very quickly, feeding off Dream's guilt."

"Someone write this down. If we turn this into a horror story, we're all rich." Urara needed to make the joke. Because she herself felt scared, hearing what happened to Nozomi. Thankfully, nobody retorted on her comment.

"This brings us to White, Black, Bloom and Egret. The shadow had begun to grow exponentially and couldn't hide itself in just Dream anymore without openly corrupting her. It split off a part of itself and looked for suitable hosts. Cures that felt negative emotions such as guilt, fear, anxiety. I don't know what the source or what kind of negative emotion those four felt, but they were suitable hosts. The infection spread and rapidly took them over. We all saw what that ended in. it distorted their minds and behavior. When the infection was purged, we didn't **truly** kill it. We simply removed it. What we saw back then, up there in the dome, when the shadows died and vanished, that too was merely Dream affecting us with her corrupt Utopia. All of it went back to Dream in the end, playing us for fools. But even Dream wasn't powerful enough to resist the now critical mass. Her mind bent under the massive weight of the infection. It was in the process of completely taking over and remodeling her mind when I dove in. What we fought... were the leftovers of hatred and contempt for all of us. Once I knew all of this, I also knew how to kill it. The only way to truly destroy it was either to kill Dream while the infection was limited to just her, and even that would be just a gamble, or to forcibly overwrite the infection while it was vulnerable. Shutting down her mind to agitate the infection and then forcibly overwrite it with Happy's ability was the only way I could think of to keep Dream alive and kill the infection. Luckily, it worked."

An awkward silence filled the room as Inori finished her explanation. Kaoru was the first to speak up after about half a minute. "Inori, are you hurt?"

"Physically? No." Inori looked at the blue Cure and sighed. She felt somewhat relieved that Bloom would be in the same room. She didn't know if she could handle sleeping alone tonight. Being inside Dream's mind had been horrifying in many ways.

"I think we should all go to bed. And possibly avoid sleeping alone, just in case." Honoka suggested this as a precaution. After listening to everything, she wasn't sure if Dream was really freed. Even if it meant staying with Saki, she much preferred that to being paranoid. Looking at her fake partner, the girl seemed to realize what was going through Honoka's head.

The others agreed unanimously, getting up as soon as White had suggested it. Everyone was tired out, if not from the day, then from the recent events. Blossom and Marine were both sound asleep in their chairs, heads on the table, hands locked together. Love took it upon herself to wake them up, or if all else failed, carrying them to their room.

Inori, finding herself realizing that both Bloom and Miki would sleep in the room of someone else, grabbed Kaoru's hand, holding her back. She knew that making it look like a 'lesson' would be a lie, so she was honest instead. "Keep me company tonight, please." She didn't need to think up any superfluous reason. Kaoru agreed with a completely neutral expression.

Returning to her room, Kurumi walked with Beauty. "What are we doing about Nozomi and Happy?" The answer to said question presented itself when they reached the second floor.

"Reika... can you give me a hand?" Miyuki wasn't feeling very good, but she didn't want to leave Nozomi out in the hallway, alone and cold. She was worried about what would happen when Nozomi woke up and nobody was around.

Leaving Rose's side and walking over to her leader, Reika took over, carrying Dream to Miyuki's room. As the pink haired Cure opened her door, she had to hold on to the wall to not fall over. "I'm just a bit tired..." Miyuki had caught the worried leer in Reika's eyes.

"You should sleep in to recover. There doesn't appear to be further danger from Dream, so there should be no issue with her staying with you." Reika felt tired as well, but she was doing an excellent job at hiding it. During her work, she had dealt with having to stay awake for up to three days in a row without any sleep.

Nodding and forcing a smile, Miyuki let Reika into the room. "I'll do that. Just put her on the bed." Miyuki didn't look forward to Nozomi's messy sleeping habits, but she hoped that the exhaustion would let her sleep sound enough to ignore it altogether.

Putting Dream down, Reika gave her a critical look. She felt there was **something** odd about the explanation Pine had given. Like it was the truth but not all of it. People had secrets they didn't want to share. She did, too. Remembering a particularly unpleasant job, Reika turned about and left. "Good night, Miyuki."

"Good night, Reika." Trying her best to wave after Reika, Miyuki closed the door and almost fell on her bed. Her expression was one of being in severe pain and she could barely move anymore. Putting up a tough front so Reika wouldn't worry too much had just barely been a success.

Everyone else was going to sleep as well. Nobody felt particularly excited about that night's dreams, but they needed to rest. Miki was staying with Yuri, Hikari with Kurumi, Honoka made an exception and let Saki stay with her. Kaoru occupied Miki's bed, with her permission, to keep Inori company. Tsubomi and Erika were both fast asleep in Blossom's bed, where Love had put them.

The complex was completely silent then, the horrors seemingly finally gone.

=== Dissonance ===

When she first woke up, Kurumi couldn't see anything but yellow, couldn't smell anything but a faint scent of vanilla. And it was tickling her nose really badly. Sneezing and turning over, she realized what the yellow thing was. Hikari's braid. She hadn't reverted back to her normal form and just slept as Luminous. Right around Kurumi's waist, Hikari was sound asleep, curled up in bed, just like a kitten.

There was no way Kurumi couldn't smile at the image she was presented with. After last night, smiling that hard was almost painful and her head felt like it was about to pop off. Gently poking Hikari's cheek with her index finger, the blonde made an incredibly cute noise, making the purple Cure stop in awe, blushing a little. "It... has to be illegal... being this cute."

Looking at Hikari, Kurumi felt sleepy again. She had no idea what time it was or when she had gone to sleep. And she really felt like rectifying that. Summoning her pouch, she focused on wanting a digital alarm clock. And without any noise, one materialized right in front of her, in the air. Catching it, it was a brand new, black alarm clock, shaped like a rectangle, with four red letters announcing the time to her.

It was six-thirty in the morning and much too early to get up. Carefully reaching over the bed and putting the alarm clock on the small desk next to the bed, Kurumi laid back down. Trying to go back to sleep, she kept fidgeting around, unable to find her inner calm. Resigning herself to what she had been thinking about, she grabbed Hikari's braid and kept it close enough to her pillow that she could smell the faint vanilla scent.

Urara was witnessing the entire scene, pulling a displeased face. Just how disgustingly adorable could those two get? But seeing Kurumi get an alarm clock made her realized that she had simply never thought about getting one, because there didn't seem to be any real _time of day_ in this place. Imitating Kurumi, her alarm clock turned out to be an exact copy. "They should hook this system into Amazon or ebay or something." Talking to herself, she felt really bad. Not because of what she did to Kurumi the day before but because she hadn't been able to sleep well. The whole thing with Nozomi had shaken her a bit. She wasn't exactly best friends with her anymore, but after listening to Pine, she had truly felt sorry for what Nozomi had gone through.

Going for an early shower, Urara planned to go back to bed afterward and not move out of it until the clock was showing a solid twelve. She really couldn't be arsed to do anything. Not after getting so little sleep. Hopefully the rules that day would actually be not horrible and let her fight.

Leaving her room, she saw a rare event. Beauty, as civilian, was leaving her bathroom, two long towels wrapped around her body, another long one wrapped around her hair. Urara didn't feel bad about staring. For once, there was a Cure that really held up to what her name promised. Beauty completely ignored her and returned to her room. "Gotta figure." Heading into her own bathroom, she really hoped Kurumi wasn't going to keep Luminous around. She already felt like she was getting diabetes.

Closing the door and simply changing back in civilian form, Urara stepped into the shower. She wasn't the type to really enjoy soaking for long. She might make an exception if Ako was **also** in the tub, though. Turning on the hot water, Urara felt sore all over. Thinking of Ako, Urara grinned. "Beauty wasn't bad, but she can't stand up to Ako." The grin quickly turned into a depressed face when she realized just how **long** it had been since the last time she had gotten laid. "I'm getting over there. And if I have to barricade the fucking door."

=== Dissonance ===

Reading a novel, Karen deep asleep right next to her, in bed, Komachi was feeling rather satisfied, but also very tired, after last night. Looking at the sleeping face of her partner, she was just a little thankful that Melody and Sunshine had been so loud. If not for that, she might have been too embarrassed to make a move on Karen while there were others in the room. But Melody was loud enough to easily cover the meek moaning of the blue Cure.

_Komachi woke up, in what felt like the middle of the night, to the noises of Sunshine and Melody having sex. The latter's moaning was loud enough to force a massive blush on the face of the green Cure. Sleeping next to Karen, Komachi naked, her partner in underwear, she started to get horny just from listening to them. Sex with Karen was passionate, too, but she wasn't the type to get loud._

_A particularly loud moan from Melody made Komachi slip further under the blanket, her arms going around Karen's waist. To her surprise, the blue Cure immediately responded by slightly turning her head towards Komachi, but not saying anything._

_Komachi wasn't sure how hard she should push Karen. The blue Cure was a little reserved when it came to being intimate. If she had to guess, Komachi would've said that Kurumi had always been the dominant one in their relationship when it came to sex. She didn't mind taking that role. Karen was smart and beautiful, but at times, she over-thought things. _

_Moving her right hand over Karen's flat stomach, the novelist used her left hand to move Karen's hair out of the way, kissing her neck gently twice. A barely noticeable trace of sweat, a slightly salty taste, Komachi used her tongue to create line of saliva on Karen's neck, going slightly towards her front. She loved the feeling of Karen's smooth skin, the sound of Karen's breathing going faster as Komachi moved her hand towards her partners chest, slipping a single finger under Karen's bra before the blue Cure showed first signs of resisting._

"_What if they hear us?" Whispering, knowing full well that the other two likely wouldn't have heard anything regardless, Karen was both reluctant and excited to let Komachi continue. She longed for her partner's touch and care, but her pride of being a lady had her worried over being seen or heard._

_Smiling, amused that Karen seemed embarrassed, Komachi pulled on her love's bra and moved it up, over her breasts. Fondling her right breast, carefully so her nails didn't hurt Karen, she had missed the feeling of touching that smooth skin, the firmness of her breasts. Playfully nibbling on Karen's earlobe, Komachi slowed down, using her free hand to pull Karen closer, pushing her own breasts against the bare back of her partner. "They can't hear us." Taking a deep breath, not to calm down but to smell Karen's hair, Komachi wanted her to turn over, face her. She loved seeing the flushed face of the girl she had adored for so many years, able to get lost in her eyes._

_Karen knew full well what the novelist wanted from her. Reluctantly freeing herself and turning over, she ended up almost on top of Komachi, their faces close enough to feel each others breath. Before anything else, Karen kept a long strand of hair from falling in her face, closing her eyes in anticipation, moving in for a loving kiss. She almost pulled back when instead of lips, she felt a tongue touch her skin. Opening her mouth, the disappointment of no kiss following only holding for a second, Karen obliged Komachi's request, both of them letting their tongues dance with each other._

_A small and thin stream of saliva ran from the corner of Karen's mouth as she kept going. It felt hot and sticky on her chin, her breath was starting to race a little and thoughts of reservation and trying to keep calm were evaporating in her mind. The taste of Komachi's saliva was, just for her, comparable to nothing else. A sweet taste she couldn't quite put._

_Grabbing her partner's hand, Komachi could tell that there were inaudible moans of her partner as she kept erratically breathing and pushing out air hotter than normal. Karen's body was burning up under Komachi's touch, longing for more yet, wanting to be full ablaze with passion. Putting her hand on Karen's shoulder and pushing, she forced the blue Cure into a new position, next to her but close enough to feel her body warmth. Sliding her right leg between Karen's, she got close enough to make her nipples collide with Karen's, the heat from their breasts merging as they pushed against each other._

"Mint?"

_Lovingly playing with her partner's feet, Komachi's lust reached it's peak when she made out Karen's embarrassed face. She loved the sight of it so much that she didn't want anyone else to ever see it, something that she treasured and wanted to keep to herself. Kissing Karen, letting her tongue rest, it was a calm but still passionate kiss._

_As Karen moaned into the kiss, Komachi felt a tingling sensation run through her entire body. She loved Karen's voice and she loved how meek she sounded when they were sleeping together. Pushing against Karen a little more, she moved her hand over Karen's stomach, drawing random lines over her hot skin, enjoying how the blue Cure was shaking, excited to be touched._

"Hey, Mint."

Dragged out of her memories, Komachi needed a moment to calm down and collect herself. Looking around, she saw Sunshine peek around the corner of the dividing wall. Just going by her inner clock, it was still early in the morning. What did she want, so early? Transforming would wake up Karen and getting out of bed naked was absolutely and completely impossible. Covering Karen with the sheet and transforming nonetheless, the blue Cure slept through the flash of light. Relieved, Komachi cautiously got out of bed, careful to not wake up Karen after all.

Seeing Sunshine in her civilian form, wearing a jump suit, Komachi lamented that, of all people, Marine had to go and swap with her. She loved Karen's blue dress and wanted a matching one, but with the designer up and gone, she would have to wait or pay a lot more. "It's early. Did you need something?" She didn't want to be rude and just tell her to come back later. She would have preferred to stay in bed with Karen and read, but keeping good relations with her new roommate was important, too.

"Hibiki and I got a little carried away last might." Itsuki could see the look on Komachi's face when she said _little_. "Really carried away." Her expression slightly awkward, Itsuki felt the need to apologize. It must have been awkward for those two to listen to their sex sounds. "We were fooling around last night and before we knew it, were going at full steam. I'm sorry if it kept you up or made you feel awkward." She just hoped that Mint wouldn't insist on Hibiki staying in her own room.

"It would've been nice if you could have kept it down a little." Komachi didn't feel so much bothered as she found it a nice gesture that Sunshine would come out and apologize. "I got something out of it in the end, so you two don't have to feel guilty. Just... maybe try to limit the volume a little next time."

"I was worried you'd ask me to make Hibiki sleep in her own room." Letting out a relieved sigh, Itsuki genuinely smiled at Komachi. "Thanks for understanding. And sorry for getting to you this early, I just wanted to deal with this before I go and shower or Hibiki wakes up."

"Don't worry. I don't mind if you let Melody stay. Karen is with me, too, after all." Komachi felt that she would get along fine with Sunshine. "Oh, and you can just call be Komachi."

"Call me Itsuki then. I'm off to shower, then. I'll be done in twenty, maybe thirty, minutes in case you want to take one, too." Walking to her wardrobe and taking a towel out, she waited a moment at the door, just in case Komachi had anything else to say.

But the green Cure was just patiently waiting for Itsuki to leave. She couldn't transform back unless nobody was watching, after all. Watching Sunshine leave, Komachi turned back into a normal human and slipped under the warm covers of her bed, picking her novel back up.

Two floors below them, Mai was abruptly woken up when Nagisa fell out of bed, the loud noise her landing made taking Mai out of her dreams. "Nagisa... are you okay?" Looking down from her bed, the white Cure looked at the comical position Nagisa was in. Legs in the air and half on the bed, head touching the floor, it looked like she had messed up trying to get into bed with a somersault.

"I... think so." Wide awake after hitting the ground, Nagisa rolled over and got up, just wearing her underwear, a black sports bra and matching panties. Transforming, as she felt a little bit cold with just underwear, she looked up to Mai. "How did you sleep?" Fake feelings or not, she still liked Mai.

"Not too bad, all things considered. Thanks for asking." Smiling and having the smile returned by Nagisa, Mai crawled back into bed and transformed as well, her long hair pushed off the sheet. Sitting on the ledge of the bed, she looked at Nagisa. "Did you sleep well?"

"Minus a dream that made me horny really badly, I think I slept pretty well. At least I don't feel tired." Realizing that Mai likely didn't want to hear about her being horny, Nagisa put her right hand behind her own head and grinned. "Sorry, force of habit."

"It's okay." She realized the change in behavior right away. "It's cute that you're trying to be considerate. Is this because of last night?" Mai was trying the same thing. "I really mean cute." Trying to clarify, she smiled wide.

"That easy to tell, huh?" Laughing briefly, Nagisa nodded. "Yeah, I thought that maybe I should try and be a better person. I've really been a little beside me lately."

"How do you feel about me?" Mai wanted to know if the situation had changed any. It was hard to tell, just by herself.

"I'm having less trouble keeping my thoughts in check that tell me you're not really my partner." Taking a few steps back, so she could look at Mai easier, Nagisa wondered for a few seconds where March had gone, since she wasn't in her bed. "I do kinda wanna kiss you, though. But don't worry, I'll live even without it." Grinning and gesturing in an exaggerated way, Nagisa tried her hardest to follow what she thought of the night before.

"Would on the cheek do?" Mai wouldn't mind that much. And she wanted to go back to being more relaxed and easygoing. A lot of that depended on her partner, but it wouldn't hurt to try.

"Don't force yourself, Mai." Nagisa really wanted to, but even she knew that it was likely a bad idea.

"No, it's really okay. It's not like we're complete strangers. I'm sure this happened before." Jumping down from her bed, Mai walked up close to Nagisa, blushing a little. The more she actually thought about it, the more embarrassing it got. She felt her heart skip a beat when Nagisa really did kiss her on the cheek at the end. Taking a step back, cautious of her own emotions, Mai turned to the door. "Geez, this is really bothersome. I feel a bit giddy just from that." Smiling at Nagisa, she thought it was a step in the right direction though.

In the room next to them, Akane and Nao had just woken up after Yayoi simply walked into the door, more asleep than awake. The loud thud made them curiously peek at the yellow Cure, who was standing in front of the wooden construction, befuddled why she couldn't pass through. Taking a few seconds to figure it out, she opened the door and walked outside, wearing a shirt that might have been able to serve as a tent for her, reaching all the way to her knees.

"I didn't know Yayoi was like that in the mornings." Getting out of bed, Akane and Nao had simply slept naked, Akane stretched, transformed and let out a loud yawn. "Want to go and make some breakfast? I'm starving after all that _exercise_ last night."

"Don't call it that." Following her partner, Nao got up, transformed first and then stretched, kissing Akane on the cheek. "You're so greedy, Akane."

"Don't call it that. Call it... loving!" Something light hit Akane's back. Yayoi had come back from the bathroom and walked straight into the red Cure. "Morning, Yayoi."

Not a single word came out of the yellow Cure's mouth. Instead, pulled a grimace and crawled back into bed, completely hidden beneath the cover

"Eh... is she angry?" Akane hadn't seen Yayoi in the morning for a long time. She was caught off guard by how quiet and out of it the tiny girl was. "Did I do something to make her angry?"

"Considering how loud you got last night..."

"Whose fault do you think **that** was?" A smug grin was on Akane's face. "And you were just as loud."

"And whose fault do you think **that** was?" Wiping the grin off Akane's face by kissing her, Nao sighed, feeling a bit guilty over keeping Yayoi up. "We should really try to get one of the single rooms. If the rules are decent today, I'll volunteer. You should, too."

"Eh... but I was in it yesterday." Akane wasn't too keen on making it a daily thing. It already did sound like very uncomfortable work. Turning around and opening the door to the hallway, someone crashed into the door. Going out and looking at the victim, who sat on the ground and rubbing her nose, Akane could already feel that this wasn't her day. "Wow, sorry Black. My bad."

Watching the scene from the distance, Ako rubbed her eyes. She was still tired. In the middle of the night, Rouge had finally come back. Not caring enough to try and be quiet, Ako woke up from the sound of the door being slammed by Rin. She didn't really need to guess what reason the red Cure had for getting back that late. Carrying Kanade in her arms, the white Cure holding on to Rin so tightly that it looked like she was glued to her, Rin transformed back and tried her best to get at least Kanade's boots, gloves and whatever rest of her costume could be taken off, off her.

Ako was worried about Kanade, but at the same time, she knew that she likely wouldn't be much help. Trying to get back to sleep, she could hear Kanade weep softly from time to time, keeping her awake. She couldn't tell what Rouge was saying, but every time the weeping started, it took only a few seconds before it stopped, quiet murmuring from Rouge being the source of whatever got Kanade to stop.

Turning over, facing the wall, and putting one of her pillows over her head, she was grateful and pained at the same time that Urara wasn't there right then. She could have used some company, but she also feared that she would've tried to make a ruckus over Kanade keeping her up. Spending the night like that and getting little sleep, she found Rouge looking extremely exhausted, still holding on to Kanade, the next morning. Leaving her room, taking a shower that did little to improve her mood, and leaving for the dining hall, Ako was playing with the idea of using her powers to nullify all sound around her when she was trying to sleep.

Seeing Sunny and Black in such high spirits wasn't exactly an uncommon sight but given the situation, she had expected Black and Egret to be really down in the dumps. They were emotionally stronger than Ako had given them credit for. Reaching the dining hall, she found Peace on the ground, either passed out, sleeping or, most likely, being random, like Marine. The yellow Cure was laying in the middle of the way and Ako couldn't be bothered to deal with anything that morning. Jumping over the body and simply walking away, she found the kitchen to be abandoned.

Looking through the shelves and finding enough things to at least make coffee, Ako patiently waited until it was done. Peering through the window on occasion, she witnessed Black pick up Peace, who was apparently in a state of complete lack of sleep.

"What happened to you?" Carrying Peace to the nearest seat, Nagisa was a little worried about the tremendously big black rings under the yellow Cure's eyes. "You look like you haven't gotten any sleep."

"Didn't get any..." Yayoi was still unable to close her eyes and not immediately start Erika related scenarios in her head. The imagination she was using to make some money on the side was now working against her at full power. If she had drawn every single scenario, she could have filled a full anthology book with just Erika x herself. And no matter what she did, she couldn't get it out of her head. She knew Erika was taken, she knew she'd have no chance even if she tried, and she didn't even **want** to try, because she didn't want to force Erika into a bad situation. And despite all that, her mind was constantly turning to thinking lewd things about her.

Resting her head on the table, Yayoi was at least partially relieved that Erika wasn't actually around. Seeing her right now would have triggered all kinds of bad flags. She didn't want the whole thing to turn into a yandere scenario. Having read so many yuri doujinshi, she expected to have come up with a solution by now. But the only thing that really came to mind was to find someone else that left an even stronger impression. Someone that made her even more crazy. It didn't help that practically everyone else was in a relationship.

"What day is it today?" Thinking about doujinshi and stuff, she wondered how much time she would have to prepare for winter comiket.

"I don't know. It's been something like three weeks since we got here, I think." Staying with Yayoi, while Sunny, March and Mai went to the kitchen, Nagisa wondered if she should, at a later date, ask the yellow Cure for a doujinshi of Mai and Honoka together. There was no harm in just comics, after all.

"Oh..." Opening her hand, summoning her pouch, Yayoi hoped it wouldn't get too expensive. "Calendar." With a sizzling sound, her pouch got marginally lighter and a large calendar for twenty-twelve showed up on the table in front of her. Flipping through it, the actual calendar didn't help at all since she didn't know what day it was. "Date." Not having the energy to formulate any complex wishes, she simply thought of it. A single coin vanished, turning into smoke that formed two a very clear numbers. The third of September.

"Eh? That was actually an option?" Nagisa was slightly confused that it had worked. Creating her own pouch, she focused for a moment and was even more surprised when a completely new wrist watch was laying in front of her, showing an actual time of the day. It was seven thirty. Most likely in the morning. Eager to take the news to the others, Nagisa left Yayoi behind, the yellow Cure despairing over deadlines for her manga. She was already more than two chapters behind at this point.

=== Dissonance ===

The news of finally being able to get an accurate time of the day spread like wildfire. It was something everyone was used to from their real lives, something that had been missing since they started living in the complex. Most settled for having a wrist watch, there not being any real need to have an alarm clock. Erika, expecting a lot of business on the new team, had sponsored a very large, regular, clock that now hung in the dining hall.

Being finally able to tell what time it was, most went straight back to bed, still exhausted from the night before. Honoka and Saki were one of the very few that remained up, both of them venturing to the kitchen. Taking the clock issue to the next logical step, Honoka had already hung a calendar at the entrance of the dining hall. Luckily, her wrist watch came with a function to show the current date as it was a slightly more fancy model than some of the others had.

"I didn't think we've been here for that long. They're turning twenty now, right?" Looking through the shelves in search of a bowl to use for the dough, Honoka talked to Saki. Upon seeing the current date, Saki had made a small fuss, saying it was Michiru's and Kaoru's birthday.

"Yeah. Well, to be honest, we don't really know. Considering their history, their real birthday is probably something else, but we thought today was a good date, seeing how they became Bright and Windy on that day. Their birth as Cures!" Saki wasn't an expert in making cakes, but she always made them when it was the birthday of one of her close friends or someone from her family.

"Listen Saki..." Honoka didn't want to leave any room for misunderstandings. "I appreciate you staying with me last night. We were all on edge because of Dream and Nightmare. But today-"

"Don't worry, I'm not that dense, Honoka." The big smile on Saki's face revealed that she wasn't offended at all. "I think the same. It's better if we don't sleep in the same bed. When I woke up, I did feel a bit weird, hugging you, so I think my memory is coming back."

"It helps a lot that you understand. My memories still haven't budged at all. I feel a bit guilty..." Honoka finally found a bowl that was big enough. "I didn't know you could bake things other than bread, though."

"When I'm home and off training I actually cook for Mai and myself all the time. Doesn't Nagisa cook?" Taking the bowl from Honoka, Saki measured the flour on the scale. "Thanks."

"Sometimes. You and I, I mean-" She was still occasionally struggling with the memory issue.

"I know. Just keep going." Grinning, Saki could feel that Honoka was making a slightly embarrassed face behind her back.

"She's not that good a cook, but I really appreciate it when I come home and dinner is ready. Or the bath." Taking the milk from the large fridge and putting it down next to Saki, Honoka went to look for the sugar.

"Or her?" The look Saki gave Honoka spoke thousand words.

"I saw that one coming a mile away." Not commenting further on it, she very much enjoyed herself, just helping Saki out and talking to her. Suppressing the urge to hug and kiss her had become relatively easy by now. "I can't find the sugar. Do you know where we keep it?"

"Oh, you were looking for sugar? Sorry, I already got it here." Holding up a white pack filled with similarly white goodness, Saki sheepishly grinned.

"Well, I could turn the kitchen upside down and not find it then." About to fall into bad habits again, Honoka quickly steered away from the scolding tone she was getting into. "Are you going to be fine on your own? I'll go and look for Pine. She looked pretty much stuck to Kaoru last night."

"Don't you think they look cute together?"

"I don't know Pine that well but she seems fairly intelligent, so at least they match well there."

"Kaoru deserves a nice partner. If it's another Cure, there will be less problems in the long run. Honoka, stop." Calling the white Cure back just before she left, the door already open, Saki grabbed the very long hair tube. "You got flour in your hair." Giggling, Saki removed the white trace from Honoka's hair. "Don't want the others to think you're getting gray hair, dealing with me."

"Why, you." Petting Saki's head, Honoka couldn't help but laugh. "Thanks. I'll be back once I find Pine. And somehow unstuck her from Kaoru, so I can actually tell her about the cake. Maybe we should talk to the others and throw a little party."

"If it were you, or me, that would be a great idea. But I'm not so sure Kaoru is comfortable with a big party. It would take our mind off things, though." Getting back to her dough, Saki thought about it for a minute. "I don't mind either way. Maybe ask Pine and see if she can get something out of Kaoru. I'm good here, by the way. Quick, go, before the flour attacks you again."

"Already gone." Out the door, Honoka came across a zombie. It took her a second to notice it was just Yuri. "What happened to **you**?" She had never seen the silver Cure in a condition that bad. Even now, having gotten very little sleep, Honoka still looked aeons better than Yuri.

"Considering I've spent years sleeping in the same bed as my previous partner, I really should be more used to this." Yuri didn't want to go into specifics about it. Not with Honoka. She was impressed by how quietly Miki slept and how little she moved. Despite all of that, Yuri couldn't fall asleep with Miki hugging her, she was simply too excited, and a little bit worried that Miki might try to take advantage of the situation.

But nothing like that happened, and now, Yuri felt both guilty and exhausted. The former because she didn't trust Miki, the latter because she hadn't gotten any sleep. "I'm just grabbing something to drink, then I'm going back to sleep, at least for a little bit." Even Yuri had her limits. She had pulled through a full day of work in similar states before, but only if absolutely necessary.

Watching the silver Cure's back for a few seconds as she walked past, Honoka decided to not be nosy and ask her about it any more. Passing around the corner, Honoka almost collided with Blossom. She barely recognized her with the different hairstyle, hair color and regular clothes. Short, black pants, a pink and white dress with a big heart printed on it in front and pink pumps. Honoka had to admit that she looked really cute.

"Morning, Honoka." Tsubomi bowed politely and walked around the white Cure. She wanted to get some coffee for Erika, who had started working non-stop ever since she woke up three hours ago.

"Tsubomi!" Calling out to the girl, Honoka didn't want to go after her. "Is Marine opening up her shop later?" She obviously knew about the blue Cure's latest idea. The other team hadn't exactly kept it a secret.

"Maybe in the evening." Erika was abusing her Cure powers, again, to work and produce clothes with superhuman speed and ability. Tsubomi was helping as well, as Cure, after being talked into it by Erika. She had stopped keeping track of how many times Erika had talked her into ridiculous things years ago.

Honoka really wanted to have some clothes she could feel at home in. She had never stayed as White that long before. It wasn't bothering her to stay in Cure form, but it just wasn't as comfortable. A lab coat, sleeveless top and pumps would really make her feel at home. Or at work, more specifically.

Just next to Marine's shop, someone else was feeling very much at home. Spending the remainder of the night swaying between snoozing off and just barely staying awake, keeping her ability ability running nonetheless, Miyuki had finally been beaten by her exhaustion and was fast asleep in Dream's arms.

She knew what had transpired. She was watching, all of it. From the moment Nightmare's remains had taken over to when Miyuki carried her into bed, killing any and all possible leftovers of Nightmare in her mind while watching over her. Petting Miyuki's head, playing a little with her hair, Nozomi was sitting up, the other pink Cure resting her head on Nozomi's lap.

Nozomi had always been one to stand up and risk her own life for others. In return, they did the same. But with Miyuki... it had been Miyuki protecting her over and over in the last few days, despite barely knowing her. She couldn't tell if Miyuki was too trusting or just incredibly nice. She couldn't put her appreciation of what the girl had done for her in words anymore. No amount of thank you would ever make up for the lot she had gone through.

Her whole body was hurting all over the place and she couldn't get the taste of charcoal out of her mouth. Just petting Miyuki's head was painful already. But she wouldn't stop. Doing it seemed to put the girl at ease and into a peaceful sleep, so she would keep it up until she woke up on her own.

It would give her time to reflect on what she had been doing the last two weeks and what it had brought upon everyone else and herself. She had tried to solve the fighting by pure force, resisting it by putting everyone under the effect of Utopia, forcefully freeing their wills. But all she had managed to do was put them through pain, seeing that they were not participating against their will. They had come to accept the battles. It was simply part of the ordeal they were experiencing. All she had achieved with that attempt was to inflict suffering, pain, uneasiness on the others... and caused them to ostracize her.

A failure. She had believed in herself, believed that they would see things the same way, that they would fight the situation. But actually fighting it ended in disaster. The system forced them into a battle that was a slaughter fest. That alone proved that simply resisting going to battle or fighting would only end with huge repercussions. Reduced to wild, brutal animals, they would still fight, but that time, it was something truly concerning. If they had resisted at the beginning and were forced into multiple battles like that, how many of them would still be alive? Did they accept or at least tolerate the situation because they feared the repercussions of fighting something they didn't understand? She couldn't really tell. All that mattered was that back then, she had been even more focused on bringing an end to the situation, so that a brutal battle like that might never happen again.

Using the system against itself proved to be ultimately futile as well. Creating the reflections had brought unspeakable terror over everyone. Risking her life, prepared to die for what she had unleashed, Nozomi knew that if they would ever learn that she was responsible, they would truly cast her out. Rin and the others were her friends, close friends, and they had gone through a lot, but... she didn't believe their patience and understanding to be endless.

And even after the she had thought to have cleaned up her mess, her actions kept putting people through a lot. White, Black, Bloom and Egret... what if they would never return to normal? What if she was responsible for ruining the lives of four people? She wasn't naive enough to think that being possessed by Nightmare wasn't her own fault. After all, Nightmare was her own creation and it had been her hatred of Nightmare's evil deeds that made her kill the abomination with her own, bare, hands. Everything she had done since being brought to this place had caused nothing but suffering to everyone else.

It was painful. It hurt. It hurt so much that she could barely bear it. That her ideals were merely that, ideals. No matter how powerful she was, no matter how hard she tried, she still failed. Knowing that she might one day be responsible for killing someone because she refused to accept reality as is... it hurt. Silently, tears ran down her cheeks, wetting the blanket. Why was it this way? Why did things have to end up like this? What had she ever done to deserve this?

Wasn't she always trying to be a good friend? Wasn't she always loyal to the one she loved? Didn't she always try her best at everything she did? Why did the world trample on her ideals? Why did people reject her help? Time and time again she had tried her hardest and yet she would be rewarded with pain and suffering.

"Nozomi... it hurts..." Miyuki was barely awake, Nozomi's right hand buried into her hair, tears running down her cheeks. "What's wrong?"

Spending years without being able to truly confide in anyone, Nozomi couldn't bear it anymore. She had endured so much that she couldn't go on alone. "Miyuki... It always... it always ends with me and those around me being hurt... what am I doing wrong? Why can't I... why can't I be happy? I fought so hard... and in the end, the peace I achieved took Coco away from me... I tried so hard to patch things up when my team was drifting apart... only to make everyone drift away even further. I work hard, I do my best and I never... I never get rewarded."

Getting up and hugging Nozomi, Miyuki didn't know what to say. The girl only really started to cry then, clinging to Miyuki, crying loudly.

"Every time I try... to help... it just ends... badly. I tried to stop people... from fighting... and only hurt... them. I tried... I tried to get us out... and... and... I don't know... It just made **them**... and they hurt everyone... I didn't know what to do... I don't know... what to do... I'm scared... that everyone... will hate me." Blurting out her big secret, Nozomi just couldn't handle it on her own anymore. The pain of being left alone to deal with the heavy guilt had become too much. Clinging to Miyuki so much that she was hurting the girl just a little, Nozomi kept on crying, letting out all the pent up sadness and despair she had been feeling for a long time now.

Miyuki knew that nothing she could say would help. Nozomi didn't want to hear pretty words or be told that everything will be okay. She wanted someone she could trust. Someone that could help her go on without being crushed by guilt and anguish. She wasn't sure what Nozomi was talking about at the end, but whatever it was, she knew Nozomi was practically a mass of good intentions. Whatever had happened, she wouldn't blame her.

"What... what if someone... someone had... died because... because of me?" Nozomi was afraid of that. Ever since the reflections had first started to attack them, deep down, she had been afraid of it. What if, some day, someone ended up dead? The thought was so heavy, so terrible and horrifying, that she was slowly being crushed under the weight of it.

"Nozomi." Trying to calm her down would be difficult, but she had to try. "I'll listen. Whatever you wanna say, you can tell me and I won't tell anyone else. I... know you always mean good. I could feel what kind of person you are when I drove out whatever took over. So... you can trust me."

Resting her chin on Miyuki's shoulder, their heads close together, Nozomi took a deep breath, calming down just a little, her body still being rocked from her outburst. If her secret was safe with anyone, then with Miyuki. The way she stood up for her, protected her, cared for her... it reminded her a bit of Coco. She truly wished he was there.

"I made the reflections." Her voice was guilt ridden and heavy, as if she committed an unforgivable crime. "I wanted... to stop the fighting... I didn't want... to see people get hurt... so I made a wish..." Holding on to Miyuki, subconsciously searching for any reaction that looked like Miyuki was rejecting her now, Nozomi confessed to the chaos she had caused. "I got everyone involved... Nightmare showed up... and many other bad reflections... they hurt my friends... hurt the other Cures... hurt me... and even after... even after I was prepared to die and faced Nightmare... killed her... it still haunts everyone..."

"Does anyone know about it?" Miyuki couldn't imagine what kind of guilt something like that would put on her. After hearing about it from some of the others, after seeing her fight against Nightmare, Miyuki understood why she was so tormented now. If Nozomi had unleashed a menace like that and lived with the knowledge of that until now all on her own, it was no surprise she was desperate to confide into someone.

"I can't tell anyone... you weren't there, you didn't... you wouldn't understand how hard it was. If... if they knew it was me... that I'm responsible... they wouldn't ever talk to me again." Nozomi was so incredibly scared of being all alone and shunned that she could barely process the thought of it happening. "You can't tell anyone... not even your friends." Holding Miyuki as tightly as she could, Nozomi's voice changed for the better for just a moment. "Promise me. You won't tell anyone. You won't..." The pained and desperate look in Nozomi's eyes could tell what a thousand words could not.

Miyuki would have never expected the strong and cheerful Dream to be capable of showing such weakness. But just as Dream put up a tough and cheerful front, Miyuki had her own secrets. She knew what it was like to put in a lot of effort in vain. She could connect with Nozomi in a way she couldn't quite put in words because of it. And she knew one thing. "I'll tell no one. It'll be our secret." Putting her own forehead against Nozomi's, Miyuki didn't smile or grin for those things were inappropriate right now. She couldn't take away Nozomi's pain, nobody could, but she would do her best to shoulder part of it. Because she knew how important it was to have someone that supported you.

Words couldn't properly express her gratitude so she didn't even try, she just nodded, making a happy hum.

=== Dissonance ===

Sleepily yawning without bothering to do as much as covering her mouth, Ellen felt incredibly sluggish. With all of the recent stress and things hopefully finally calming down, she was overcome by a rush of fatigue. Spending the morning in the garden with Setsuna, she absentmindedly poked around in the pond with a long stick she had picked up.

Watching Ellen from a few steps away, both sitting and resting on one of the benches, of which she could have sworn there were more now than back then, Setsuna was resisting the fatigue to the best of her ability, fighting a perpetually losing battle. The imprisonment, meeting Ellen, the exile, establishing a new state of her relationship with Love by accepting Ellen into it, the mirrors, the aftermath of the mirrors... it was just so much without as much as three days of daily routine. "Take care not to fall in."

Nodding her head to show she had heard her partner, Ellen lost balance, crouched down next to the water mass, and landed her butt in the soft grass that grew happily all around the pond. "Can't we go back to sleep?" Ellen compared the feeling of exhaustion to when school had just started again after summer break and she felt completely drained of all motivation.

"Bear with it." Setsuna truly just wanted to do the very same, going back to bed and lazying around all day to combat the fatigue she was feeling, yet she couldn't just do that. She was pretty far down in the ranking so she really needed a boost. After switching teams, she wanted to have enough to ask Marine for a few more clothes.

"You say that... but you're half asleep, too." Ellen looked over her own shoulder and smiled at the girl with dark purple colored hair. Falling backwards and laying down in the warm grass, Ellen almost couldn't believe how much of a difference there was between the garden and the rest of the complex.

"I'm bearing with it, too." Trying to avoid nodding off, Setsuna got up and walked over to where Ellen was laying down, sitting down next to her, arms around her knee, head rested on the same, she watched her partner from the corner of her eyes. "Those two are worn down, too. And they haven't been here for as much as a week." Nodding in the direction of the flower hill, Setsuna had noticed March and Sunny, sitting back to back, both of them seemingly asleep or very close to. There was just something incredibly pleasant about the atmosphere in the garden. A gentle breeze made March's hair flutter past her sides, giving her a magical vibe.

"So peaceful..." Ellen turned towards Setsuna, laying on her side, using her right hand to flatten the grass in front of her face a little, as it was tickling her cheeks. "If it was like this every day, this place isn't so bad..."

"So true..." Setsuna took up playing with one of the longest strands of Ellen's hair to keep herself from dozing off, with only marginal success. Getting lost in her own little world doing so, Ellen had fallen asleep right next to her, the warmth of sunlight finishing her off and putting her soundly to sleep.

The garden was highly popular that morning. A faint, gentle breeze was only occasionally rustling the tree's leaves and it was very warm. With the development of Marine's shop, most were able to spend some time out of Cure mode, able to enjoy the scenery like any normal person. Not everyone was completely exhausted though, such as Melody and Sunshine, both of them sluggishly jogging laps around the garden.

Hibiki was lagging behind by just a little bit, each step on the soft ground only further enhancing her desire to spend her time off being lazy for once. Noticing that, Itsuki slowed down until both of them were merely walking quickly and, a good minute later, taking no more than a casual walk while holding hands. "I love the weather in here. It would be really humid, hot and unpleasant in Japan this time of the year." Itsuki couldn't agree more. She liked training, but she could really do without the humid summers that got her soaked in sweat within minutes.

Taking the lead and pulling Itsuki towards a bench that stood conveniently in the shadows under a couple of large trees, Hibiki sat down and leaned back, enjoying the coolness of the location very much. The wood of the bench was hard but comfortable enough, the back just high enough to easily support Itsuki as well. Single, lone leaves were littering the space around the bench but mysteriously, not a single one had remained on the bench. "Looks like we're not the only ones to take it slow today." Pointing in the direction of a particularly large tree, whose bark appeared almost ancient and rugged, Itsuki had to lean against Hibiki to see what she was pointing at. Strands of her brown hair were teasing against her partner's cheek while she did.

Mai was taking a walk to free up her mind, just passing by the path that had both Ellen and Setsuna off to the side. Smiling at the tranquil scene, Mai had to try hard not to laugh when she saw Passion's face. She was completely off in her own world.

Hearing a whistle from across the pond, it took Mai a few seconds to spot Melody and Sunshine in the shadows. Without the flashy costumes and in their track suits, they were hidden pretty well. Waving to them and deciding to drop by on her way back to the entrance, she continued her walk to the flower hill, towards where Sunny and March were. She didn't have any business with them, though. She just happened to want to go there.

The sound of the dirt path beneath her, each step causing the satisfactory noise that confirmed she was taking a walk in nature like a completely normal person, did wonders for her mood. Taking a deep breath every other minute, standing still and just admiring the good weather and scenery, Mai felt like sketching it sometime. Passing by Sunny, who was drooling on her chest, and March, who had a lot of leaves stuck in her long hair, Mai didn't feel like waking them up. She could understand well why they were relaxing like this.

If Saki was around, she would have wanted to spend the morning like that as well. Her memory issues were getting better, but she wasn't quite over the hill yet. Spending so much time thinking about her past, and, by chance entirely, coming across Mint, who had gotten hold of a calendar, she realized it was Michiru's and Kaoru's birthday.

There was a little bit of history to how the third of September came to be their birthday. She wondered if Saki had remembered. One of the hardest things every year was to pick a present for each of the sisters together with Saki. They knew them so well that they knew equally well that there was really nothing suitable to give to them. Last year it had been a very fancy portrait of both of them together from Mai and a twelve session lesson in playing an instrument of their choice from Saki. She knew that those two didn't have any expectations of getting presents but were happy nonetheless. She had trouble figuring out something this quickly.

Deep in thought, Mai almost walked past Sunshine, who was playing around with Melody, keeping her awake by occasionally poking her cheek. "Worried about something?" Itsuki, finally leaving Hibiki in peace, whistled again, catching Mai's attention. "That's a lot of focus. Or maybe daydreaming rather? Are you worried about something?"

"It's the birthday of Kaoru and Michiru. Bright and Windy if you didn't know their real names. I spend a few days every year trying to find something to give to them but they're hard to surprise."

"Bake them a cake and throw a party. We'll help, right, Hibiki?" Poking her girlfriend out of her almost-sleep, the girl sat up straight for a few seconds, nodded with half-closed eyes, started swaying again and dozed off, resting against her love's shoulder. "I'll get her to ask Kanade for a cake. I'm sure it'll be fun to get everyone together. I'll try and see if I can get whoever does negotiations to keep the fighting to a minimum today so people won't be all out of energy when the party goes live."

"Wait a moment, I didn't agree to-" Mai felt suddenly very overwhelmed.

"You're against it?" Itsuki knew well how to handle the thoughtful type. Years of experience.

"That's not the case, but I-"

"Then it should be fine, right?" Grinning brightly, Itsuki could tell that Egret was either not used or very weak against someone pushing her into things like this. "There isn't anyone who isn't happy about a party thrown for them by their friends."

Sighing hard, Mai giggled briefly before just going with the flow. "I'll spread the word then. Please take care of the cake. We're a lot of people so maybe more than one would be nice."

"Roger that. I'll get heavyweight here right on that."

"You're not getting **any** of those cakes." Hibiki's growl didn't reach all the way to Mai but Itsuki could understand her.

"I can live with that. Can you live without sex for a week?" Itsuki was confident that being blunt and direct with Hibiki was the easiest way to tease her.

"Why, you!" Still sleepy, Hibiki tried to grab Itsuki by her sleeve, missed, and landed face first in her lap. "I hate you." The words came out muffled as she didn't even have the energy to get her face out of Itsuki's lap, the track suit doing it's best to make her line unintelligible.

=== Dissonance ===

"They say 'as those things go' but isn't this a little too much?" Honoka was helping out Saki, who was almost head to toe covered in big blotches of flour. Looking through the kitchen window, she kept an eye on Rose and Hikari, the two of them hanging up some decorations made from scrap cloth that Marine had sponsored happily. Blossom was adjusting the tablecloth for the third time while directing Peach on where to put dishes and cups. "Marine overheard me talking to Pine. I don't think this will be much of a surprise."

"What did Pine say, by the way? Oh, what time is it?" Checking the oven, Saki figured the cake had to be done soon. Even after all the years she had known Kaoru, she wasn't sure what her favorite food was. Or even if she had one. Asking about those things usually simply ended in questions on why they were being asked for educational purposes. So she made several smaller cakes, all of them different.

A quick glance on her wrist watch and Honoka gave Saki the time of the day. "It's ten past eleven. Negotiations should be up soon." It was quite handy to finally have a sense of time passing in this place. From the days before, she assumed that negotiation happened somewhere around eleven thirty or noon flat but she didn't know a specific time. "Inori, she said its fine to just call her by her name, liked the idea and told me she'd keep Kaoru busy as long as she can, so probably either until the battle or after."

Hearing a loud crashing noise, Honoka looked through the window again, seeing Peach kneeling on the ground and picking up something. "Setsuna would **so** scold me if she was here." Laughing while saying that, Love knew that it was no big issue to replace a dish. Or a dozen. She wasn't really a klutz by any stretch but she could sometimes behave like one. Noticing a curious look from the other pink Cure, Love quickly waved her hand. "I'm fine, Tsubomi, just keep going. Oh, but you could get me something to pick up the small stuff and dust."

Going to the kitchen, Honoka already stood ready with dustpan and brush. "Here." Handing them over to Tsubomi, Honoka walked to the back of the kitchen and sat on the lone chair that stood there. "I wonder what Inori is doing to keep Kaoru busy. She doesn't seem like the type to be easily interested in something."

"It's the complete opposite. As soon as you make something look interesting, she wants to know it in and out." Saki broke out in laughter when she remembered just how easily Kaoru got sidetracked into full blown research over the silliest things. Trying to evaluate the scientific probability, pros and cons of a proverb was just way past normal curiosity.

Saki would have been weirded out by what Kaoru was actually doing. After seeing Inori do a mental dive with support from Luminous, she had become immensely interested in the finer workings of her special ability 'Domination' and what other uses it could possibly have. Berry was there as well, serving as both a third party to note observations of a neutral source and help out with the research.

"Conclusive evidence therefore proves that intrusive or forceful changes to the cerebral cortex are relayed via the mental link at a near zero delay time span. Actions overriding the ability of the cerebral cortex to accept neurons however prove to be non-transmitting. In conclusion, the-" Kaoru was rambling on about scientific theory that even Inori had trouble understanding. Miki was lost entirely. Seeing their confused faces, Kaoru tried to put it in simpler terms. "To put it simple, **Domination** does not disrupt or suspend neurons traveling to the cerebral cortex which is largely responsible for thought, perceptual awareness and the consciousness. That means, any one receptor of your ability simply loses command over their bodily functions while remaining in control of their mental state. Berry's **My World **in contrast severely limits neuron travel to the cortex. It is my assumption that the ability impedes a self-suggestive filter that prevents neurons unrelated to perception and awareness of Berry from reaching the cortex or being processed. In hindsight, it would be entirely possible for a dominated victim to be under the effect of **My World** and yet be able to move as their state of mind is unrelated to their bodily functions and thus-"

"**That** is simple?" Miki was holding her forehead. She had an headache already just from using her ability repeatedly. Windy's explanation was not helping. "I still don't understand what this is for." Miki almost took a step back when Windy turned to her. The cold look in her eyes, devoid of any humanity, were those of a machine, calculating and processing data. Inori had made her swear she would keep all of this a secret but she was really weirded out by Windy.

"The more we know about each other's abilities, the better we can plan and act accordingly. I thought you to be aware of the importance of teamwork." Kaoru still wasn't satisfied by the results. She had to find a way to properly test the junction effects of **Stormflair** with the abilities of those two.

Miki made a mental note that teamwork also meant trusting each other and that included not prying every last little detail out of someone. She didn't say it out loud since she expected Inori to get mad if she picked a fight with Windy. "Are we finished? I'm kinda tired out, and there wasn't even any fighting."

"I would like to test-" Kaoru felt how someone grabbed her hand. Looking to her side, from the corner of her eyes, she saw Inori, very slightly shaking her head. "Yes, we are done. I'm grateful for your help."

Miki figured that Inori had a long way ahead of herself to turn that girl into someone... normal. Or at least **more** normal than she was now. "I'll go take a nap. Don't break your head with all that science stuff. There's no Nobel prize here." Walking away, they had been just outside the base in the labyrinth, Miki felt almost as mentally tired as after the whole mirror mess a few days ago.

"I didn't say anything because I thought it would be useful, but Kaoru-" Inori scolded the blue Cure with just a look. "These abilities still belong to **people**. You seem to be in the habit of focusing on just the research and forgetting that."

"What exactly is the issue with focusing on just the research? Isn't it the most efficient way to go about-"

"Humans are not efficient beings. We waste a lot of time doing things for personal reasons or no reason at all, we create more waste than we can clean up, both physical and mental, and there are many more examples. I understand things like this are what interests you most, but you need to keep in mind that more often than not, it is others putting up with your selfish desires for knowing more."

"Selfish? I am?" Kaoru was intrigued by the concept. She had never really thought of herself like that. "I need to analyze-"

"You're selfish. We all have a selfish drive to us. Even if there are some people who volunteer to help others or give all of their time to improving society or the planet, that is still something they want. It is normal to be selfish, but it is also part of us to keep it in check and not let it run rampant."

Kaoru understood the explanation but had trouble arriving at a workable solution. Seeing her perplexed look, as Kaoru wasn't used to not being able to put a theory to work, Inori put it in even easier terms. "Everything in moderation. Think of what I would do in the same situation."

"I will need to be with you for a longer period of time to have a sufficient staple of examples to-" That day, Kaoru just wasn't allowed to fully complete her sentences.

"Just **assume** what I'd do. That's what almost all of us do. Miki was clearly bothered at the end. You could see that, right?"

"I noticed a change in attitude which leaned towards annoyance, yes."

Inori had expected it to be hard but only now was she starting to grasp how hard exactly. Kaoru had specific ways of acting ingrained into her mind so deeply that it would take practice and time to correct those things. She felt bad making the comparison but she was a little like a bad dog that gnawed on things, barked at people and did it's business inside the house. To train that out of her would be hard.

But she could see the potential. Kaoru was extremely smart and while her interest and curiosity was very misplaced at times, she would be a great person if she got a hang of acting like a normal person. "I think its time to continue our conversation from last time. Would you mind going to the garden?" Inori put her right index finger on her cheek, a signal that she was testing Kaoru.

Two thoughts ran through her head. One, that it was inefficient to change locations for a conversation that did not rely on locational specifics to be held. Second, that her first thought was exactly what Inori was trying to correct. She concluded that she should find a more _normal_ thought before responding. "I don't mind. I like to spend time there since it's very relaxing." It wasn't a lie. She simply probed her own mind for reactions and thoughts on the location itself and converted it into a reason to agree going there for her own purposes.

"Almost good." With a smile, Inori took the lead and the two of them headed towards the base.

=== Dissonance ===

"Where **is** everyone?" Yayoi, after spending most of the morning drawing up names, preliminary pages that were guidelines for the printed version, for her Manga in an attempt to be ready for a mass release once she got out of this place, was wandering the base and not finding a single person. Nobody in the hallway or the dining room. She finally found someone in the kitchen. Rhythm and Melody, glaring at each other, ready to spit acid.

"**You're** the baker! It's your job to figure out how many ingredients you need!" Hibiki's face was only centimeters from Kanade's.

"**I did my job just right! **A certain _someone_ kept messing up my estimates so now we're short!" The girl with dirty blonde wasn't going to take those accusations.

"_Of course_ it's my fault again. Funny how it's always the fault of someone else when you mess up baking!" Hibiki was getting on her toes and tried to look down on Kanade.

"Because **someone** is always there to screw with it**!**" Shoving her finger in Hibiki's face, Kanade didn't want to put up with her bickering.

Grabbing a bag of flour, Hibiki was about to throw it at Kanade when she saw a flash of yellow to her right. Thinking it was Itsuki, she accidentally threw the bag, hit a shelf and made the bag explode. Both Kanade and Hibiki launched into a coughing fit immediately, their clothes and hair covered in flour. Only then did she realize that the yellow was much too short to be Itsuki. That, and that she hadn't been hit on the head yet.

"**Look what you did!**" Kanade was shouting in-between coughing and grabbing the next best thing to throw in the general direction of Hibiki. She managed to procure a bowl with dough that promptly covered most of Hibiki's face and hair.

Twitching, Hibiki snapped. Grabbing a second bag of flour from the shelf, she turned into a Cure and fired the bag at Kanade, shouting "**Take that!**" knocking the girl over and causing the flour cloud to become more intense.

"**Now you've done it...**" Kanade got up, turned into a Cure as well, sliced off the top part of a glass of cherries and proceeded to awkwardly launch the content at where Hibiki's pink was visible. A splash was the signal that she had hit her.

Only a few seconds passed before Kanade's face was completely covered in dough, creme and fruit, Hibiki having smashed a cake into her face. The dust cloud was settling and Kanade could finally see Hibiki's anger-distorted, as well as dough-, flour- and cherry-covered, face. Grabbing a plate with already cut apples, she shoved as many of them as possible into Hibiki's mouth the moment the pink Cure opened it.

"Stop!" "Stop it, you idiot!" Two voices called out to them from the door. In the heat of the moment, neither Hibiki nor Kanade realized who it was.

"**Shut up!" **A single coordinated throw of whatever was at hand, dough and the remains of the cut apples in this case, made them face the intruders. Hibiki was, at this point, covered in all manner of ingredients, just like Kanade was, and sitting on top of the white Cure, pulling her hair.

Within five seconds, the kitchen felt like it had turned into one big oven. The heat was painful enough to make the two arguing girls focus on who the intruders actually were. Hibiki almost shrieked when she looked at Itsuki, hair and face covered in dough, with Rouge, literally on fire, right next to her. Kanade really wished she could actually faint on the spot to avoid having to explain herself.

A good twenty minutes later, both Hibiki and Kanade were working diligently and quietly to get done. Rin and Itsuki were seated right behind them, keeping watch. The pink Cure as well as the white Cure could feel the pressure exerting from their partners.

"I told you to get along with Kanade, not pick up old, and most of all, **bad** habits." Itsuki was genuinely mad at Hibiki for once. That she had gotten hit by dough and apples was partly responsible. She had acted as a limiter on Rin since she was up and about to kick both of their butts through the entire base. Kanade didn't dare to even squeak or sigh when they got lectured. Washing the remains of their fight off in the bathrooms on the second floor, both of the younger girls were very worried about what was waiting for them after the party.

"This is all your fault." Hibiki whispered towards Kanade.

"Like you're miss innocent." Kanade whispered back.

Both of them felt something very heavy push them down from their backs. It was the combined glares of Itsuki and Rin. Hibiki loved Itsuki a lot, but she was struggling a lot to not fight with Kanade. It was simply how they naturally acted!

The same was true for Kanade and loving Rin. She still felt attracted to Hibiki whenever she did something that could be interpreted as suggestive, but she was no longer struggling as much. Her exile had both been extremely horrible and an eye-opened to her. At this point, she would make everyone, including herself, happier if she could let go of any lingering feelings for Hibiki.

"I'll go and help Black move the benches so we can all sit together." Itsuki stood up and flicked Hibiki on the back of her head. "Behave yourself. I'm not responsible if Rin grills you."

"Yeeeees." Hibiki could feel the pressure from behind. Looking to Kanade from the corner of her eye, she wrote '_truce' _into the dough, getting a quick nod from Kanade. Neither of them wanted to get Rin any angrier than she was. If not for Itsuki, she might have really set them on fire.

Up in the garden, Nagisa was lifting up yet another bench, butting in next to the others. Using the large space between the pond and the flower hill to make a spot for everyone to sit, eat and drink, it had turned into quite a big thing.

Mai had been tasked with keeping Bright out of the way and, so far, that had been a great success. They didn't have much in the way of decoration, yet, but Yayoi had already promised to supply lamps and all sorts of devices to keep the area lit, once evening sat in. Everyone was fully prepared to make the rest of the day very relaxing. Everyone was throwing in some coins so they could get something interesting for Bright.

Sitting up in a tree and binding branches together so leaves wouldn't fall onto the food, Nao had a great view from up there. "Akane, stop looking up my skirt." It was getting slightly embarrassing because of how openly and brazenly the red Cure was looking up, leaned against the tree. She had offered to help with the serving of food and drinks later, as she had experience doing that. So right now, she was free. And decided to peep at, and bother, her partner.

"It's not like I can see much. You and your stupid magic skirt. It's an abuse of powers!" Akane was grinning all the way through. Noticing that Mint was waving at her, she left one green Cure to her own devices to go and check what the other one wanted. "Need me for somethin'?"

"Yes." Wearing a happy smile, Komachi enjoyed the situation a lot. A party, for good reason at that, was just what everyone needed to forget about the few gruesome days before. "Peace was offering to put down lamps later, but I'd like to supplement the artificial lighting with a few torches. Do you think you can cover that? Mostly for the stairs and such."

"No problem." Waving her hand, Akane wanted to make a human torch joke but missed her chance. Mint was grabbed by her partner, Aqua, and taken away, talking over the arrangement of the benches and tables.

"I'll be back later. Muse wanted to stay here so I'm going to handle negotiations. The system has been as quiet as a mouse, so it should go over pretty easy today. Can you keep things under control here?" Just as Karen asked, both of them were distracted by a loud scream and an even louder splash. Black was sitting in the pond, a wooden bench, turned over, next to her, the water reaching all the way to her chest. Looking at the curious looks that everyone was giving her, Nagisa closed her eyes and smiled. "Ooops?"

"Go, I'll take care of things." Komachi was about to laugh out loud when Black tried to pick up the bench, slipped, and landed face first in the pond again.

Seeing the debacle, Itsuki went to Nagisa's rescue, taking off her boots and stepping into the pond. "Take my hand and take care not to fall." Her hand stretched out to Nagisa, Itsuki helped her up. "Let's carry the bench toge-" Her words turned into squirming when something touched her ankle and she basically jumped at Nagisa, who was unable to balance both herself **and** Itsuki on the wet ground. The third splash was even bigger than the first. Akane was on the ground, laughing so hard that her face closely resembled the color of her costume. A sudden splash of water cooled her down very quickly. Itsuki, hair hanging over her face and soaked to the bone had enacted revenge for laughing. "Get in here and help us haul that bench out of here."

For all their magic and powers, the simple act of carrying a bench, and furthermore getting said bench out of a pond, was proving to be as difficult as any battle. Ako, who had promised to help out Ellen with some musical business for the party, was slowly shaking her head as three adults started to fight in the pond over who was a klutz and who laughed inappropriately and so on. "And I'm supposed to be the youngest here."

"Did you say something?" Setsuna was just a few meters away and thought that Ako had talked to her. "Sorry, I wasn't paying attention."

"No, just talking to myself. I'll go and check if Kanade and Hibiki have gotten themselves killed, by someone else or each other, yet."

Getting up and walking towards the exit, Ako turned around and took a large detour by picking one of the corner paths, avoiding the pond. She wasn't going to let them turn her into another cliché victim.

=== Dissonance ===

At point twelve, the gates had opened for negotiations. "So you're doing the same over on your side? That's convenient." Miki had gone to the negotiations. Keeping it simple and small was the motto of the day and she didn't object to that at all. "Any plans, Karen?"

"The new room assignments are today so technically a big battle would've been good. But everyone is tired of fighting for now and there is the birthday of Bright and Windy. If possible, I would skip the battling entirely, but I don't think that's possible."

"How does a one versus one sound? That way we minimize the time it's gonna take, too." Miki was going to volunteer since she was at the very bottom of the ranking. Something that didn't sit well with her at all.

"That's fine with me. Do you want to pick any special rules?" Karen picked a few terrain rules that seemed to promise decent spoils but not cause too much trouble. "What about this for the terrain?"

"Let's see..." An ancient mountain cave. Not much in the way of a bonus at fifteen percent, but it was a good location to have a quick one versus one fight. "Sure, why not. How about rules two, twenty-seven, thirty-eight and eighty-eight? That will make one heck of a quick beat down. It's limited to people who are good at melee, but I'm sure that's acceptable."

"Chained Link – Enemy mode, Explosion Hit, Chaotic Risk and Silent Sight? It'll be like hitting each other with some of these oversized clown hammers but filled with dynamite and with a blind fold on." Karen wondered if there was anyone on the team that would be up for that. Someone quick, sturdy that could dish out lots of damage. "Agreed. I hope the two can still get some cake later. I hear Rhythm grew up in a bakery and she's making cake. I can't wait."

"Lucky you." Miki wondered if anyone on their side would bake some tasty goods. With all the exercise she was getting, and all the worrying she was doing, she could sin a little. Or even a lot, depending on **how** tasty the goods were.

Both of them left, the entire negotiation only having taken a few minutes, and the doors closed behind them. Back in the base, Karen was greeted by a, to her, mostly unsurprising situation. Beat and Passion, Beat's teammates Melody and Rhythm hiding behind those two, were trying to deflect the literally burning wrath of Rin.

"Rin, what did they do this time?" Karen joined her teammate and looked at the worried face of Beat, who looked like she was about to melt.

"Isn't that obvious?" Rin glared at Karen and as a few seconds passed, she sighed and bowed slightly, showing off the top of her head to the blue cure. There was hardened dough stuck to the top, as if someone had tried to bake a bread on her head.

"But I didn't do that on purpose! I slipped because of some spilled flour and the pot just landed on your head!" Hibiki defended herself, quite intimidated that Rouge might actually grill her.

"Is that right, Rin?" Karen thought she would try to calm the red cure.

"It **looked** that way but you can't tell with those two!"

"Nah, she is telling the truth." Itsuki appeared from seemingly nowhere and pulled Hibiki's cheek. "The right corner of her mouth always twitches when she lies."

Melody, Rhythm and Beat were all surprised to hear that and looked at Sunshine in confusion. Upon being stared at, the yellow Cure just shrugged. "What, you never noticed? Especially you, Kanade."

Rin was getting tired of the whole thing. Turning around, she walked a few steps before stopping. "There better be an **extra big slice of cake** for me later." Her words had an _or else_ tone to them.

Kanade and Hibiki both exhaled deeply and slowly after getting off the hook. The peace only lasted a second. "That was totally your fau- ow, ow, ow, Itsuki, stop, ow, you're hurtin-, ow!" Hibiki had no time to start an argument because she was being pulled away by her ear. "I get it, ow, Itsuki, ow, I get it!" Only after they were halfway down the hallway, Rin was long gone now, did Itsuki release her.

"No picking fights! But if Rin unjustly wants to lynch you, you should stand up to her. Just don't demolish the kitchen, alright?"

"You'd think she wouldn't be so hard on Kanade since they're... they're together, aren't they?"

"Probably something like that. Rin seems like a pretty complicated person, despite her looks and short fuse."

"Excuse me for having a short fuse." A voice, directly behind Itsuki, responded.

"Eavesdropping, Rin?" Itsuki turned a little and looked at Rin, who had both arms crossed in front of her chest, not a hint of ill-will in her voice and expression.

"Not really. I was thinking of going up to the garden and help Sunny put up some lights. So those two are your lot and problem now." Waving and leaving without giving Itsuki a chance to respond, Rin felt like making Kanade sleep in her own bed. But she also knew that this feeling would pass in a few minutes and acting on it now would just get her sour grapes all around. She didn't want to be Urara.

Further down the corridor, Karen was talking to Passion. "So the battle will be one versus one. I was thinking of asking Black to participate unless someone else wants to volunteer."

"I'm sure she'll happily take the offer. She's in fourteenth place after all." Setsuna peeked to the side, where Ellen was asking Kanade about her relationship with Rin, causing the red cure to smile.

"Do you know where she is? The battle won't happen for another hour or so but there is also still the exile run. I think everyone will want to start partying right after that's over with."

"Up in the garden, probably **still** in the pond and also probably in need of a shower." Setsuna felt a yawn coming, covered her mouth and slightly turned away from Karen, unable to stop her body.

And it was contagious. Ellen was the first to follow, with Kanade and Karen right behind. "I wish we could sleep in." Karen said in jest, not knowing that her words were a carefully thrown rock that was hitting the delicate balance of the system.

=== Dissonance ===

"So you're going?" Yuri was in the dinning hall, reading a book, ready to stop and go help Luminous and Rose should they require any help. She wasn't a star in the kitchen but pretty good. Bloom was helping out too, though, so there wasn't much for her to do. Miki had joined her after returning from negotiations.

"I'm good at close combat and I need to improve my ranking." Stopping for a moment and thinking about what she had just said, words that had simply come to mind naturally, Miki sat down next to her now-girlfriend. "It's odd, isn't it? It was such a big deal three weeks ago, but now, with the new system, the whole mirrors ordeal and everything, I can't help but just think of this as a competition."

"Just don't let your pride force you into thinking you have to be at the top. With Erika doing her business that's impossible." Yuri was ambitious herself but competing with Erika never turned out well unless it was something the short girl absolutely couldn't do, like modeling.

"Don't worry, I won't." Miki knew well enough that some people shouldn't be challenged. "I think Luminous is calling you. She's waving through the window." At this point, Miki could tell who was who simply by parts of their costumes. In this case, just the pink glove from Luminous costume.

"I wish I had some fancy clothes to wear." Fling.

"I wish I could take you out to dance." Fling. Getting up, touching Miki's shoulder as she walked past, Yuri walked into the kitchen. She was to their taste test. And they passed with flying colors. "If this was for sale in a shop, I would buy it every week." More often than that and she would get fat. She was pretty delicate as far as food was concerned although it didn't hurt her physical condition at all to be a bit on the thin side.

Hikari, looking so happy over Moonlight's praise that she had let her guard down for a moment, noticed that Kurumi was unusually quiet and standing a good meter away from her. One look at the prototype cake told her everything she needed to know. "No snacking, Kurumi!"

The purple Cure almost jumped in the air and slowly turned around, her face resembling that of a hamster, her cheeks so puffed out, her mouth so stuffed full with cake, that she couldn't even take and just look apologeptic.

"No more snacking okay? If you like cake so much just tell me and I'll bake you one." Hikari's gentle smile returned and so did Kurumi, hugging the pink cure, lifting her up and whirling once round.

"They're so sweet together, it feels like the cake is completely unnecessary." Saki commented with a smug grin. Yuri smiled a little but didn't say anything in response. "I wish I could see smiles like that every day." Fling.

"If I saw this every day I would get diabetes." Yuri said to Saki's bemusement. Both of them were surprised when there was a very weak quake, so weak that Hikari and Kurumi didn't notice at all. Some of the bowls shook a little but they also did when someone hit their knee on the table. "Did I imagine that?"

"No. Maybe they're doing something to keep Windy busy?" Saki shrugged but couldn't shake a certain level of curiosity. With everything that had happened, the ground shaking was a bit suspicious.

"I hope so." It would do everyone some good to be able to relax and just live an easy life for a while. After having that thought, Yuri stopped thinking for a moment. An easy life? Here? Looking at it, food was relatively easily provided, most of the day was free activity and now that they had the garden and knew they could create new rooms, it wouldn't be long before they would create other places. Most of all, there were no jobs to wake up to, no schedules and appointments. There were drawbacks too, a lot of them, but if nothing unusual happened it really **was** a kinda safe and easy life.

But there were two who didn't have an easy life at all. At least not at this very moment. Nozomi needed Miyuki's help to even stand. Fatigue had caught up with her and she felt like she had run a hundred-thousand kilometer marathon in sprinting tempo. "Maybe you should stay in bed." Miyuki wasn't in top condition either so the two of them formed a shaky combination, ready to fall any time.

Nozomi's stomach growled so loud that an innocent bystander might have mistaken her for a wild beast that was starving. Now, starving she really was, and she didn't want to bother Miyuki with even getting some food for her. They had spent the night _together_ but not **together**. Nozomi liked Miyuki but she didn't feel romantically attracted. Maybe it just wasn't in her to like a girl. She wondered if she should feel disappointed as Miyuki was a really nice, cute and caring girl, but that too didn't seem to be in her.

"You... won't tell anyone about it, right?" Nozomi was still worried. Miyuki hadn't seen the whole carnage the reflections had caused and some Cures were suffering from the aftermath even now.

"That you toss around in bed like a wild animal? I won't." Miyuki winked at Nozomi, indicating that she knew what the older Cure was talking about. "You were saying 'Coco' a lot while you slept. Do you like coconut milk a lot?"

Nozomi burst out in laughing. It only lasted for two seconds before her body told her '**no**' and she started to cough instead and calmed down. "Coco is my... ex-boyfriend."

"I thought all Cures liked girls. It's like that on my team at least." And all the other teams I saw, she thought to herself. She hadn't figured out which way she was swinging yet. "I wonder what it's like to be a couple."

"You've never dated anyone?" Nozomi thought it odd that such a friendly, helpful and cute girl would not get tons of love letters.

"Akane said it's because I always have my head in fairytale books and because I'm the world's greatest klutz." Miyuki sighed. There was some truth to it, she knew that, but even if those things weren't true, she didn't know if she wanted a girl or boyfriend.

"Rin often told me I'm a klutz, too. We're kinda similar, aren't we?" Nozomi smiled and Miyuki smiled back.

"Maybe you could be my practice girlfriend!" Miyuki started laughing but stopped when Nozomi didn't join her. The older cure was making a pretty depressed face. "Ah, I was just kidding! I'd make a terrible girlfriend!"

"I'll think about it." Nozomi grinned and flicked Miyuki's forehead. With her stomach growling again, Nozomi looked at Miyuki. "Before I eat **you**, we should get something to eat." Nozomi wanted to smack herself for the unintentional innuendo.

Miyuki, the innuendo completely flying over her head, just nodded. Helping Nozomi to the door, Miyuki opened it and stopped. "Do you smell this?"

Nozomi took an intense whiff and her stomach immediately growled again. She was smelling grilled chicken and all other kinda of tasty goods. Were they preparing a banquet down in the kitchen?

And she was not the only one smelling it. Out in the labyrinth, Inori and Kaoru were with Love, who was demonstrating her ability, as a gift to Windy, who was just completely consumed in _researching_ Peach's ability.

"You two brainiacs suit each other." Love whispered to Inori just as she started to smell food. A few seconds passed where Love was just deeply breathing in the pleasant smell. "I want to marry whoever is cooking today."

"I'm telling Setsuna." Inori threatened with a smile.

"Can you two smell this as well?" Kaoru took a deep breath through her nose and her expression changed to confusion. "I wasn't aware that we had the ingredients for roast chicken, Pasta Carbonara, Seafood Pizza, Mapo Tofu and-"

Love laughed and earned a glare from Inori. "How do you smell all that?" Upon seen a spark in Windy's eyes, Love put up her hands. "Actually, don't tell me. It'll make a great mystery for me to solve on my own." Love was very kind but Windy's dry and long winded explanations had tired her out already.

Inori and Love figured that whoever was working in the kitchen was cooking up a banquet for Windy. But it was still odd that the smell reached all the way out in the labyrinth.

=== Dissonance ===

"Where does this **stench** come from?!" Ako was so disgusted that she felt like throwing up. The entire complex was smelling like, what she assumed they smelled like, an old sewer. The cooking in the kitchen was put on hold, and so was pretty much everything else.

Muse, Bright, Aqua, Mint and Egret were standing in the dinning hall, all of them pinching their noses. Everyone else was trying to find a place where the smell wasn't omnipresent with less than no success. It just got stronger the more they ran around.

"It seems to come from everywhere. More important than knowing where it comes from is finding a way to get rid of it." Komachi was at her limit. She was fairly resistant to stuffy air, as it often got stuffy in her apartment when she spent extended periods of time inside and without letting fresh air in, but this was the smell of nightmares.

"Should we try using the system to clear this up?" Karen felt that this was the most reasonable course of action.

"Don't. What if we break it and we'll get another disaster." Mai still hadn't recovered from the reflection thing so she didn't want another catastrophe.

"It is physically not possible for a smell like this to be equally strong in a complex this large and have no clear source." Michiru commented. She had been in the sewers before but they hadn't smelt that horrible.

"Scientists would say the same thing about us using energy blasts to beat each other up." Ako was not in any mood to listen to _scientific_ explanations of anything.

"Has anyone checked if the other team is also smelling this?" Karen knew the dome was not a stench-free zone. Rin had already tested that.

"I just went. They're having the same issue over there but instead of sewer stench, they inexplicably smell a banquet." Itsuki walked up to the others, Rin, Hibiki and Kanade a few meters behind her, staying out of the dinning hall.

"Did you ask when it started?" Michiru hated having to breathe through her mouth. It was ineffective and inconvenient.

Itsuki nodded. "It started about fifteen minutes ago and no matter where they go, they can smell it. White said it is pleasant at first but then becomes overwhelming really quickly as there is no actual food."

"How long are we going to wait before we try to do something about this?" Muse looked at Aqua. "Did you set some weird conditions in the negotiation?"

"The setting is an ancient mountain cave. Even if the smell we have here came from there, it makes no sense for the other team to smell a banquet." Karen shook her head. "Maybe the system is cleaning itself up. I suggest we bear with it at least until the battle is over to be absolutely sure."

"When is it starting?" Itsuki wanted to know.

"Should start any second now. Nagi- Black is going." Mai wondered how much longer she would have to deal with these feelings.

=== Dissonance ===

Miki stepped through the gate and found herself immediately in intense darkness, unable to see anything, even her own hand right in front of her eyes. She had known the rules but she didn't think that _Silent Sight_ would be like this. Something was dangling from her left wrist.

Someone was on the other side of that chain and only a mere ten meters away. For any normal person it would've been difficult to tell just how far ten meters were in total darkness, but for Miki, it was second nature. Using her right foot to feel the direction of the chain on the ground, Miki took the first move.

"Spade Crush!" Destroying the ground in front of her with a stomping attack, a massive explosion illuminated the, as far as she could tell, endlessly large cave, for just two seconds, revealing both her opponent's identity and her position. Grabbing the chain and pulling as hard as she could, Miki found that the other end had her beat in pure physical strength. But that didn't come at a surprise.

Nagisa had seen who her adversary was. Cure Berry, someone who was proficient in close combat attacks. Resisting the pull on the chain, Nagisa decided to play her trump card right away. "Blacklight Current!" Forcing her own personal cure energy through the chain, acting like a conduit, Berry didn't see the attack coming until she felt it.

But as it wasn't a physical attack, the damage it did was limited. Able to shrug it off with some minor burns, Miki jumped ahead, to the right of where Black was, holding the chain in both her hands and using her full force upon landing, lifting the black Cure right off the ground. Whirling her through the air faster and faster, she knew that letting go would pull her along.

Slowly shortening the distance between her and Black, pulling the chain in as she kept spinning it, Miki carefully put her foot on top of the bit of chain that was on the floor. Thank god she was wearing boots with heels. They proved to be rather useful in securing the chain in the ground. Instead of just letting go, Miki pulled the chain in the opposite direction of where it was going, creating an intense backlash at the other end of it.

Black's outcry was proof that she had caused considerable damage to the enemies wrist. But she didn't account for just how tough Nagisa was. The floor under her vanished as she was force off her feet. Laying on her back for a second, Miki jumped up, landing on her feet only to see a series of explosions rapidly approaching her.

Nagisa was using the explosion rule to make each of her steps into a stomping attack that caused an explosion that created enough light to make her see Berry. Suddenly in front of the blue cure, Nagisa aimed straight for her chest. Miki crossed her arms in time but the impact was like trying to stop a small moon from crashing into you. "Blacklight Devastation!"

The explosion threw both of them high into the air, uncontrolled, whirling around each other. Miki's clothes were scorched and she spat a large amount of blood before she regained her sense. Nagisa on the other hand was grabbing the chain with both hands, slowly pulling closer to Berry despite being still in the air.

Meeting an incoming punch with a kick, Berry was more proficient with those after all and she needed every bit of an edge she could get, both of them were blown away by the explosion again. But the chain prevented them from going too far. Recoiling and forcing both of them back together, Nagisa used her injured arm and wrapped it around Berry. "No escape."

Hitting Berry's face, each punch causing an explosion equivalent to a piece of dynamite going up, Nagisa took damage from the explosions as well. And then Berry countered. Grabbing Nagisa's free hand, she headbutted the girl as hard as she could. The explosion nearly forced them apart but Nagisa was so incredibly strong that she could hold onto Miki. A second headbutt did the job and forced them apart, both of them wildly flying through the air again.

Unable to see where Black was, Miki resorted to abusing the rules. Punching the chain itself, indestructible as it may be, she created enough light to see the chain going downwards. Or upwards, depending on whether they were still ascending or descending, it was difficult to tell.

Putting the chain around her arm, Miki got closer and closer until her hand touched Black. Both of them had reduced the chain length even further by wrapping it around their body. Berry around her arm, Nagisa by wrapping it around her waist.

The first punch came from Nagisa and hit Miki's chin, whose ears started ringing and her senses became disorientated. But with the enemy so close, she didn't need senses. Unleashing a furry of kicks blindly in front of her, a barrage of explosions enveloped Black, scorching her from every side at once, the attacks hitting her everywhere.

Gritting her teeth and trusting her luck, Nagisa wildly grabbed with both arms where the next kick she thought would come from. And on the fourth try she got Berry's leg between both of her arms. Her left wrist was no good anymore but she didn't need it.

Hammering her knee against the blue Cure's leg, Miki screamed in pain as she felt her bone break in half on the inside and nearly lost consciousness when Black hammered her knee in a second time. The explosion from the impact gave up enough light for Miki to see where exactly Black was looking. Using her teeth to strip off her long glove, Miki used her sturdy nails to create a set of five painful scratches on Nagisa's face.

By reflex, Nagisa looked to where the attack had come from. And in that same moment, Miki hit herself with her other hand, creating a light source. "My World." It was just enough exposure for Nagisa to fall prey to the attack.

Letting go of Berry's leg, the blue Cure untangled the chain from her arm and Black's waist. The effect wouldn't last long like this so she had to be quick. Starting to swing Black around, close enough that she could still reach Black with a kick, Miki waited until she felt she couldn't go any faster with risking that her entire arm would be torn off by what was to follow.

Letting go, Black immediately flew away in one direction, pulling Miki with her. Stretching out her health leg and focusing all her energy into it, Miki crossed her arms in front of her face and endured the pain of her broken leg.

"Grand Spade Impact!" The moment Black hit a wall, or it might have been a large stalagmite, Miki caught up to her and smashed into her back. The explosion was so strong that Miki couldn't see or hear anything, the heat strong enough to burn her clothes and skin.

A moment later she found herself on a extremely soft bed, with the worst muscle ache in her leg that she had ever experienced. And a thousand things struck her as odd and wrong right away. For one, she wasn't Cure Berry anymore but just Miki. And she wasn't wearing regular clothes.

There were numerous other things she noticed right away. There was a lot of talking going out somewhere close by, there was music playing, music from a festival even, the air smelled of food and wine, cologne and perfume. And looking down on herself, she was wearing a fancy blue dress, something that belonged right in the Renaissance or even the middle ages. Wearing shoes that matches the outfit, she wondered what was going on. Something was on her face as well.

Touching it, she felt finely crafted silk. It was easily removed and upon looking at it, it was a mask in the shape of a butterfly, decorated with tiny jewels and made from blue dyed silk. Getting off the bed, she noticed that this wasn't her room. It was three times as spacious as even the biggest rooms in the complex and looked like the private quarters of a baron, something one would see in cliché movies.

"What is going on?" A little unstable on her feet, Miki walked to the door and listened. From the volume and diversity of the voices and things being talked about, it was impossible that there were only twenty-nine people out there. Opening the door just a little, it was heavy and made from solid wood, Miki snuck a peak.

She looked into a hallway that was extremely well furnished. A large group of fifteen women were just passing by, all of them dressed in similar dresses to the one Miki was wearing but all with their unique cuts. No, that wasn't quite true. Two of them looked exactly the same and as Miki peeked out of the room entirely, she saw that they both wielded the same paper fans and even had the same hairstyle as well.

But the weirdest thing was that she thought they were all people she knew. Stepping out, Miki was almost scared to death when she suddenly felt the presence of someone behind her. Turning about, she looked in her own face. Even behind the plain, white, wooden mask, she could tell. The color of the girl's hair, her eyes, the shape of her neck and shoulders, everything was exactly the same. But she was wearing what was clearly servant clothes. "Milady, you shouldn't take off your mask! It is against the Queen's rules!" The girl, Miki herself, was whispering to Miki, before she quickly turned tail and walked away, picking up a tray with drinks and heading in the same direction as the well dressed women had gone.

Putting the mask back on in a trance, Miki followed herself. The light at the end of the hallway was almost blinding but only once she could see did she felt truly blinded. Standing at the entrance to a massive hall with four floors, large winded staircases separating each floor, there were dozens of well dressed women standing around and talking, drinking, eating, with servants hushing between them and attending to their needs. And in each corner, at each staircase, stood another woman in full armor, holding a halberd in her right hand, a sword at her thigh.

"Where am I?" Where indeed.

=== End of Event XXVII ===


	28. Paradise Cage

**Dissonance**

_Event XXVIII_

**Paradise Cage**

"Excuse me." A little bit shaken, the woman went to the nearest table and sat down on one of the very comfortable chairs. From one moment to another, mysterious music had turned into her dancing with a pink haired woman that resembled Cure Passion a little.

Picking up one of the almost impossibly clean and sparkling wine glasses on the table, she looked at her mirror image. A mask was sitting on her face and her hair was different but she was still herself. "I look really... good." Kurumi muttered to herself. There were hundreds of people all around her. The big hall she was in was built like a tower, a large ground floor, and as she looked up, there was a single majestic staircase that connected the first floor to massive balconies, each housing dozens of people, stretching all the way to the ceiling, where the stairs vanished into the ceiling itself.

Large tables for five to six people were spread all around the edge of the ground floor while the central point was the scene of a seemingly never ending dance. Beautiful music came from seemingly nowhere and even after looking around for nearly a minute, Kurumi could not find even a single sign of someone playing an instrument.

Partners at the dance were exchanged, many of the women left and others joined. A few gathered around a pink haired woman that was looking like she was under a lot of stress. Others sat together and discussed things that Kurumi had not touched ever since she had come to Earth. Royal Politics. She recognized this scenery, although not precisely. It was a royal banquet, with food and dance, music and politics, where kingdoms were made and destroyed.

Her feet were stinging just a little, likely from having danced too much, and she very much wanted to take her shoes off but there was something stopping her. A thought, deeply rooted inside her mind, foreign but adamant to stay. _Do not embarrass yourself_. It was the golden rule at any such event and Kurumi had seen much of what would happen to those that earned the ridicule of their noble peers.

Standing up and walking along the edge of the room, she found that the entire room was shaped not like a circle but rather like a hexagon, easily five hundred meters from one corner to the opposite side. She only noticed now that, dressed in simple but still fine, black dresses, servant girls were hustling all over the place, bringing drink and food to the rich and powerful. Walking past the next guard, Kurumi stopped, turned around and looked intently at the guard, who was wearing chain mail but no helmet. And her face was one she would recognize anywhere.

Her own. Standing there, watching the royals and ready to arrest whoever needed arresting or escorting, in total silence, she barely moved her eyes when she noticed Kurumi's intense stare. "My Lady, is something the matter? Do you perhaps feel unwell?"

Being asked those things in her own voice was creepy and astonishing at the same time. "No. I am just a little light headed and I seem to have lost my bearings. A bit of fresh air will surely resolve it."

"The north end and south end of the grand hall both offer large outside balconies, my lady. If you wish so, I will happily escort you there to see to your safe arrival."

"No need. Thank you, soldier."

"Always my pleasure."

Walking away from her exact copy, Kurumi felt like she was going to be sick. The next guard she passed looked exactly like Cure Moonlight. The one after that, Moonlight again. Upon closer inspection, there were minute differences in how their hair was done, how tall their were and their physical build, but she could not stare at either too long without bringing suspicion on herself.

Reaching the large balcony at the north or south end, Kurumi couldn't tell, she witnessed something she deemed very important. One of the noblewomen was being taken away by the guards. A small group of six other noblewomen, all of whom looked like they were from her own team, stood near the gargantuan glass doors that connected the balcony to the grand hall and Kurumi joined them. "My, what happened to her that the guards would take her?"

"Lady Kurumi Evangeline von Wolfenstein? It is you, is it not?" One of the two women that looked like Rouge immediately turned to her. The other four, one looking like Dream, two looking like Aqua and one looking like Lemonade, paid little attention to her.

"It is a pleasure to meet you again." Kurumi had no idea who the woman really was. She clearly wasn't Rouge.

"How is your father, Duke Reinhard? The news of his recent victory in the southern wetlands over the barbarians has reached even the ear of the Queen. On behalf of my father, I would like to extend an invitation to you and your father to come to our castle in one of the coming months."

"Please, my father is as stubborn as a mule and I would not get to see him leave the castle if not for the threat from the south." Kurumi simply tried her best to be as evasive as possible. Realizing that she had been carrying a large folding fan in her right hand, she spread it open and hid her mouth behind it.

"A pity indeed. My father and uncle simply love tales of fame and glory, albeit I have little interest. The fewest of us here are akin to the Warrior Princess."

"And rightfully so. But tell me, why was that woman taken away?" Kurumi didn't want to waste all this time on meaningless talk but she felt she had to keep a cover.

"Because she broke the rules, of course. It is strictly forbidden to remove your mask. Any violator, no matter her standing, will be taken away from this delightful event and confined to one of the many rooms in the east wing. But surely you are aware of this."

"Indeed I am. I was merely unaware of what precisely her offense was as there are many. Just a little while ago I saw Lady Lilith Hjelfelden, drunk as a bard in a tavern, being escorted off by the guards."

"My. What a blunder."

Laughing politely, Kurumi bowed extremely slightly and excused herself, walking further out on the balcony. The night was completely clear, not a single cloud and what seemed like a million stars. In stark contrast to the lively atmosphere inside, the balcony was covered in the light of candles here and there, with many a noblewoman talking very quietly to another, curiously eying every new arrival. Finding a free spot at the large stone rail, Kurumi took a deep breath. Just where exactly was she and what was going on.

Before she knew what was happening, a servant girl had walked up to her, carrying a sealed letter but not talking or otherwise trying to get her attention. At a first glance, she looked exactly like Karen and Kurumi found that to be somewhat distasteful if there was such a thing as fate. Upon closer inspection, very slowly and carefully as to not attract unwanted attention in case the girl was waiting for someone, Kurumi stood there for a few seconds with her mouth open.

She had been Karen's lover for years. She knew there was not a centimeter, not a kilo, not a gradient in skin tone of different. That girl didn't just look like Karen. That **was** Karen. But she couldn't act on it. Not out here. Not like this. Leaning slightly forward and putting her arms on the balustrade, she didn't even look at Karen.

"Karen. Don't look my way. It would be unnatural for a servant girl to talk freely to a noble." Kurumi hated having to do that to her ex-girlfriend but she couldn't come up with a better idea on the spot.

"I didn't think I would find **you** first of all people." Karen knew well how important it was to keep curious eyes away in a place like this. Trying her best to look nervous, walking on the spot for a second, eying the letter overly carefully, she spoke so quietly that if that balcony hadn't been a scene for many whispers and schemes, her voice wouldn't have reached her former lover. "I came to when I was serving food to two noblewomen that were having sex. It was quite a sight to see Peach and Beat go at it. Although I am sure that neither of those are truly them. That was roughly twenty minutes ago."

"You're surprisingly calm about this. I was really freaked out when I came across my first... self." Kurumi felt a certain tightness in her chest. She missed talking to Karen like this.

"We had evil twins and coming back to life inside of mirrors. This isn't so bad compared to that. But I'm still really nervous. Evil twins made more **sense** than this."

"Do you think everyone is here?" Kurumi didn't want to hope that it was just her and Karen. She knew that things between them were over.

"There's easily a few hundred people here. One of the nobles I served food entrusted me with a letter for a Lady Setsuna Hijikata from the east lands of the sun. I assume that is one of Passion's look-alikes. On my way here, I saw a set of six large kitchens and there are just so many servant girls here, probably almost as many as there are nobles."

"I knew it was you because I know exactly what you're like, Karen, but how will we tell apart one Setsuna from another?" Kurumi felt a little bad about being a noble, something she had always wanted, while Karen was a servant, a role that Kurumi felt ridiculed her past relationship with Karen.

Kurumi was about to ask Karen what she knew of this place when a noblewoman, a copy of White, walked between the two, pulled the letter from Karen's hand and threw it over the balustrade. "Be on your way, servant." There was clear contempt in the way she addressed Karen. As if she was less than human.

"I see you tire of the petty conversation and idle talk in the grand hall, sister." The copy of White took great care to not even glance at Kurumi. "As you commanded, I have talked to Lady Rhemington. In exchange for a seat at your table of the first round of sovereign, she will see to it that the flour delivered for our dear sister Miyuki's birthday party in a month's time will be foul and unusable."

Kurumi felt like someone had just punched her in the gut. Apparently whoever she was right now, she wasn't a good person. "How are you liking the event, sister?" She did not even know her name. And with the mask on, she couldn't even tell if that was really White, who might just trying to blend in while not knowing that Kurumi really was Kurumi and not just another copy, or just a copy.

"You know how I feel about Mother and her events." A vague answer that didn't help Kurumi find out in any way if that really was White. "As the sixth royal princess you are expected to enjoy these, but I am second to last in line. Few know my name and even fewer deem it worth to remember it."

"That will change, sister." Kurumi took a step back. "Find me again in an hour's worth of time. Send a servant to find me for you if you must."

"The peasants call you the Princess with a heart of steel. You should punish them, Kurumi. They are mere insects and yet they dare speak of you that way still. Have they learned nothing after you executed that foolish girl for sullying your clothes?"

So she wasn't just a bad person, she was a tyrant in the making. But if she acted up now, she would risk getting taken away by the guards for being an imposter. "How did you find me out here, sister?"

"What are you talking about? You specifically ordered me to meet you here. You had forgotten to say that you would be with one of the filthy peasant girls. Do not tell me you have taken a liking to their looks. I know you for being eccentric in your choices of who to bed, but everything has a line you should not-"

"Who do you think you are lecturing?" Lowering her tone to an angry growl, Kurumi glared at what was her sister from the corner of her eye. "Know your place. You might be my sister but blood is thinner than gold. And gold is silence and obedience. Leave me, now."

"Yes, sister." The copy bowed extremely slightly, took two steps back without turning her back to Kurumi and vanished into the masses.

It was less than a minute before Kurumi was approached by a guard, another White. "Her highness the first Princess Ako Evangeline is demanding to see you."

The first princess? The current their to the throne of wherever she was. Refusing was going to look very suspicious, especially after she had learned she had just bribed someone to deliver foul wheat to harass one of her _sisters_. "Escort me."

"As you wish, your highness."

=== Dissonance ===

Ako's plan was, in a way, genius. It was not difficult to perceive that there was deception and intrigue ingrained into the very bones of the nobles here. She could spot it with a glance. Their mannerisms, their way of talking. After _coming to_, she found herself in a secluded room, in the presence of two guards and another woman. Both guards looked exactly like Cure Black, which made it easy to discern that neither of them was really Black. The woman in front of her, however, could very well be Cure Windy for she looked exactly like her human form.

"My liege, I will do as you ask." The woman bowed deeply to Ako, who was laying on a modified couch, her head leaned against an arm rest, a silver chalice filled with grapes on the floor, next to her hand. "What of your sisters? It is rare for all sixteen of them to be together at one of your mother's, her majesty the queen, great balls."

She noticed instantly that she was in her older form but not as a Cure, as she had been before coming to in this place. There was no trace of her magical powers, so even if she had wanted to, she could not transform here. And what the woman had said delivered some important information. If the three people within the room were not the real ones that heavily implied that there were even more of them outside that room.

"Bring them to me, one by one. I shall know if they are plotting against me." Ako's voice carried authority. She was a real princess back in her home country and she was trained in the manners of court. And even though Majorland was a peaceful country, intrigue and selfish agendas were ever present at its court. Was this a dream, influenced by that past? But a dream would not explain the duplicate of Black. She knew so many people that there was no need to put the same person in the same room, twice.

"Guards. Assist her in finding my sisters." Glancing to the large window behind the couch she was laying on, an old piece of furniture that closely resembled Egyptian rests for female pharaohs, she found out it was night. "I shall know before morning who stands with me and who stands against me."

With seventeen princesses, she was the daughter of a queen and she had sixteen sisters, there had to be a struggle for the throne. Ako disliked the deceit, fake smiles and lies of the royal court, something she truly hadn't missed in her time on earth. It was perfectly reasonable to think that at least some of the sixteen were plotting against her. And until she knew more about where she was and what was happening, she had to play along.

Without another word, the guards and the woman left, leaving Ako completely alone in the room. Getting up, she looked down on herself. A wonderful, pristine dress made from silk, a mask that was plated with gold and small gems that concealed everything but her eyes and her mouth, finely crafted pumps with a small heel. She looked more like a princess now than she ever had at home. Looking through the window, she saw lights coming from above and her left, with a massive, shadow filled balcony standing in stark contrast to the light filled room she could see.

Her steps lead her to a bookshelf next. Each and every one of the books had a plain title, such as _The History of the Northlands_, and each book she took out and opened was completely blank on the inside. "So wherever I am, this place is not real in the way my own kingdom or any real place exists." Leaving the room, she found a steady stream of servant girls, each and every single one of them looking exactly like one of the other twenty-nine Cures she knew.

"You, servant girl." Grabbing a girl that looked like Ellen by her arm, hoping that it actually might **be** Ellen and she wasn't alone in this, Ako wanted to find out more. "How many guests are attending the event tonight?"

"Your highness!" The girl, looking like Ellen, immediately knelt on the ground before Ako. "I believe there are roughly three hundred and fifty guests tonight, your highness."

"How many of you servant girls are here tonight? How many guards?"

"All two-hundred and fifty of us would be here, your highness. Many of the guests have brought a personal servant or two so I would consider us to be as many as three-hundred, your highness. I cannot speak for the guards, your highness."

"Where would my mother be right now?"

"I am but a lowly servant, your highness. I wouldn't dare to guess where her majesty the queen would be. Please forgive my inadequacy!" The girl was visibly shaking. Ako could tell that she had quite the menacing presence. All the other servant girls were taking a large detour around her, as if they expected her to chop off the girl's head on the spot.

"Go. You have work to do and I am most busy tonight." Whatever was happening, Ako had a feeling that going out of whatever established character her persona had would only invite trouble. But this was everything she hated about being royalty. Back in Majorland, she was beloved. These girls, they were terrified by her.

The girl was gone so fast that Ako felt a sting in her chest. Ruling through fear and dark schemes was despicable and she couldn't stand it. Walking in the general direction from where all the servant girls were coming, Ako found that the closer she got, the more afraid the girls became.

Despite her mask, or maybe because of her mask, they all recognized her as the first princess. The crown princess. The next queen. Someone who could possibly end their life with a snap of their fingers.

Ako reached a kitchen, and even though it was big, it was smaller than the largest kitchen in the palace back home in Majorland. With 350 guests, close to 300 servants and likely at least a hundred guards, there were three quarter of a thousand people in the castle. With those numbers, there had to be more than one kitchen.

"Listen to me, peasants. On behalf of my mother, I shall grant each one of you the delight of a glass of the same wine that serve our guests after you have finished your duties. However, you will regret the short remainder of your lives should you attempt to perform your duties drunk."They were still clearly afraid but Ako wanted to give those people, if they were really _people_ and not just illusions or her imagination, at least something small to enjoy. The life of a servant at court was often not that pleasant.

"Your highness." A guard, this time a Marine, had found her. "The second princess, Hikari Minerva Escalia, is waiting for you in the room you advised us to bring her."

To find a single person, likely a masked person, among what was surely a crowd wherever the main event was being held, in such a short time was quite an accomplishment. "Excellent work."

The guard just stood there, too stunned to say anything or move. Ako could hear the servant girls whispering to each other but all she could make out were the worlds _praise_ and _impossible_. "Shall I rescind my mother's order for the wine and instead have you peel potatoes until your skin rots off your fingers? Get to work!" Ako found it troubling that she had such little issue with being a, what she felt was, villainous princess.

Walking past to her room, Ako spied a Windy, likely the same as before, standing in front of the room, her head lowered as Ako approached. "When my sister leaves, join me. I have things to ask you." It wasn't a request but an order that demanded absolute obedience.

Inside sat a masked woman, wearing a similar dress to her own. No guards were present and Ako doubted than any princess would resort to personal violence, so she wasn't worried about being in danger.

"Why did you call me here, sister? Has there been a problem with our plan?"

Ako recognized the voice, she belonged to Luminous. Ironic, Ako thought. The way she spoke and sat there, she seemed to be the self-important, arrogant and haughty type. "None that I am aware of. That is exactly why I am going to talk to every single one of our sisters. It also provides me with the perfect excuse to talk to you alone." Ako had no idea what their _plan_ entailed. "With an event like this and all of us together, there is no doubt at least one of them will try something."

"You will make a fearsome queen, Ako. I take solace in the fact that it was someone so wicked that bested me and foiled my plan to kill mother. And instead of revealing me and throwing the court into disarray, you offered to make me the general commander of our royal armed forces."

Ako closed her eyes halfway, sat down and tried her best to look menacing. "I don't trust you. And you do well to not trust me. But I believe. In your greed and desires. In the dark nature of humans."

"Well said, sister. But you said you wanted to speak with me alone. Come to the point. I might only be the second in line for the throne but I am nevertheless very busy. I have charmed Baroness Alexandria to let me lead her troops of 15,000 against the rebels in the southwest. This night will secure my fame and glory."

Ako picked up on subtle details about people rather easily. Maybe it was because she had been around nobility from a very young age. "You only seek to satisfy your blood lust, Hikari. You do not care about fame and glory."

The Luminous copy grinned wide, so wide that Ako thought she would leap forward and bite her hand off. "You know me so well. On the battlefield out there, I could kill you a million times over before suffering a single cut. But on the battlefield in here, you can destroy me with a snap of your fingers. I fear you, and rightfully so, but do not mistake my fear for blind obedience. You give me what I want. War and bloodshed. And I will serve you well. I've no interest in being queen."

Ako paused and leaned back, trying to appear as unimpressed as possible, even slightly indifferent to the threat the woman had just made. The measure of what was going on was rapidly becoming too much for her and she needed a quick break to think.

"Answer me this, Hikari." Ako thought of a question that seemed harmless if curious to all of the copies but carried enough meaning that any real Cure she asked would respond in kind. "Who are the pure of Heart?"

The girl smiled and her eyes widened a little. "The dead." There was no hesitation in the answer of the warrior princess. "All that are alive are wicked."

"That is all I had to say. Guard!" Raising her voice, a single guard, one of the two Blacks from earlier, came rushing in. "Bring me the next one."

"I do not need to tell you to be careful with Komachi, do I?"

Ako gave her _sister_ a look of contempt. "Leave, Hikari. I do not want you to speak to anyone of this."

"That goes without saying." Hikari bowed and showed another bloodthirsty grin. "May you seize victory so I can seize mine."

Ako let out a deep breath the moment she was alone. This was going to take a lot more concentration and thinking than she had imagined. But one thing was pretty clear. This was much too realistic to be a dream.

=== Dissonance ===

Setsuna had come to while she was walking, her immediate stopping after realizing that she wasn't in the usual complex anymore causing her company to turn to her. "Setsuna, what is the matter?"

Looking at the source of the voice she looked at herself. No matter how much one changed their hair, wore a mask or a fancy dress, one would recognize their own voice, face and body. "Setsuna, do you feel unwell? I understand that being chosen as my private servant to attend the Queen's grand ball must be nerve wrecking but you have proven yourself many a time that you are one of the most refined servants in the realm and I am proud to have you by my side."

Setsuna's copy got a little closer and touched Setsuna's cheek with the back of her hand. "You serve me well at court and in bed. You have my full trust and you should display that. Few in the realm can say that their lord treats them as well as I do."

"Thank you, my lady." Setsuna responded almost as if it was a reflex.

The two of them continued walking and Setsuna, the real one, was almost blinded by the lights and glamor of the grand hall. There were what seemed like hundreds of people around. And what dazzled her even more was that, here and there, she spotted a servant girl that looked just like one of the Cures she knew.

It wasn't quite jumping to conclusions but Setsuna figured that none of them were really the girls she knew. Not if a basically perfect copy of herself was the lady she was escorting and, apparently, sleeping with.

"Baroness Setsuna Elaine Jivel from the Land of Jivel and Lady Setsuna Higashi from the Land of Jival." The announcer was a copy of Moonlight, whose voice carried easily through the grand hall from the podium she stood on, near the central entrance to the grand hall. Many heads were turned when the two Setsuna's entered and a few dozen people even clapped.

Walking through the masses, more people seemed to look at the real Setsuna than the nobility she was escorting. Unlike most other servants, which wore many different outfits that all resembled a maid uniform a little, Setsuna wore a crimson red dress that had four large black stripes across the bottom half. While she was showing off her sizable cleavage, the dress reached all the way to her ankles and was fixed around her throat.

The noble Setsuna was heading straight toward the center of the hall, with the real Setsuna right behind her. Many a lady looked after the two. Setsuna quickly made an important observation. The nobles wore masks that covered their entire faces but the servants did not wear a mask of any kind. The guards wore no masks either but were in armor. This made it very easy to label each person as one of three groups, even through there were surely a dozen different categories in the group of the nobles.

When they finally stopped, Setsuna had to add a fourth group to her list, one that she had no name for as of yet. A woman in an exceptionally fancy dress wore a mask that was unlike the plain silver of all the other nobles. It was made of white gold and a single emerald was set on the forehead. Setsuna was so focused on the mask that she was a second late when the lady she escorted bowed before this woman. Quickly bowing as well, more deeply than her lady, Setsuna glanced at the woman, who was visibly uncomfortable.

"Lady Love, I am pleased that you could find the time in your busy schedule to appear tonight." The noble Setsuna looked up and a servant girl was immediately by her side, carrying a silver tray with wine glasses. Both women took one and when the servant girl, Setsuna recognized her as Marine, stopped near the real Setsuna, she looked a bit worried when Setsuna didn't take a glass for a moment. Reassuring the girl, Setsuna took one of the glasses that were filled halfway with a crimson red liquid.

Setsuna's attention returned to the woman that was without a doubt a copy of her partner, Love, when her owner spoke to her again. "A pity, truly, that the castle kitchens are not equipped to prepare your famous seafood that people and nobles alike travel far and wide for."

"Nothing we can do about it." The woman was even more uncomfortable now. "How long have you... been a fan of my cooking?" The words didn't seem to come out quite the way she wanted to.

"Ten years I reckon it has been since I first tasted the heavenly fish you prepared when you happened to travel through my land. My land and people pride themselves the best fishers of the realm and yet they were like ants before a god when you stepped into the kitchen and held the net."

"What can I say, it's simply a gift."

"I heard the rumors but you truly do speak like one of the common people despite your noble heritage. I do not mind, for I speak freely with my personal servant often as well."

"Speaking of her, would you introduce us?"

"Of course. Setsuna." The lady's tone changed just a little bit and Setsuna recognized that she was expected to do something. Considering how they all behaved, she did her best to assume the correct course of action. Taking two steps ahead and standing a single step behind her lady, she bowed to the Love that stood there. "I am Setsuna, my lady's private servant. I see to her every need if she commands me."

"Isn't she wonderful? And a beauty, too!" Smiling and opened the sliding fan she carried, the noble Setsuna looked to her servant. "Setsuna, this is Lady Love Momozono, this realm's finest chef of all produce from the great ocean."

"Pleased to meet you, Setsuna."

"Likewise, my lady."

"Now, Setsuna, why don't you amuse yourself for a little while? Lady Love and I will converse on the finer workings of seafood for a while and surely it would bore you." Getting very close to the real Setsuna, the noble one whispered in her ear. "I will not tolerate you sleeping with anyone but me, but you are free to indulge in some of the lighter parts of skin-ship with one of the servant girls here."

"It was a pleasure to meet you, Lady Love." Setsuna bowed briefly, turned around and headed to the edge of the grand hall slowly but very directly. Reaching the wall, Setsuna tried to order her thoughts. She was in some unknown place, at a massive event for the rich and their servants. From the furnishing to the clothes, it either was medieval themed or truly medieval. There were lots of people, all of which looked just like the Cures, including herself. She couldn't feel any hostile intent and the general mood was very uplifting. There was music coming from somewhere, a relaxing, soothing tune, but she couldn't make out from where.

"Passion." As she heard the word, she instinctively turned around and looked at a servant girl that looked like Aqua. Thinking she had simply misheard, she showed the girl her glass and shook her head, believing her to be another drinks serving girl.

"I'm Aqua. You reacted to me calling you Passion, which means you're not just a copy." Karen caught the glass that the shocked Setsuna had let go off and nodded. "Calm yourself, we cannot make a scene. I've been walking around for half an hour at least and I've met Kurumi. Now that I know you're here too, I believe everyone is here, somewhere."

Standing next to Setsuna and holding her tray against her stomach, Karen quickly explained how she met Kurumi by looking for people that were behaving a bit unnaturally and that she caught both of them, Kurumi and Setsuna, by pure chance.

"Where are we?"

"Inside a massive castle. I pretended to be a new servant and asked one of the copies for a few things. There are roughly a thousand people here, nobles, servants and guards plus a few guests of honor. This is the royal palace of the Queen of Escalia but as soon as I ask about the land, they all find more important things to do."

"I'm the personal servant of a noblewoman that is... me. I'm also apparently sleeping with myself. I think I'm never going to be weirded out by any kinky ideas Love has ever again after this."

"Kurumi is a noble. I eavesdropped on a conversation she had and she even seems to be a princess."

"With a queen being the organizer of this, of course there would be princesses. But isn't it weird that there isn't a single man here?"

"Based on what I've seen so far, everyone here is a copy of us. I believe... we're still in **that** place. This is the same as what happened when our mirror selves appeared."

"I can't feel anything threatening though. In fact, I kinda want to go and dance. It's just this feeling I have and can't shake."

"There are some shady things going on between the nobles, but that just makes this more realistic. The system significantly improved in many ways after Nozomi beat Nightmare and it's gotten better ever since. I'm hesitant to say this but it could be that this is the system's way of giving us a vacation since it cannot send us back. And since we are the only people it knows, it created all of them in our image."

"But how do we tell who is real and who is just a system creation, assuming what you're saying is right?" Karen took a sip from her wine and was pleasantly surprised. "This is **really** good." A second and third sip, she actually kinda hoped that another servant would eventually stop by. She didn't have the luxury of drinking wine this good while traveling and drinking with Love always ended with both of them retiring to bed early and getting out of bed late.

"It's difficult. You behaved just like one of the copies would except when you were late to bow, which I saw by complete coincidence." Karen glanced at the wine glass. "Do you think you could get one for me too?" The words came out on their own. Karen couldn't really get any feeling of anxiety or dread to stick. Of course she was confused and a little cautious of everything right now, but she just couldn't get herself to treat the situation like she was in any danger whatsoever.

If anything, it felt like it was the right thing to do to just enjoy herself right now. Setsuna seemed to notice that as well. "Why don't we take a little walk, and while we look for others, we enjoy the wine and talk." Setsuna spaced out for a second and then shook her head. "What am I saying, there could be enemies-"

"I honestly don't think so. This place doesn't feel threatening at all. I'm not even concerned that I'm apparently in the role of a servant girl. I'd hate to have to deal with all the politic talk that is going on. Kurumi is probably neck-deep in a migraine because of this by now."

"A migraine as the most threatening enemy is not exactly something we need to be Cures to deal with."

"We're not Cures." Karen paused for a moment and when Setsuna looked at her, she nodded in the direction of a servant girl, a copy of Karen even, that was heading in their general direction. "Direct her to come and get your glass."

Setsuna raised her glass just about to the height of her shoulders and the girl seemed to understand right away. "My lady." The servant bowed and Setsuna picked up two fresh glasses of wine, handing one to Karen.

As the servant girl passed the real Karen she whispered something to her that made Karen smile. As soon as she was out of sight, Karen took a sip and glanced to Setsuna. "She said she is jealous of how lucky I am to be next to you."

"What did you mean by 'we're not Cures', Karen?"

"I hid in a closet earlier and tried to transform. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't do it. There was not even a hint of magic inside me. That too makes me believe that this is some kind of pause or vacation from the usual battling." Taking another sip, Karen smiled. "This is **really** good."

Taking a step forward, Setsuna held out her hand. "Shall we? We're not going to notice anything unusual at the outskirts of the party like this."

"After you, my lady." Karen joked and bowed. They were barely five meter away from their spot when a guard, a copy of Bright, stopped them.

"It is a violation of the queen's rules for any noble to remove their mask. You will be escorted to the dungeon now."

"I am Lady Setsuna Higashi, personal servant of Baroness Setsuna Elaine Jivel. These rules do not apply to us servants, regardless of what we might wear, do they? Even though I carry the title of Lady, I am not a noble." Setsuna really didn't want to go the dungeon. She much preferred to not cause a commotion, too.

The guard seemed unsure and waved by another guard that was standing at a nearby wall, this one was a copy of Sunshine. "She claims to be a servant girl, the personal servant of Baroness Setsuna Elaine Jivel."

"What of it? Did you miss the announcement? Half the hall was looking." Hitting the back of the Bright Guard, the Sunshine Guard lowered her head briefly. "She is a new recruit, please do excuse her. I hope you will be forgiving and not report her to Baroness Juviel."

"As far as I am concerned, we were never stopped." Winking at the guard, Setsuna could almost feel how relieved said guard was. Leaving through one of the side entrances, Setsuna was smiling very hard. "I don't know what it is about this place but I feel like I really want to enjoy myself here."

=== Dissonance ===

Erika came to in the worst possible situation imaginable. The first thing she saw was an extreme close-up of someone's eyes, beautiful amber colored eyes, followed by feeling something soft and wet in her mouth. After instinctively pushing whoever she was currently french kissing away, she figured out that it was Yayoi.

Erika had no time to get her bearings. Someone grabbed her arm and pulled her away. "Why must you **always** knock the guards out by kissing them until they faint!" The voice belonged to none other than Tsubomi, who, Erika got a good look at her, was wrapped into leather clothes, girdles, cloth pieces, a headband and all sorts of hooks and pouches. There were two daggers at her waist, as well.

"She's our secret weapon, don't nag her about it." This voice belonged to Cure Melody, in almost an identical getup as Tsubomi. Now that she was done being amazed, Erika looked around and found herself in a stone corridor that was kinda moist and damp and also extremely badly lit.

"Why did I join this group of pacifist thieves?" Thief Tsubomi complained.

"Because the pay is amazing and the authorities aren't that keen on executing a bunch of thieves that have never hurt anyone." Thief Hibiki shot back.

"Woah, what's going on? Am I dreaming? Am I having a cosplay dream? Man, I need to make Tsubomi wear some leather stuff like that, her curves-"

"Did Erika break?" A third voice, coming from behind, interrupted the blue haired girl, belonging to Cure Mint.

"She's always been kinda nuts, just drag her. She can kiss like a queen but she's not exactly the brightest." A fourth voice replied, coming from Thief Kanade.

"There was only one guard, just like princess Akane said. But to hire us to rob her own place, that's pretty audacious"

"Heeeeeey, wait a second, what is going on here?!" Erika flailed but before her attempt could go anywhere, she was outright picked up and carried away by a thief Nagisa.

"You can be eccentric later, okay? Hey, Nao, crack the lock, 'kay?" Thief Nagisa stood in front of a sturdy metal door that had a massive, sturdy lock. After a few seconds, she looked back, still carrying a confused and gawking Erika under her arm, and pointed at a very confused thief. "Hey Nao, you sitting on your ears?"

"**Me?**" Nao wildly shook her head. She was just as confused as Erika and actually wanted everyone to start explaining what in the heck was going on. "No, no, no, no, no, no, no! I have no idea how to crack a lock, forget **that** lock!"

"Nagisa, you got enough space to carry two? Apparently the crazies are going around." Yet another thief, Miki, stepping up now, unraveling a set of lock picks.

"I'll just throw them into a closet and keep them in there so they don't mess this up for the rest of us." Walking up to Nao, who was a few centimeters taller than Nagisa, the thief still picked her up, now carrying two girls around. Returning to where the K.O.'d guard was, still seeing lewd dreams while unconscious, Nagisa kicked open a storage room and threw both Erika and Nao inside before stepping in herself, slamming the door shut and sitting down in front of it. "What is **wrong **with you two? Especially you, Nao, you're usually our acting boss."

"I have no idea where I am and what I'm doing here, forget being boss of anything!" Nao had hit a large barrel that was filled with apples and a few rolled over the dusty floor.

"We're thieves." Erika looked at Nao and grabbed one of the apples, rubbed it clean on her trousers and took a large bite. "And we're in some kinda old place. Castle or fort I'd guess. I betcha this is the system goin' haywire again, just like with the mirror."

"Wonderful. So is some omnipotent Dream clone going to jump out and kill us all?" Nao looked at the apples with suspicion but since Erika was eating one, they couldn't be bad. Carefully cleaning it on her long sleeve, Nao found the apple to be really tasty.

"Don't think so. That over there isn't Cure Black, no way. Her way of talking is completely different." Pointing at the thief Nagisa, Erika saw her standing up, leaving the room and closing the door again. A loud wooden noise was heard and then there was silence.

"Did she just **lock** us in here?" Nao was about to get a panic attack. It was dark, there were probably **all kinds** of bugs in the room somewhere, she was stuck with **Marine** of all people and there was also the issue of having no idea what was going on.

"At least we have apples." Erika finished off her first apple, eating everything, even the core and but spitting out the seeds, and grabbing another one after crawling over the stone floor for a bit.

"Don't be so calm about this, it freaks me out."

"See it this way. I know you're Cure March, you know I'm Cure Marine, all of them out there don't know either and that means they're just lookalikes of the others."

"You're not helping me feel better."

"I'll just blast us out of here if you're that worried." Stepping up to the door, biting hard into the apple and keeping it stuck to her mouth, Marine put her hands together and shouted through the apple. "Marine Blast!"

When nothing happened, she tried again. "Marine Blast! Marine Blast!" Taking the apple out, Erika chewed for a moment. "Marine Fire! Marine Impact! Marine Explosion! Marine Shredder! Marine Cat!"

"What... what are you doing." Nao was looking at the blue haired girl in disbelief.

"I thought I messed up the activation phrase but I guess it's just I don't have any magic."

Nao grabbed her forehead and sighed as hard as she could. "You didn't notice that when you realized you're not in Cure form?"

"Hey, you never know!" Turning around, still eating the second apple, Erika looked through the room. There were roughly thirty barrels, some closed shut, and they were all much too heavy for a girl of Erika's size to move. Not without her powers. "Oh we can get out here. There's a hole in the wall."

"**Absolute not.**" Nao nearly screamed, just imagining what kind of unspeakable horrors crawled through such places.

"Oh come on, it'll be fun! Just like exploring some ruins!"

"Your definition of fun genuinely frightens me, Marine."

"Erika is fine, jeez. I can call you Nao, right? After all, we're literally partners in crime now!" Erika giggled and walked over to where the green haired girl was still holding out. "I dunno why but I feel really hyper and giddy. And hungry." Finishing her second apple and reaching for a third, Erika stepped on a wet stone, lost her balance, tumbled backwards and landed with the back of her head right on Nao's breasts. "Woah, soft. What kinda cup size is that?"

"None of your business!" Nao pushed the silly girl away and covered her chest, feeling both embarrassed and kinda turned on. There was something weird about this place. Like it made her let her guard down too much.

Erika's eyes were glinting in the dark. "Shall I measure them myself?"

Nao stood up and with her 172cm height, she towered over Erika. "I will hit you if you try!"

"Okay, I won't." Erika snickered. "Not while you're awake anyway." The girl whispered to herself.

"What was that you just murmured?"

"By the way, there's something crawling up your leg."

The single thief that was standing guard outside the room was nearly thrown out of her boots by Nao's scream. Opening the door, a completely hysterical Nao rushed past the thief, stumbled and crashed face first into the pavement.

The Nagisa thief wasn't sure what was going on. "By the gods, what is wrong with you girl?" Trying to go after Nao, Nagisa suddenly found herself viewing the room upside down for some reason.

Erika had swept their guard off her feet and was now hurrying to Nao. "Get up and let's get outta here."

"You... you used me as a distraction..." The tall girl was near tears.

"It worked **much** better than I thought it would." Erika was incredibly proud of herself and her plan. "There's actually no hole in the wall, I made that up. The bug crawling up your leg was real though. There's a bunch of them on the floor, too."

Erika couldn't dodge the hysterical Nao and was pushed aside when the girl started crying and immediately made a run for it, blindly in one direction. Racing after her, Erika was out of breath within seconds. Nao was everything but slow and with their height difference, despite Erika's unusual fitness for a designer, she was about to be left behind. "Stoooooop!" Shouting, Erika was surprised when March stopped right at a corner, so abruptly that she couldn't slow down in time and crashed into the tall girl.

"Don't move! Y-You are under arrest! You... you, too!" A very angry Yayoi was wielding a halberd in a very comical fashion and if Nao had her wits about her, or Erika any stamina left after a full power sprint after her friend, they could have easily overpowered the Yayoi guard. But now they couldn't.

"What's going on?!" Three other guards arrived at the scene, two Rin's and a Hikari, all in armor and armed. "Thieves!" One of them shouted.

Within seconds, Erika and Nao were surrounded by the four guards and taken away, each of them grabbed by two guards, one on each arm. "This is all your fault, Marine." Nao was still half-way in tears. First she woke up in some unknown place, then she got locked into a dark room full of bugs, bugs that were crawling all over her and then she got arrested for thieving. The day was already the worst.

"I've never been arrested by armed guards before." Erika wasn't all that worried. She wasn't feeling very threatened at all and that was usually a sign that things were just about to work themselves out.

Nao thought about that statement for a moment. "So you've been arrested before?"

"There was that one time..." Erika averted her eyes and tried to look smug.

The Yayoi guard that was taking Nao's right side kept glancing to Erika. "Nao, what's going on?" Whispering, so the other guard couldn't hear them talk over the rattling of their armor, Yayoi needed to know just what in the world was going on. She was still pretty shaken from coming to in the middle of a kiss that left her on the floor, a kiss that came from Erika of all people!

"You're the real Yayoi?" Nao earned a grunt from the Rin guard to her left. "We don't know either! We just came to while we were running with the thieves."

"Spare your excuses for the queen tomorrow." The Rin guard wasn't deaf. Turning to Yayoi, she looked rather angry. "If you're **so** eager to talk to this scum you can keep guard in the dungeon while we go up and enjoy the party."

"There's a party?" Erika struggled a little but without her powers she was ultimately no match for the much tougher Rin and the somewhat unnecessary Hikari at her sides. "I wanna go, let me go! There's cake, isn't there?!"

"Did this one hit her head or something?" The other Rin shook her head and pulled Erika up a little so she lost her balance and her legs hung in the air for a second. "Shut the hell up or we'll throw you in the trench."

Yayoi was so confused that she simply did as she was told, for the moment at least. They turned several corners, the catacombs beneath whatever was up above were downright a labyrinth of tunnels, small gaps, holes and walls, before they reached a set of stairs that went even further down and only the sporadic torch, where there had been many before, lit up the darkness.

Nao was squirming when she imagined how many of **those things** there had to be **crawling** all around, but there was no escape. The best she had was a dagger and the thought of hurting the guards didn't even want to manifest at all. In fact, even through they were being pulled along, the guards hadn't as much as punched them or pulled their hair. Police back home was stricter and more violent than this.

Erika took it all in stride, her face kinda resembling an indifferent pout while she tried to memorize the layout of the floor, with minimal success. They reached the, likely, deepest point of the catacombs and there were cells all over the place. Large iron gates that were lifted manually by the guards sealed off large group cells. There were a bunch of girls with identical outfits to Nao and Erika already sitting inside, rolling dice for amusement.

"Look who got caught!" One of the thieves, a Miyuki, yelled when she spotted Erika. A lot of whistling followed when the others looked and noticed.

"Give her to us, we could use some loving!" A few of them shouted.

"Throw them into a cell together. Blondie, you keep watch." There was only one other guard, a Yuri, present and she was half asleep on a chair at the only exit to the massive room. Walking halfway to the back, Erika and Nao were shoved into an empty cell and the gate was lowered by the two Rin guards.

"Enjoy, blondie. You can talk to them all night." The Rin twins laughed and walked off.

"This is **your** fault, Marine!" Nao tried to move the gate but without her powers, that was as futile as trying to eat through a brick wall. "Now we're stuck in a wet, cold, dark prison with **god knows what** crawling around!"

"I think the rats probably eat almost everything that crawls in here, so I doubt there's any bugs." Erika calmly replied and sat down on a big pile of hay. Even though it was called a dungeon and despite what Nao said, it wasn't nearly as cold as it had been in the catacombs and it wasn't that wet either, not with all the hay to sit and sleep on. It **was** pretty dark but that was actually kinda helpful. It would allow her to try out all kinda stuff and sleep easily if she wanted to. She wouldn't call it comfortable, but it wasn't nearly as bad as most movies she saw.

"**You're not helping**!" Nao whined and sat down on another pile of hay, already mentally exhausted.

"Nao, calm down... we should figure out what's going on first." Yayoi wanted to know, most of all, why she had come to the exact moment Erika and her were apparently trying to kill each other by kissing.

"A dungeon usually belongs to a castle and based on what the guards said, there's a party going on up above. And a party is always a good moment to break in and steal some stuff, which explains the thieves." Erika wished she had a detective hat and a pipe. "Thus I conclude we're in some medieval setup where we play parts of whatever is going on. Elementary, my dear Peace."

"But how did we **get here**?" Yayoi really wished Erika would address the _kissing_ because she sure wasn't going to get **any **sleep or rest until that was properly talked about. Her heart was still ready to jump out of her throat.

"I think we're still where we used to be, just the definition of what the 'where' is has changed. Maybe someone broke the system? This is a lot better than having murderous clones walking around."

"Marine is pissing me off in how calm she is about this." Nao complained to Yayoi.

"But where are the others?" Yayoi ignored Nao for the moment. There were more important matters at hand. Like the **kiss** they shared.

"I dunno. I suppose they could be somewhere at the party, with other thieves, among the guards or wherever else somewhere here in the castle. Looks like a pretty big place." Laying down and yawning, Erika figured she could take a quick nap.

"Don't sleep! You haven't explained the most important thing!" Yayoi was getting annoyed that Erika seemed to just disregard what had happened. It might be nothing to her, but for Yayoi, it was a very big thing indeed!

"What thing? Lack of our powers? I might be a master detective, my dear Yayoi, but I am not a fortune teller."

"**Our kiss!**" Yayoi shouted and Nao looked at her quite funny. "When I came to, you were kissing me! A lot! And then you pushed me! I know it was you, you came to at the same time, didn't you!" Yayoi's face was so red that if one of the torches had shone light enough for the lit to reach all the way to their cell, Yayoi's head would have looked like a big, floating tomato.

"Ah, that..." Erika scratched her chin and looked away. There was **that** wasn't there? "I didn't do that. I came to in the middle of it and pushed by reflex. No harm done, right?"

"No... harm..." The corner of Yayoi's mouth twitched a few times before she shouted "Erika you idiot!" and ran off, more embarrassed that she thought was possible.

"That was super insensitive and rude, Marine." Nao might be horribly afraid of bugs and in a state close to hysteria, but that didn't stop her from picking up on Yayoi's and Marine's behavior. "She clearly has a thing for you."

"I know, I know. This isn't the first time things went awry. But I'm a married woman! I can't just go have an affair with a cute mangaka, even if I did want to." Erika paused. "I don't want to, okay? I love Tsubomi and Yayoi is cute but there is no way."

"That's no reason to be so insensitive." Nao shook her head. "And since when are you **married**?"

"I'm married to my job, **and** I have a super awesome cute girlfriend!"

=== Dissonance ===

Tsubomi on the other hand was not having a single moment where she could think about Erika in peace. The servants of the castle had just entered a brief period of having free time. All dishes had been prepared, there was plenty of drink and service in the hall and the kitchen was resting for an hour. The largest kitchen was filled to the brim for it was right beneath the grand hall and the famously exhilarant music from above was reaching through the thick stone.

In a way, this particular kitchen was the grand hall of the servants. Cooking utensils had been moved aside, the tables pushed, the chairs stacked, and there was dance and food and drink as much as any could want. And in the center of it all were the dancers, some crude, some elegant, but all cheerful and bright, as they all knew they had done a good job would be paid well. This time was their time to participate in the party and rejoice for they loved all the things simple and free just as they were.

Servitude or not, they had their own happiness and Tsubomi was caught up in the middle of it. But she wasn't alone with it all. Ellen, Cure Beat, was with her, and together they were the draw of many an eye and cheer, dancing together with the others. They knew little of where they were, less yet where the others were and nothing on who all the identical looking girls were but they were without a care in the world, for the atmosphere took from them all their worry and caution, letting them cherish the moment to it's full potential.

"This is amazing!" Tsubomi said to Ellen as the audience clapped to the music from above, bounced crude mugs and ate. "I didn't know dancing could be this fun!"

"Singing was always my strength but this is great too!" Ellen took Tsubomi's hands and whirled around her, briefly lifting her up in the air and jumping in the air, seeing the mass of happy faces all around them. She had heard that happiness was infectious but she had never known it to be this strong.

But even with all that, their stamina wasn't infinite. Tsubomi needed a break and Ellen lead her to where the audience was. And the servants were happy to make way for any and all that needed to pass, that were looking for a fresh mug of ale or a bite to eat, to give a hand when needed and to give one when there was no need at all. They were a big family that held together at all times and for that, they were strong enough to overcome the cold winters, the hot summers, the busy time of harvest and the festivals of spring with no hardship.

A mug filled with the somewhat sweet and at the same time bitter brew seemed to appear out of nowhere and find it's way easily to Tsubomi's hand. "I wish the others could be here with us!" Even though they had left the center, the gleeful atmosphere made it so that they had to shout, their voices not enough to persist through the carnival of tales, of jokes and laughter.

"Maybe they are and we just don't know!" Ellen shouted back and emptied a third of her mug. She was not one for drinking and had a strong dislike for alcohol and drunkenness but on this occasion, the brew tasted fine, the drunkenness was welcome and the alcohol was just something that came with it.

Ellen spilled some of her drink on the floor when someone hugged her from behind, a floor that was dirty and wet in places but good enough for anyone to sit on if they needed a moment's rest, for the others always found a dry place to sit in no time at all.

"Let me join you, friends!" A wildly drunk Kanade had attached herself briefly to Ellen's back only to join the two and two became three and their mood brightened even further for now there were more to talk to. "Does this **beat** not make you wish that we had some **flowers** to throw around?"

Tsubomi and Ellen, no matter how tipsy and cheerful, would not miss an obvious hint like that. "Rhythm?!" Ellen was quick to hug her real teammate. "How did you find us?!"

"Been going from group to group, asking thiz all the Ellens I found! Asked a bunch of Hibiki's too but none responded the way you did! So good to find another Cure!"

"Tsubomi is with us too!" Ellen took Kanade's hand and lead it to the pink Cures's. "You remember Rhythm, Tsubomi?!"

"Of course I do! But enough introductions!" Tsubomi could and did not want to fight against the swelling urge to dance again. Taking one hand each of her friends, the three of them pushed through the audience and started whirling around, dancing and laughing, once more.

"Ellen!" Kanade separated from Tsubomi for a moment and danced back to back with Ellen, earning herself and her teammate some amazed clapping from those that were watching the two. "Where are we? Have you seen Rin or Hibiki?"

"I only found Tsubomi but we'll surely see them soon! We're below the grand hall!"

"I know that, silly! But a grand hall of where and what?`"

"Does it matter?" Ellen turned around and took both of Kanade's hands.

"I guess it doesn't!" Kanade smiled happily and was quite surprised when Ellen suddenly leaned forward and kissed her briefly. "Hey!" Laughing it off, both of them separated and Tsubomi came between them.

"No fair!" Tsubomi complained and was promptly rewarded with a kiss on the cheek from both of them. "You're forgiven!"

Their dance continued for several more minutes until Kanade was suddenly taken by redhead and held high into the air for a moment before she was put down to exclusively dance with the girl. "I didn't know you were such a good dancer, Rhythm."

"Rin!" Kanade threw herself in the arms of the red Cure and was swung around, many a dancer ducking and laughing at the display of emotion and much of the audience whistled and yelled _Kiss_ and _Get a room_. "You were here, too?!"

"I just came back from running errands and saw all the servants head here! I wouldn't want to miss a party like this for the world!" Rin was not one to party long and wild but she too couldn't resist the mood and atmosphere that was thicker than lead and nobody wanted to cut it anyway for they all rejoiced.

"Ellen, Tsubomi! Rin found us!" Looking over her shoulder, she found that those two were watching and just smiled at her. "Geez, you two!"

"Good for you, Kanade!" Ellen waved to Rin who even waved back, the three now four and even though Rin wanted to keep going, the other three were longing for a moment's rest and a cool brew.

Finding a clean corner to sit, Tsubomi was huffing and puffing, completely out of breath. Ellen was off a little better and Kanade was virtually glued to Rin's side. "Do you know what it's like up above?" Kanade was the first to ask. "I've been in another kitchen the entire time, helping out."

"We are the same. We even worked together without realizing who the other one is!" Ellen told the other two and they all laughed at the mishap.

"There is a massive party for nobility up above. There is all kinds of intrigue and scheming going on. I even heard the guards say that they caught a whole bunch of thieves that sneaked in and there are still some on the loose!"

"Nobody is gonna believe us when we get back!" Tsubomi said and emptied her mug, which conveniently vanished when a kind soul passed by and took it with her.

"I **think** I saw Karen somewhere on the upper level when I passed by the grand hall and she was walking with a really fancily dressed up Passion. I bet we're all here, just spread way out all over the place."

"Imagine if some of us ended up as thieves!" Tsubomi joked and all four of them laughed.

"Your girlfriend would make a great thief!" Ellen grinned and earned a poke from Tsubomi's elbow. "It's the truth, nothing but the truth!"

"She's already a thief! One with years of experience even!"

"Stole your heart, didn't she!" Kanade smiled and watched Tsubomi pout.

"You're a thief too, stealing my line!"

A batch of mugs arrived, not as clean as any would have liked but cleaner than any of them would have been bothered by, and tipsy became even more tipsy. While Rin was playing with Kanade's long hair, Ellen and Tsubomi told funny stories from their team's adventures and many a story made Kanade blush intensely because she did not want Rin to know all about her mishaps and petty quarrels with Hibiki.

"Should we go look around?" Rin threw in at some point. At the time, Tsubomi and Ellen were leaned against each other, laughing and telling more and more embarrassing stories while Kanade was delivering some of the stories from before Ellen became part of the Suite team.

All three of them looked at Rin as if she was a ghost until Rin herself started grinning and laughing. "I can be funny too, see!"

=== Dissonance ===

"What do you want, Evangeline." A Komachi, the third royal princess, wearing the same golden mask as Ako, sat on the small sofa across the table from the first princess, Ako.

That she used her second name and was being informal revealed that she and the first princess were not on good terms. "By now, you know I've spoken to Hikari. And you're here now because I spoke to her."

"What did the murderous sow have to say?" Komachi glared towards Ako.

"Why don't you tell me?" Ako had already figured out that, as the crown princess, she had more power and authority than the other princesses. "I would hate to go to mother and tell her about everything you've been doing."

"You have nothing on me, Evangeline. I have mother's ear as much as you do and certainly more than that bloodthirsty monster Minerva." Komachi got up and turned around. "Unless you have something to tell me, I am leaving."

Ako had just learned the hard way that bluffing did not always work. "Go then. I will not be responsible for what happens."

"Nothing will happen. You know nothing and I know it. Otherwise you would have never called me here." The third princess shoved the door open and simply left.

Ako ruled her out from being the real Mint. She knew too much and was too sure of herself. Ako herself hadn't known she carried the second name of Evangeline as the first princess or that the second princess was called Hikari Minerva.

The same woman that she had sent to find the princesses now entered the room and closed the door. "We were unable to find the fourth and fifth princesses, Milane and Milane. As they tend to do, those lovers are quite adept at avoiding being found, to protect their secret."

The fourth and fifth princesses were lovers? Ako's head was starting to spin. Why couldn't those princesses be normal people? At least relatively normal. "What of the sixth?"

"She was at the grand ball and we informed her. But she doesn't quite seem herself." That triggered Ako's interest. If someone was behaving oddly, chances were high that they were actually the real Cure and not a copy that was given a role, a personality and some memories.

"What about her is different? Do not leave out a single detail." Ako got up herself and the woman almost fled from her. Her voice was stern and she disliked ordering people around like this, commanding them by fear, but she couldn't blow her cover.

But why couldn't she? That was a question that had been bothering her all this time and yet she couldn't find an answer. Was she being manipulated into keeping her role? It was a possibility but for what purpose?

"Her highness princess Kurumi Vivilfell was seen talking openly to a servant girl. An unthinkable act for the princess. She despises the commoners more than any of your other sisters and despite being known for being cruel and merciless, she was also seen apologizing when she happened to bump into Duchess Miranda."

"Bring her to me **now**." Ako didn't need to repeat herself. The woman hurried out of the room and not five minutes later, when someone knocked, Ako had moved to the window and did not bother to turn around to answer. "Come in."

"You wanted to see me, Sister?"

"Close the door." Ako was still using her commanding tone and waited for Kurumi to close the door. "Come closer."

Stepping up to where Ako had sat before, Kurumi was so nervous that her face was intensely pale.

"You are not the Sixth royal princess Kurumi."

"W-what are you saying, sis-"

"You are Milky Rose." Ako turned around and grinned. "I know, because I am Muse. Now don't make a fuss because it will be bad if we're found out. You feel that way, too, don't you? But you don't know why, right?"

"How did you-"

"I've been talking to the other princesses. They're a very special bunch I have to say. But you were the only one my servant reported as behaving oddly. Your persona is known for being cruel and merciless and hating commoners yet you talked freely to a servant girl and apologized in public."

Kurumi was so overwhelmed she didn't even say anything and just nodded.

"You need to stay in character from now on. Don't apologize. Glare. Behave like you own the air others breathe. Do not even acknowledge that the servants exist." Ako sighed. "I've been playing political chess ever since we got here. Wherever _here_ is, I have this feeling that we'll need to behave the way our persona's did before we realized who we were."

"The servant girl I talked to is Karen. She came to roughly the same time as I did. I looked around and heard a few things. So far, I believe there are four distinct groups of people at this castle."

"Tell me. Who knows how long we'll be stuck here so we might need every bit of information, no matter how pointless it seems to be." Ako walked past to her seat and Kurumi sat down on the rest across the table.

"There is obviously the nobles. You and I are part of them. I've seen Duchesses, Baronesses and a few other titles but they are all women and modeled after the thirty of us in the complex. I've met the sixteenth princess. She's a Honoka."

"The second princess is a copy Luminous. The third a copy Mint. You are the sixth and I don't know about the fourth and fifth. I am the first. That leaves twelve spots unfilled but I will continue to talk to them as they heed my call."

"Then there are the servants. There are a lot of them, and those that serve in the great hall, where all the nobles that aren't doing business in one of the many rooms in this wing stay, I've never seen leave. They only exchange trays at the entrances. The guards are the third group and I've not seen a lot of them in the great hall and even fewer in these corridors, but there has to be a lot of them somewhere."

"It would be sensible to assume that they are stationed in the garrison, guarding the treasury and the armory and there are also likely some that keep watch over important figures. I had two Cure Black guards when I came to. What about the last group?"

"Thieves. I overheard two guards talking and it seems a large number of thieves are swarming the catacombs below and some are even as brazen as to sneak into rooms and ambush the nobles. That makes four groups. I think that all of us were divided into those groups."

"But by what criteria? I **am** a princess in my land but it makes no sense for Aqua to be a servant girl. Is she not a somewhat famous violinist?"

"She is. That confused me as well. Maybe it's entirely random or based on our favor ranking? That did decide our rooming arrangements."

"I was ranked third the last time rooms were assigned. That could mean your theory has merit. What was your rank?"

"Fourth, when rooms were assigned. Karen was ranked among the last four."

"But would that not make her a thief instead of a servant?"

"We don't know if thieves are really where the poorest of us ended up."

"I cannot leave and move about the castle without causing a commotion, being the crown princess and all. But you can, and with your reputation, nobody will dare to stop you in fear of execution. Do you know who your allies are?"

"The sixteenth princess is mine to command but I don't know about the others."

"For now, we simply need information. Do try to stay in your role when someone is watching."

"What should I say when I'm asked about this meeting?"

"Tell them that I have in my possession that which could destroy you forever. That will not only strengthen my position but also pose the chance that they will slip and reveal what that **really** is so we can secure it."

"A real princess is terrifying." Kurumi was realizing the harsh truth of life at court. Something that had always looked like rainbows and happiness, the perfect life in peace, to her was now looking like a dark mist of intrigue and betrayal.

"Go. I need to talk to the seventh princess. And take care, Rose."

"Kurumi is fine. I noticed you call everyone by their Cure name, why is that?"

"I can't expect everyone to have a good enough name memory to remember all our civilian names but everyone should know each others Cure names by now."

"Can I call you Ako? I'm sure I won't forget."

Ako blushed a little and looked away. "Do what you like."

Kurumi left with a grim expression on her face. A fake one, but the servants she came across did not doubt it and nearly jumped out of her way when she approached.

Ako was left behind in her room and issued new orders. It took almost ten minutes before someone else entered the room, that someone being Berry or a copy of her. "Must you insist on ruining even this night with your political games, sister? I believe we had an agreement about this."

"Refresh my memory."

"Is your memory failing you, sister? But as you wish. You used your authority to free my loved one from prison and the fate of being hanged for thievery. In exchange, I agreed to become your minister of economy when you ascend to the throne. You knew that of all our sisters, I am the one that has the best head for business."

"I know. You would make a fine merchant. But I can guarantee your loyalty by continuing to shelter your love from the authorities, from Miranda and our mother, indefinitely."

"People always say you have a heart of ice but I know you better than that sister." Miki suddenly got up and approached Ako, putting her hand against Ako's cheek. "But the nights we spend together prove them wrong. You are capable of loving and tenderness, but you only show it to those you trust completely."

Ako almost freaked when Miki leaned in for a kiss but then she got a hold of herself and simply smiled into it. "Not tonight, Miki. I have a lot of business to attend to and I needed to make sure that you knew where your allegiance lies."

"I might love my dear Reika but I am as much yours as she is mine. You merely keep this over my head to tease me, you villainous girl." A second kiss rattled Ako a little more but then Miki finally sat back down. "But I know how irate you can become when delayed. Was there anything else?"

"Who is the goddess of music?" A question that every Cure, looking at Ako, would answer with _Muse_. After seeing just how different the princesses are, Ako decided to change her question to something more obvious.

"What a silly question. There is no such goddess, sister. At least not in any belief that our people know. Have you been reading books from foreign lands again?"

"If you don't know then all is well. Do not mention this to anyone, Miki."

"Please do not tease me so. When we're alone, you always call me Cordelia."

"Cordelia." Ako tried her best to smile and she found it surprisingly easy to do just that. "You can leave now." Ako remembered something and changed her mind. "Actually, wait. Has our sister, Komachi, been doing anything tonight?"

"She has been talking to Baroness Lesvir. She supplies much of the wine we drink and we pay her quite handsomely for her services. But do not worry, Baroness Lesvir knows better than to cross the future economic minister of this realm."

Ako didn't know how _nice_ she could be to this Miki copy without seeming _off_. "I know. Now, that really is all then."

"I will see you tomorrow night as we planned." Miki waved and blew a kiss from her hand to Ako before she left.

"That... was bad for my heart. Urara will **kill** her if she finds out." She had no intention whatsoever of telling Urara, if she could even find her in this chaos.

=== Dissonance ===

Nao nearly screamed when a large rock in the back of the cell suddenly collapsed and a long white arm was reaching through. It didn't take long for long dark hair, she couldn't make out the exact color, to follow through. But once she saw the face, she knew who it was. "Moonlight?"

"It's actually me, yes, not one of the copies." Looking to where Erika was sleeping, Yuri kind of just wanted to leave her there for a moment. After coming to in their hideout, the caves and tunnels below the dungeon of the castle, Yuri figured out a lot of things together with one other person.

"Erika, wake up." Shaking the short girl, Yuri got immediate results.

"You cheat." Erika immediately pulled a grimace.

"How long are you going to hold me ending things with Momoka over me? And how did you know I am really me?"

"**Forever**." Erika stuck her tongue out. "Because I figured that the copies wouldn't bother to break us out until much later. I have an awesome sense of time, it's still the middle of the night."

"Get going, Erika. You can be angry at me later." Yuri shoved her teammate towards the escape tunnel. Nao had already gone ahead, much to her displeasure. But a tunnel that lead somewhere was at least less bad than a cell where she couldn't escape the bugs.

Catching up with the green haired thief, Yuri explained a little more of what she had been doing. "Pine is in our hideout below. She figured out that if we thieves have a hideout right beneath the castle, we also have ways to break our girls out of the dungeon. We scouted the catacombs for a bit when we overheard the guards talking about a bunch of thieves they captured. Took me a while to find the right tunnel- March, go left, then right, then left two times and then straight two times from here- and get everyone out."

"So you figured out where we are, too?" Nao was navigating the pretty dark tunnels, only small lamps that bore candles with an exceptionally long life and equally dim light illuminating their path, and hopeful to get back to what, for now, might as well be _home_, in a weird and messed up prison kind of way.

"Pine has a theory but it's a pretty big leap of faith to believe it. She can explain it to you when we get down. I'm going upstairs to look for Miki."

"How are you gonna get up there without getting caught?" Erika was curious. "You're a bit tall to just hide, Yuri."

"I will do what a few of the other thieves did. Ambush a noble, steal their clothes and mask and fit in."

"You do have the uptight behavior down for that." Erika barely avoided the kick from Yuri that came from the front. "Woah, hey, that almost hit me!"

"I was trying to." Yuri was a little annoyed with Erika right now and she didn't have the patience to indulge her usual comments and acts.

"Are there any other Cures among the thieves? If there's four of us, and we know Yayoi, Peace, is a guard, maybe we're split evenly among those two groups?"

"I don't think so but Pine will explain it later."

"Aw, I want to go hoo-" Nao's words were stretched long as she slipped, fell, and slid down a strong decline of the tunnel. "Ow!" Her butt felt like it was on fire. But she could see a lot of light from just around the corner.

Making it there in a hurry, she found a large cave containing several wooden tables and chairs, even a camp fire, some wooden stands to dry clothes, a small river that parted the cave through the middle and a bunch of tents.

"That's a really elaborate setup for thieves." Nao wasn't part of the brightest Cures like Reika but she could feel that this was a bit **too** elaborate for just some thieves that broke in during a party. Something felt off about the whole thing. But another feeling was welling up inside her. That this was _home_.

Yuri and Erika came into the cave while Nao was staring around, trying to shake the feeling that she was at home right here.

"That's a pretty big cave." Erika astutely proclaimed.

"You don't say." Yuri waved to Pine, who was sitting in the center of the cave at a large table that had something very flat and colorful on it. "Pine! Anyone else show up?!"

"They all went up!" Inori shouted back and waved to March and Marine, both of whom she recognized. Seeing them come closer, she pulled a very small dagger, no bigger than a pinky finger, from the straps on her right leg and rammed it into the table, marking a spot on a map, that being the thing that was covering the wooden construct.

"Welcome to the thieves guild." Inori jokingly said. "I'm sure you have a lot of questions so let me explain what we know first and then you can tell me if there's something you know that I don't."

"Actually I'm more interested in what's in that barrel." Erika was strolling around a very large barrel that was placed near the river and next to another table, with a bunch of mugs standing on top.

"Alcohol. A pretty strong brew but it tastes not bad." Inori, who usually avoided alcohol whenever possible, wasn't bothered much by the ale and ice cold river water being the only options of drinks.

Erika immediately grabbed a mug and tried to reach over the top of the barrel to get a mug full but she wasn't quite tall enough. Jumping onto the table and reaching into the barrel from there, she lost her balance when the strong smell of alcohol made her twitch.

Nao was there just in time to catch the mug and Erika, both with one hand each. "Here you go."

"I totally will take a copy of you back home for all the high shelves and stuff." Erika gulped down the contents of the mug in one big swipe and her head turned red like a tomato immediately. Coughing and breathing really heavily, she sat down on one of the chairs next to the table. "W-Wow."

"Do **you** want to hear about this place or should I leave you two to the dangers and pleasures of this barrel and it's spicy contents?" Inori had a smug grin on her face as she talked to Nao, who, after seeing Erika, kept her urge to try the brew herself in check.

"First, the most important thing. This cave is the bottom level of this world. Not a single path leads further down. All the tunnels lead up and into hundreds of various rooms inside the castle and behind it's walls. That begs the question, how did we get all of this in here? I tried checking the river but no dice. It's about three meter deep, which is a lot for a river that's only about two meters wide, and there is no telling how deep it runs beyond this cave."

"So this stuff is just here without any explanation as to where it came from? That's impossible, isn't it?"

"Considering who we are and what we can do when we have our powers, that's not a clever thing to say." Yuri walked past Nao and dipped a mug into the barrel. Erika was swaying a little in her chair and mumbling things to herself.

"I asked the other thieves what is beyond the castle. They spoke of all manner of lands but when I asked of the **immediate** outside of the castle, they all drew a blank. How did so many thieves end up below a castle with so much furniture and yet nobody seems to know what the space beyond the palace gardens looks like."

"You're saying that-" Nao was cut off before she could finish that thought.

"This castle would like us to think that there is something beyond, but there isn't. I believe, we are still where we were before. In the dimensional prison or whatever you want to call it that made us battle. There doesn't seem to be an arena or anything like it here and when asked about it, even all the thieves seemed pretty averse to using any form of violence. Which makes me believe that this is a peaceful variant of the system that made us battle. There is nothing beyond this castle because this castle is all there is to this world. I am pretty sure that if we tried to leave, something beyond our control would stop us. Even thinking about leaving makes you feel uncomfortable, try it."

"Already have, Inori is right." Yuri commented and took a sip from the crew. It wasn't **bad** but it was much too strong for her taste. Thieves were a pretty tough bunch.

"What exactly we're supposed to do here, I don't know. When I asked the thieves when the large event above will end, they all said that it would reach it's apex at midnight, when the queen would formerly welcome all the guests and announce something important."

"So they dodged the question?" Nao concluded and Inori nodded in confirmation.

"We have no idea where the other Cures are. They might be thieves, guards, servants or even nobles. I only know of us four right now."

"Peace is a guard. Erika kind of... met her when we came to." Nao didn't want to make matters unnecessarily worse.

"That makes five." Inori nodded again and made a mental note.

"You said that at midnight, the queen would appear, right?" Nao was wondering what kind of person the queen was.

"Yes. There are stars and a moon in the sky but there is no way to tell the time without some kind of reference point. Midnight might be right now or might come in several hours. Or even not at all until we do whatever this place wants us to do."

"Steal 'n rob 'n steal some more!" Erika shouted and jumped up, quite drunk from downing an entire mug of the strong ale.

"That is what I expect, too." Yuri added and filled her mug with the ice cold water from the river. She didn't want to leave this cave intoxicated. That was just a bad idea, being a thief and everything.

"So do I. This entire time I've been feeling the urge to go and look for valuables, for information that can be sold or even a hostage I could trade. I believe that those urges are something that this place makes you feel to make us stay in character, so to speak."

"Why couldn't it make me something **other** than a thief?" Nao sighed and felt something wet on her right leg. Erika had spilled a bit of the ale on her. She was going to hit her if she kept that behavior up.

=== Dissonance ===

"I locked her in the closet." Reika pushed a drawer in front of the door and looked to her partner in crime, Saki.

Luckily, they had both found each other while meeting up with their previous partners, a Love and another Reika, and the original Reika had noticed that something was off about that Saki she was looking at.

"This dress is too small for me on the waist. Maybe I should go on a diet after this."

Reika knelt next to their hostages, who were now stripped down to their fancy underwear, and checked if they were still asleep. To her relief, they were as knocked out as could be.

They had broken into a room a few minutes before, overwhelmed a guard with a handkerchief that was heavy with knock out water, a substance that knocked out a grown woman with a single whiff for the better half of a day. With the guard out of the way, the nobles were quickly dealt with, all four of them very much scared of the rough looking thieves that had just dispatched their sole guard.

The four nobles were a Black, a Luminous, a Mint and a Sunshine, which was quite the combination to swallow for Saki and Reika both, especially since they were all stark naked.

Thankfully, their dresses were on the furniture and Saki just now stripping, again, behind a large couch and trying on the second dress, unable to know which one actually belonged to the copy Nagisa, who was likely the only one that would fit her.

Reika took the green dress and found it to be too wide around her chest. A little annoyed, as she was quite proud of her figure, she took the dress off again and concluded that this one had to belong to the copy Mint.

The second dress was too tight around the chest and helpless to control herself, Reika glanced towards the unconscious nobles. That was Luminous' dress. That only left Sunshine's which had to be the one that Saki tried first. Picking it up, she hoped that Saki didn't rip it.

In the meantime, said Saki did manage to fit into a dress. Taking one of the masks that were laying around, she couldn't quite figure out how to make them stick. After putting four sets of leather straps around her legs, a few daggers, knockout tissues and pouches, Saki looked up and noticed that Reika had finished changing, her look making Saki's heart beat a little bit faster. "You look stunning in that dress."

"It has been a while since I have worn a dress like this." Reika glanced at Saki. "I take it this is the first time you have worn one?"

"That obvious?" Saki was quite uncomfortable in such a fancy dress. It had quite a deep cleavage cut, too.

"Put your legs closer together. Straighten your back and arms. Put your shoulders back a little." Reika walked like a perfect lady over to Saki to help her improve her cover. As a final touch, she stood in front of Saki and helped her attach the mask. It worked by sitting on the nose and Reika did her best to adjust Saki's posture to prevent the mask from falling. While she was doing this, Reika was fighting the impulse to lean in and kiss Saki. Was it because she reminded her of Nao a little bit? Wherever they were, this place was very clearly making her inhibitions become gradually less and less. She couldn't even feel bad for wanting to kiss the woman in front of her.

A minute later, Saki had finally managed to adjust to the mask and dress, the two finally ready to enter the grand world of nobility. The plan was to mix and mingle with the rich and go from room to room and relieve the poor nobles of their valued possessions and store them in one of the many tunnels. Neither of them could quite explain what drove them to do just this but they felt that it was not only right to do but it was also exciting.

At least every third room in the castle had a hidden entrance to the tunnels somewhere. Behind a shelf, under a carpet or a switch in the wall. Reika couldn't understand how all of that could happen right under the nose of the nobles and the guards but she already suspected that something wasn't quite right about this place.

Holding out her hand to Saki, Reika bowed politely. "Shall we, Lady Saki?"

Saki blushed intensely and took the blue haired woman's hand. "That's so embarrassing to be called that."

"Would you prefer Lady Bloom? And try to talk formally, as I do."

"That's more Mai's thing but I'll try." Saki sighed and wished she had something strong to drink to relieve the nervousness of going outside, where people could see her, even if they were just copies of everyone else. After getting a look that told her _Try harder_ from Reika, Saki took a deep breath. "I shall try my utmost."

"Very good. You will make a proper lady yet." Reika took Saki's hand and pulled her along, very slowly, as only commoners ran or walked quickly.

Skipping a few rooms to put some distance between them and the naked nobles as well as the locked up guard, Saki and Reika walked arm in arm, the pretense of a couple keeping curious eyes away from them, past a small number of other nobles that passed by.

"I do wonder where all the others happen to be." Saki was trying very hard and it didn't go unnoticed by Reika and the attraction she was feeling for the lady by her side went straight through the roof.

Finding the first room of interest, voices were coming from the inside, Reika and Saki waited until there was nobody nearby. Opening the door, rushing in and slamming it shut, Saki and Reika reached for the daggers in the small holsters mounted to the leather straps around their legs and like proper bandits, held their weapons threateningly.

But what they saw was quite exceptional. Three girls were on the bed, a Miki, an Urara and a Hikari. That they were there was not the exceptional thing. Not that they were stark naked either but that the room itself was smelling like the most exotic mix of spices and smoke imaginable and that the source of that smell was coming directly from the girls on the bed, each of them holding a long, winded pipe.

"Are they... using drugs?"

"In medieval ages, it was not unusual to use what we know as controlled substances for entertainment. I suspect, it isn't unusual here, either." Reika put her dagger bag and looked at the Hikari that was slowly crawling towards them.

"A talking cat! And a bear! Wow!" Each word was accompanied by a slur and giggling and once her sentence was out, she fell on her back and took a deep breath from the pipe.

"Are you the bear or the cat?" Saki was curious about this.

"Look for valuables." Reika smiled a little and hoped that she was the cat. She couldn't help but blush intensely when the Urara and Miki were starting to heavily make out, sloppy kissing and very erotic touching and liking included.

"The Urara has a bunch of rings, do you think we should-" Saki watched the rings vanish halfway into Miki and immediately decided against taking those rings with her. She was also getting incredibly horny just from hearing their moaning and the wet noises. Passing the bed again, kneeing down and checking a drawer, Saki was thrown off balance when the drugged Hikari threw herself on her back.

"Let's have... fun, miss bear!" Blowing hot breath against Saki's ear and licking her neck, the Hikari didn't bother to wait for approval or an answer.

Throwing the girl back on the bed didn't have much effect as she just crawled towards Saki again but didn't quite reach her. The Miki had caught Hikari after separating from Urara, who was now laying on her back, legs spread wide, and breathing in the smoke again.

Saki turned around and tried to ignore the even more intense moaning with minuscule success. Bagging the two necklaces and brooches she found in two of the pouches at her legs, Saki looked to Reika and almost wanted to tear her hair out when she saw her sitting on the bed, taking a long deep breath from the pipe while the naked Urara was hanging on to her, licking her nape.

"Reika!" Saki almost shouted and tried to walk over there but the Miki and Hikari joined forces to stop her and pulled the trained girl on the bed and blew smoke in her face. Coughing and trying to avert her faces, she was suddenly being tickled and couldn't help but laugh, breathing in the smoke.

A few seconds later, the room started to look a lot more colorful and Miki a hell of a lot more attractive. She could always go thieving later, right? There was no harm in having some fun with friends, right? They all knew each other, there was nothing weird about being naked together?

Saki thought all those things just before she kissed the blue haired girl and fell with her on the bed.

=== Dissonance ===

Itsuki had figured out a few things on her own. Coming to as a guard in the grand hall, she had the wit to do what all the other guards did. Keep still, look stern and watch the nobles. She had seen her share of weird things, from battling her own self to become stronger as a Cure, to a desert planet, a planet sized villain, murderous reverse personality mirror Cures and all the things she went through in the battles. Coming to as an armored guard at a large party didn't faze her all that much at this point.

Thanks to her training, standing still in armor wasn't that big of a deal and thankfully, nobody had come to ask her for directions. And now it was finally time to stretch her legs. "It is time." Another guard, a Muse of all people, had walked up to her and from the look of her armor, it was slightly different from the well decorated ones of the guards in the main hall, she had come from outside the hall, a space that was completely unknown to Itsuki.

"Time for?" Itsuki would pretend that she was a new recruit if necessary but she couldn't just pretend to know what this Muse was talking about.

"You're the sixth guard I tell this. I won't repeat myself so listen carefully." The Ako guard took a deep breath and started explaining. "All guards are to assemble at the entrance and escort the seventeen princesses of court to the top level where her majesty the queen will welcome them in person before speaking to our esteemed guests. Head to the entrance and wait."

"Understood." Itsuki was so incredibly happy to finally be able to walk around, even if it was just a march to the entrance. Thankfully, the guard had pointed in the exact location of the largest hallway that connected to the grand hall and Itsuki could see the sea of nobles parting to make way for the guards that lined up side by side, forming a tunnel for the highest royalty on the floor. She couldn't see a single princess yet, but she was excited to see them. She had never seen a real princess.

Getting in line and standing still again, Itsuki noticed that a lot of other guards were glancing towards the main entrance, some anxious, some excited, others nervous and a few were simply having issues standing still.

A few minutes passed during which Itsuki simply looked around, at some of the nobles in fancy dresses and silver masks, before the grand hall first fell quiet. "Her Royal Highness, First Princess of Escalia, Ako Evangeline Escalia!" The announcer's voice was loud and clear. Itsuki would recognize that voice anywhere. It belonged to Hibiki. Itsuki stood as firm as everyone else did and tried to glance at the coming princess from the corner of her eye.

"Her Royal Highness, Second Princess of Escalia, Hikari Minerva Escalia!" Itsuki could now see the first princess. Her dress was showing intricate lines that resembled a mark of some kind and it looked like it was made from pure gold, glittering in the light of the hall. Itsuki couldn't see it but she could **feel** the pressure the princess exerted on the nobles, feeling the collective bowing of them all.

"Her Royal Highness, Third Princess of Escalia, Komachi Trisjil Escalia!" Itsuki felt a shiver when the second princess came closer. There were about twenty guards standing past her, ten on each side, with about half a meter between each of the guards, and the first princess was waiting at the very end of the guard tunnel.

"Her Royal Highness, Fourth Princess of Escalia, Akane Milaine Escalia and Her Royal Highness, Fifth Princess of Escalia, Reika Milaine Escalia." Just as the announcer finished, the second princess walked past Itsuki and she could **feel** the danger that emanated from that woman.

"Her Royal Highness, Sixth Princess of Escalia, Kurumi Vivilfell Escalia." The third princess passed by Itsuki and from her too, Itsuki could feel something bad. Not the same kind of danger that the second princess gave off, but something bad nonetheless.

"Her Royal Highness, Seventh Princess of Escalia, Miki Cordelia Escalia." The fourth and fifth princess were just passing Itsuki, holding hands and very much giving off a rather odd kind of aura. Itsuki needed a few seconds to figure out that it was the same kind of feeling she felt from Luminous and Rose.

"Her Royal Highness, Eighth Princess of Escalia, Inori Larisena Escalia and Her Royal Highness, Ninth Princess of Escalia, Setsuna Alexandra Escalia." Itsuki watched the sixth princess pass by and she looked rather grim but lacked the necessary pressure that was expected from someone whose posture showed that. Judging by where she stopped, the seventh princess would stand almost directly in front of Itsuki until they were all assembled.

"Her Royal Highness, Tenth Princess of Escalia, Kaoru Bjeldavir Escalia." Itsuki was a bit disappointed that she would not see princesses ten to seventeen and only be able to glance at the ninth from a few meters away.

"Her Royal Highness, Eleventh Princess of Escalia, Urara Faldirn Escalia." The seventh princess seemed to be rather the opposite of the second. Itsuki felt like this was a person she could trust.

"Her Royal Highness, Twelfth Princess of Escalia, Tsubomi Ma'chien Escalia." The eighth princess and ninth princess were holding hands, just like the fourth and the fifth. Itsuki wondered how much of all of that was actual incest and how many of them came from different fathers or families altogether.

"Her Royal Highness, Thirteenth Princess of Escalia, Nagisa Bluefair Escalia and Her Royal Highness, Fourteenth Princess of Escalia, Mai Catherine Escalia." Itsuki wanted to punch someone after hearing that. By the current logic, those princesses that got called in double were a couple and that a Nagisa and Mai copy were a couple just kind of annoyed her, knowing how things were between the real ones.

"Her Royal Highness, Fifteenth Princess of Escalia, Rin Mireille Escalia." Itsuki felt the shift in the nobles. They didn't respect this princess at all.

"Her Royal Highness, Sixteenth Princess of Escalia, Honoka Lamitiar Escalia." It wasn't just the Rin princess. This princess demanded no respect from the nobles either.

"Her Royal Highness, Seventeenth Princess of Escalia, Miyuki Tribati Escalia." Itsuki felt a sudden shift in the guards movements and noticed just in time that they were all turning left. It was time to march evidently.

It was like a snake whose skin was guards and the muscle were the royal princesses, marching in a straight line through the grand hall, towards the winded staircase that went all the way to the top. Slowly ascending, much slower than Itsuki had ever deemed possible, they reached the first balcony after about a minute and went up another every minute after. Itsuki was incredibly curious what the top layer looked like and her curiosity would not be disappointed.

A long table, much longer than any she had ever seen, was in the center of the massive open space. The ceiling was curved in, forming a dome-like structure above them. There were musicians in each of the four corners, many large, round beds with small tables. Itsuki couldn't recognize most of the items on them but she saw long, winded pipes in many a noble's mouth.

The guards dispersed and went to the back end of the room, directly above the main entrance easily fifteen meters below them, but the floor was at least three meters of solid stone. An entire army could have marched up there and the ground would have held.

Itsuki's glance was focused on a large square of curtains, with a massive chair and a person inside it. That had to be the queen, hidden well from all eyes, even those of the guards and the nobles that were allowed up here.

One by one, the princesses walked up to the curtain, the queen was definitely looking to the center of the room, right at her daughters, if they really were her daughters, and not saying a thing, but neither did the princesses. Kneeling before their queen, each princess took a chair and there didn't seem to be any specific arranged order.

As soon as all princesses were sitting down, the atmosphere changed significantly. Itsuki felt like her entire body had become one large center for goosebumps and she almost stepped out of line when the curtains of the queen suddenly lit on fire and burned up rapidly.

"Welcome, my daughters!" The voice boomed through the hall and there was obvious joy in it. But Itsuki didn't pay attention to that anymore.

The Queen was clad in a dress that did not just seem alive but truly was. An every shifting mixture of colors, it was like an aurora had been pressed in the shape of a dress. She wore a mask like all the others but hers was different entirely. It was black as the night and there were thirty different jewels imbedded on it, each a different color.

As soon as she took a single step, gusts of wind bellowed through the room, tongues of fire leashed out from her fingertips and the breath of everyone in the room turned cold and hot at the same time. Itsuki had faced powerful enemies and seen the near limitless power of the Infinity Silhouette but she had never before felt a single person that put her in such awe.

In reflex, Itsuki knelt down and so did all of the guards beside her, lowering their head so their eyes faced the ground, unworthy to look at this most magnificent person. The nobles did not kneel but lowered their head in the same way. This was not their time to see or talk to the queen. This was the queen's time with their daughters.

The queen's words didn't reach Itsuki anymore but she could **feel** that she was talking to the princesses. An impossible to resist pressure was weighting down on her, almost as if she was carrying the entire planet on her shoulders.

And then the pressure changed. Itsuki had no idea how much time had passed. It could have been ten seconds or an hour. All her senses were overwhelmed by this person and she could barely keep thinking about it.

"Today," The queen's voice once again boomed through the top level and surely reached all the way down to the bottom floor, "we mark the 500th anniversary of my ascension to the throne and the foundation of the Kingdom of Escalia."

"Today," A brief pause. "I stand before the select few that have proven themselves worthy, that have proven their worth to the kingdom and that have proven their loyalty to me, Queen Escalia the First."

"Today, we shall drink and feast. We shall dance and forge new connections. We shall make plans to defend this realm and create armies to see our plans through. We shall amuse ourselves and each other, we shall indulge in our every desire, we shall be decadent and overbearing, for tonight is the night of all nights. Today we celebrate the Night of a Escalia and we shall do so a thousand days!"

As if something had grabbed her by the shoulders and lifted away, Itsuki saw only darkness for a brief moment. At first she thought the pressure had become unbearable but then she realized that her mind was actually clearing up.

A few seconds later, Itsuki found herself standing under the clear night sky, wearing a fancy dress, a sliding fan in her right and a large piece of paper in her left hand. "Invitation?" A guard asked her and she spaced out for a moment. "My lady, is everything in order?"

Itsuki finally realized that the guard was speaking to **her**. "Yes, yes, it's fine." She responded without thinking about it. Someone behind her started to giggle and she heard the word _crude_ in a derogatory tone.

"Your invitation please." The guard held out his hand.

Itsuki handed over the piece of paper that she figured had to be the invitation. "Lady Itsuki Myoudouin. Welcome to Castle Escalia. The Grand Ball will start in twenty minutes time."

=== End of Event XXVIII ===


	29. Paradise Lies

**Dissonance**

_Event XXIX_

**Paradise Lies**

Reika definitely was unlucky. The last thing she remembered was having taken a deep breath of some questionable apparatus that released even more questionable smoke. And waking up now, the room was still spinning slightly and, for the lack of a better term in Reika's language repertoire, all wobbly.

She couldn't quite place how and when she had gotten wherever she was but it was most definitely not the same room as before. There was no sign of Saki, whom she had teamed up with. Assessing her situation, Reika found herself to be in trouble. There were no guards in sight, or really anyone, except a stark naked Akane right next to her, soundly asleep and quite sweaty. She didn't need to make any grand educated guesses what exactly had transpired here.

Her prized intellect wasn't working anywhere near capacity because she was still seeing some things double, or just things in general that weren't quite there, and Reika really wanted to know what in the world had happened. _Think slowly, Reika. You are alone with an Akane and I cannot rule out that this is the real one._ Yet the thought of having had sex with the real Akane was disturbing her a little bit. She and her were both dating Nao, but that was completely different from sleeping with each other. _First, where am I?_ Looking around, the room was a little unnatural. Large bookshelves everywhere and the air itself was quite dusty, the light bad and only if she intently listened for noise could she hear the party as a distant event. _Is it over? It does not sound like there is anything happening_.

Slowly trying to get up, Reika spotted a really fancy dress at the end of the bed, together with a golden mask. Deep down, she didn't feel comfortable looking at the mask. Feeling sick the moment she got out of bed, Reika had to sit back down. _What is this bed doing here anyway? This appears to be a seldom used library, possibly an archive of some kind._ The realization of why there was a bed hit her a few seconds later. _So whoever I am impersonating is having an affair with this Akane?_ Crawling over the foot end of the bed, Reika found a similar dress to her own, strikingly similar even, with an identical golden mask.

Sitting back down, Reika felt every alarm in her body ring at the same time when someone, it could only be the Akane that had been sleeping until now, hugged her from behind, pushing her bare breasts against Reika's back. "Do you not fell well, Sister?" Whispering in Reika's ear, the Akane moved her hands over the girl's body with expert expertise, knowing her every weakness. "It is unlike you to awake before me." She could somehow _hear_ a grin from the Akane. "Is it mother's masquerade? Do not worry, it will not start for a little while and yet more time will pass before we are required to make an entrance. We will have each other all to ourselves until then."

There was a lot of information that Reika needed to process but couldn't work through fast enough because her mind was still hazy. "Do not worry about me, Akane. It appears I didn't take well to something I ate."

Reika realized one thing right away. _This isn't the same me as when I was with Bloom._ Whether it was by some sort of reality changing mechanism, something akin to whatever had brought them all here in the first place, or something more elaborate like a reversal of time. _But that doesn't explain why I still feel the drugs in my system_. Reika then quickly, considering her condition at least, assessed who she was. The Akane spoke of _Mother's Masquerade_ which could only refer to the large party that she had actually experienced earlier. _Did time rewind? But should I not be back with the thieves in that case? Nevertheless, if it is our mother hosting this event, that means not only are this Akane and I sisters but I must also be a princess._ Reika had picked up just a little bit of info about the party before she succumbed to the exhilarating smoke and received a black out in response. The party was hosted by a queen who had several daughters, at least ten of them. _That we are sisters and **still** slept with each other is making me really uncomfortable_, Reika thought to herself but she knew she had to play along.

Leaning back in the princess' embrace, Reika wondered what kind of person the princess she played was. Because that much was clear to her by the way this Akane acted. Whoever she was replacing had originally a real personality. "Should we not, for once, show ourselves at the party? I cannot say why, but I do feel like mingling with the nobles could be amusing in it's own right."

"What an unusual thing for you to say." The Akane moved back a little, slowly leading Reika down and making the princess' head rest on her lap. "But you might be right. It has been a long time since we've meddled with our sisters. It could be amusing." Akane put a finger to her cheek. "But beware of Evangeline, Trisjil and Vivilfell. Our sisters they might be but humor they do not possess."

_Good to know. I would really have preferred to know **which** princesses those three are._ No amount of great memory could help her recall something she had never known. "I really do not feel well." Reika hoped she at least looked a bit pale to lend credit to her claim. She was in luck, however, as her stomach growled just when Akane was about to say something. "It appears that my stomach is calling for one of the servants." Reika mused and got back up. She really _was_ quite uncomfortable being naked next to Akane. Whatever had culled her inhibitions before, it certainly was not working now.

"If we are going to the masquerade, let us exchange dresses. I simply love the sight on the face of those that realize that we're together." Akane almost jumped off the bed after those words, walked around the piece of furniture and picked up Reika's dress. As she put it on, she realized that she wasn't quite _filling_ it out well enough to walk around in it. "It appears I have been bested by your beautiful breasts once again, dear sister." Akane joked before sliding the dress off again and giving Reika a closer look. "Is it my imagination or do you smell slightly like Dream Pipe?"

_That must be the name of whatever I breathed in_, Reika assumed. "I might have indulged myself when one of the servants carried some past me."

"When? I don't recall letting you out of my sight." Akane's inquiry was making Reika nervous now.

"That is the mystery, is it not." Reika dodged the question and grinned mischievously. _I have no idea how to pretend to be a princess_, Reika thought and more over, _not to mention how to be this **specific** princess that is in a relationship with her sister._

But thankfully, Princess Akane didn't seem to be the suspecting type. _Thankfully she has no reason to doubt my identity, considering she thinks I've been with her since before the party, meaning there was no way for anyone to impersonate me. And from my experience as a thief, it does not appear as if the doubles are aware of our, the Cures, existence as such._

Her head was getting clearer now but also started to hurt worse. _Could this be... a time loop? I've been put back before the party in the role of someone else? But what triggered that to happen?_ "Akane, has mother anything unusual planned for today?"

"Today being the start of the thousand night banquet, surely you didn't forget?" Akane was not eying Reika with suspicion. "Did the Dream Smoke cloud your memory this badly? I will be more careful the next time I have the servants bring us some."

Finally getting dressed, Reika couldn't feel at home in such a fancy dress whatsoever. Just three minutes later, after having passed through a secret passageway, they emerged inside an empty guest room and left, hand in hand. The servants they came across all smiled at them, some bemused, some simply with gratitude. Reika could tell the difference because of her job as vigilante.

"Where shall we go first?" Akane asked her sister.

"The kitchens." Reika replied. "I would be terribly embarrassed should my stomach grumble in front of important company." _The kitchens will be where most of the servants are going to be right now since the party has not yet started. If I am going to find anyone else in this mess, it will be there. I need to know more about what happened between me passing out and now. Maybe that will give us a clue on how to get out._

Reika couldn't say that it was an uncomfortable situation. Of course there were some concerns regarding how openly she was sleeping around right now, but that aside, there was nothing threatening them and there really were much worse situations to be stuck in than an eternal party.

Before the two sisters could head towards the kitchens, Reika was talked to by a passing noble. "Princess Reika Milane and Princess Akane Milane." The blonde bowed deeply. "Could I bother princess Reika to lend me a moment of her time?"

"I don't know. Can you, sister?" Akane jokingly asked. She clearly didn't seem used to a noblewoman having business with either of them.

"Would you wait for me, sister dear?" Reika said and let go of the Akane's hand. "It will be just a moment."

Reika had a _hunch_ that this noblewoman was actually the real deal. The real Sunshine. She didn't know her all that well, really, but she at least recognized her hair and figure. "What would you have of me?"

Itsuki waited until the Akane was out of hearing range, taking Reika all the way to the end of the hallway. "I know you are the real Cure Beauty. I saw that Akane and her sister up close just a little while ago when the queen made her speech. The Reika she was with didn't look nearly as uncomfortable being with her as you do."

_She is surprisingly sharp_, Reika figured and was really glad that someone had noticed her. "We need to keep this short, relatively speaking. I feel that I shouldn't make my _sister_ too suspicious."

"I suddenly came to as a noble about ten or fifteen minutes ago. I was a guard in the grand hall before that. And now it looks like everything reset to how it was right before the party." Itsuki had her own ideas about what was happening but it would really help to have someone confirm her suspicions. And Beauty seemed like a great candidate for just that.

"I believe we are caught in a time loop. What happened to you right before time rewound?" Reika didn't want to tell Sunshine that she was out cold under drug use.

"The queen held her speech and just as she was finished, at least I believe she was, I felt myself getting pulled away and came to as a noble at the gates of this castle."

"You said you met the original princess Reika just before that. What happened to her after you saw her?"

"All seventeen princesses headed to the top floor of the grand hall, where the queen resides. I was at the far back of the room, as a guard."

"That will give me an excellent chance to witness whether time will rewind again this time."

"Isn't it usually so that everything inside a time loop is reset? I can still feel my back sting a bit from standing around still for hours."

"Reality appears to be indeed stranger than fiction. I was in the role of a thief before this and happened to be exposed to some questionable substances and I can still feel them in my system." Reika felt that masking the truth just a little bit was not going to hurt anyone.

"I'll look for the others and try to find out if they experienced the same thing as we did. In case you come across your sisters, the first princess commands a great amount of respect. The second and third felt very dangerous to me. The seventh felt somewhat welcoming. The last three were not rspected at all."

"Which princesses would be Evangeline, Trisjil and Vivilfell?" Reika perfectly remembered the names from earlier.

"The first, an Muse, the third, a Mint, and sixth, a Rose." Itsuki counted in order. "Be really careful around the Mint one. She made every instinct in my body scream _danger_."

"We are on our way to the kitchen. It will be difficult for me to ascertain who is a double that plays their role well as I don't know many of you that well yet." Reika felt that this was a really glaring issue with finding others.

"Anyone that saw you two... is _last night_ even an appropriate description of it? At the previous party might be more accurate." Itsuki trailed off. "In either case, whoever saw you two would immediately recognize you as the real Beauty. But to ease up future meetings, we should think of a way to identify each other."

"Excellent idea." Reika quickly glanced towards her _sister_ who was getting a drink from a passing servant girl, who blushed **intensely** just talking to that Akane. _Are these princesses possibly playboys? The servants were blushing around me as well._ "But as we are spread out over several groups, it would be difficult to use something like the masks or dresses we wear. It would need to be something that everyone has access to. And given the mass of people that will soon populate the castle, it cannot be a physical signal as that would be impossible to keep up indefinitely."

"A unified signal would be really hard to make out. What about splitting it into categories for each role? The princesses, the nobles, the servants, guards and, you said you were a thief?"

"There are quite a number of thieves hidden inside the castle." Reika couldn't put an exact number to them, but maybe someone who had become a thief this loop around could. "As we are noble and princess right now, we should focus on these signs first."

"I was a guard the last time and I believe it would be easiest for guards to signal that they are a real person by stripping off their left gauntlet. If asked about it, they can simply claim they could not find it when they got ready due to all the hectic of the preparations and nobody should especially care beyond that point."

"Understood." Reika made a mental note. "I believe it will be difficult to identify the princesses as such because surely they attract an immense amount of attention and you, too, should have noticed that there is a subconscious need to fit the role we are given. Talking to you this extensively appears to be well within the confines of my role because you are a noblewoman and there could be possible business you have to discuss with me."

"There are a lot of nobles and only seventeen princesses. I would be surprised if more than one or two of us are princesses at any given time. Seeing you and this Akane together confirmed my suspicion that the princesses are in fact the same as before."

"For now, let us ignore how to identify the princesses. What about the nobles in general?" Reika couldn't immediately think of a unified way all princesses could behave without attracting unwanted attention from the wrong people or outright violating their role.

"Dresses and masks vary too much to be used. How about carrying a glass of wine with a small piece of paper or cloth wrapped around the stem of the glass? If asked about it, simply stating that the coldness of the glass is uncomfortable should be a satisfying explanation."

"It appears you were quite observant of the nobles as a guard." Reika mused.

"Well, there was not much else to do. Being a guard in the grand hall is quite boring." Itsuki felt a yawn coming on and suppressed it. "Something that worries me is that our physical condition carries over from one loop to the next."

Reika only needed a second thinking about that to see why Sunshine was right. "Sleep. Food and drink. Depending on the role, there is little opportunity for any of those, and especially as a guard it will be taxing."

"Even so, I can't say I don't prefer this a hundred times over deadly battles and stuff. I am actually looking forward to hearing the band in the main hall again. I really liked the way they played and sadly they played each tune only once."

"I will be using my status to learn more about the other princesses, just in case. I would like to meet somewhere before the queen makes her speech, just in case time will reset again and we end up with roles that make interacting difficult."

"The queen's speech is at midnight. I'll meet you at the main entrance to the grand hall thirty minutes prior." Itsuki nodded and was glad to have found someone to talk about all this. She hadn't known where to even begin with this whole mess. "I wonder how we got into this mess this time."

"Whatever it was, at least it isn't dangerous. It might even become entertaining once we learn how all of this fits together."

"You might be right. I'd actually love to try my luck as a thief."

"Bloom was one of the thieves last time as well. If you see a Bloom with physical symptoms similar to mine, for she too came into contact with those questionable substances, it is likely the real Bloom."

"You can just admit that you got high, Beauty. Nobody is going to care." Itsuki grinned wide and read between the lines. "There probably aren't any addictive factors or long term issues with these things."

"What makes you think so?" Reika couldn't quite comprehend where Sunshine was getting this idea from.

"Free food and drink. Music and dance. The chance to pursue unrequited love for a few hours. No consequences for doing so and possibly the chance to try your hand at being a real princess. This entire setup here feels like it is designed to give us a good time and not unnecessarily torture us like all the times it did before."

"That might all be coincidence." Reika would have liked some solid proof for this before she believed in it.

"Maybe so. But even though it isn't perfect, I believe in my gut. And my gut tells me that this is indeed a party. Not just for the doubles but also for us." Itsuki saw Reika's _sister_ approach. "Now then, Princess Reika. I shall take my leave. It was a pleasure to talk with you." Waiting until Akane was next to Reika, Itsuki bowed to both of them briefly and greeted the Reika's other half, "Princess Akane.", before taking her leave.

"That was a lengthy conversation. What were you talking about?" Akane inquired and Reika thought about it for long enough to make Akane offer a suggestion, lowering her voice to a whisper. "Was it one of the contacts from the thieves guild?"

_What?_ Reika had no idea why a princess would be talking to contacts from the thieves guild. "No. She was merely asking about whether we, I specifically, would support her presentation of her new kind of wine to the court later this month." _We did talk about wine after all_.

"Are we still heading towards the kitchens? I haven't set food into those parts of the castle in at least a few weeks."

_That isn't particularly long, considering she is a princess._ Reika was slowly piecing together what kind of character this Akane was. She was very observant after all. "We are." Reika smiled. "Since it has been so long for you, let me see if you still remember the way." _Because I have never seen this part of the castle before_.

Down the hallway, Itsuki immediately picked up a glass of wine from one of the servants that were carrying entire trays towards the great hall. A piece of paper was surprisingly hard to come by so she simply requested a handkerchief from one of the servants.

"What to do now?" Itsuki had a wealth of new information at her hands. Everyone must have figured out that the party was happening again at this point and trying to figure out _specifically_ what was happening. It would have helped tremendously to know if there were even any other Cures currently posing as nobles.

Yet, Itsuki's streak of good luck was not about to end. First correctly identifying Reika as the original, now she spotted someone else entirely. She knew right away that the girl she was looking at wasn't _really_ a guard. She looked way too uncomfortable in her armor for that to be the case. She also looked rather tired out despite it being so early in the party.

_I suppose having been a guard does pay off. Only the really diligent Cures are going to actually fit the role of a guard. Hibiki certainly isn't the type to endure standing around for hours_, Itsuki grinned and walked up to the fake guard. "Hi there, lover." Itsuki casually greeted Hibiki as if it was the most normal thing in the world.

"I-Itsuki?!" Hibiki tried to quickly back away but the heavy armor was putting a damper on the quick part of the moving. "You're... really Itsuki, right?" Hibiki immediately panicked, thinking that the guard she was playing was having an affair with a noble.

"Yes. I bet you're thinking something silly like you're a guard having an affair with a noble." Itsuki could see that she hit bulls-eye with that one. "Don't act so surprised, you're not as difficult to read as you like to think." Itsuki took two steps forward, her face awfully close to Hibiki's. "Especially for me."

The guard blushed a little more strongly than she had expected. "Go ahead, make fun of me, I'm just a servant girl that is now stuck as a walking piece of metal after all." Pouting, Hibiki averted her eyes and immediately felt like a stinging headache was coming down on her. Looking back at Itsuki, she felt it go away. Was it because she was being rude to a noble?

"So you were a servant the last time around? I was a guard." Itsuki took a step back and tried to look as disinterested as possible. It didn't really make for a convincing cover if she was seen talking intimately to a guard.

"What is even going on? Everything is happening over." Hibiki wasn't stupid by any account but time loops and the like were a little beyond her area of expertise after all.

"I met Beauty earlier. She is currently one of the princesses and based on what we both witnessed, we're pretty sure that this party is a time loop. You know, time rewinding all the way back to the start of the loop, like a music track that is sitting on repeat setting. Except we're not reset. Just switched around."

"Why couldn't **I** be a noble? Or at least someone from the band in the main hall!" Hibiki was somewhat upset. "How the heck did we get stuck in this mess to begin with? It better not be that idiot Kanade's fault!"

"Now, now. Didn't we talk about you blaming things on Kanade when there is no other suspect?" Itsuki reminded her partner of that. "Just like the mirror thing, we have no idea. Might not even be anyone's fault, just the system messing with us. It could be a lot worse than this, though."

"Easy for you to say. My legs are killing me. They had me run around the entire night from room to room, serving food and drinks to nobles. I got lost so many times I don't even know **how** often anymore." Hibiki wished she could stretch her legs, sit down somewhere and enjoy some food but that wasn't exactly an option right now. "I'm so hungry I could eat anything."

Itsuki's expression changed to a lewd one. "Oh? Is that so? Why, I could ask this guard here to escort me and we could just happen to find a secluded room where you could eat..." Itsuki got a lot closer to Hibiki before she uttered the last word. "..**me**."

Hibiki turned scarlet red over those antics and energetically shook her head. "I meant food! Real food! You pervert! Apparently it's true that all martial arts masters are secretly sex obsessed! So much for clarity of mind!"

"You say that but you **really** want to **come** with me now, don't you?" Itsuki put so much emphasis on those two words that Hibiki wanted to march away but couldn't. Itsuki giggled to herself and then became more serious. "It's good that I met you. Beauty and I have decided that it is best that everyone carries a specific kind of signal to tell us other Cures that they are one of us and not just a double."

"It's kinda like being stuck in a video game and they're all really well made Non-player-characters." Hibiki's analogy seemed a little crude but she herself was quite proud of it.

"Something... like that. Maybe." Itsuki wanted to think of something better but sometimes crude was simply the easiest way to make things clear. "Before someone interrupts us, take off your left gauntlet and just _lose_ it somewhere. Having your left hand free is the sign that you're a Cure and not one of the countless doubles."

"So every class has a sign?" Hibiki figured that behind one of the many curtains was as good as any a place to dump a heavy metal glove. "How many of the others know about it?"

"I only parted ways with Beauty a few minutes ago, so right now it is just us tree. I will be taking a closer look at any guards I come across. Any that are overly uncomfortable have a very good chance of being the real deal."

"Just don't look too close at my doubles." Hibiki smiled and knew that Itsuki would never do that.

"Of course not." Itsuki wished the seemingly never ending stream of people passing by would stop just for long enough to kiss Hibiki but alas, she was not given that pleasure.

"I could be your personal guard. I saw lots of nobles have them when I was running around playing servant girl." Hibiki offered and fidgeted a little. "I don't want to spend another night in this place all alone, even if it's not **that** bad." Hibiki paused for a moment. "The food is phenomenal at least."

"You were sneaking bites from the food you were serving?" Itsuki nearly burst out laughing. "Thank god they're not serving cupcakes or you'd be rolling around now."

"Hey! I'm not that much of a glutton." Hibiki grumbled. "Although if the cupcakes were as good as the rest of the food that might be a real possibility..."

"Are you sure about these personal guards? That they're actually palace guards and not brought in from the outside?"

"They looked completely identical to what I'm wearing right now. I even saw dupes of myself in guard armor two or three times. I saw a whole bunch of you, too, nobles and guards. Don't tell me I walked past the real you!"

"Unless you were serving in the grand hall, I doubt that. I was there all night." Itsuki was actually looking forward to getting to know this huge castle a little better. And possibly have some fun with Hibiki. If they could find a closet with noble's clothing, she'd dress up Hibiki and attend the ball in the grand hall with her.

"It would've been so embarrassing to have not noticed my girlfriend." Hibiki felt relieved. "You met Beauty, what about the others? Did you notice anyone else?"

"Not while I was on guard duty. Whatever this place is, it has a pretty strong effect on making us stay in character, whoever we are playing. Even if you had found me in the grand hall, it wouldn't do for a guard and servant to talk as much as we have just now." Itsuki paused briefly and noticed that some people, mostly servants, were starting to pay attention to her. "Walk me to a room so we can talk. We're drawing too much attention out here."

"You have the bossy nature of a noble down pat." Hibiki said with a smile that would have told anyone she was joking.

"Very funny. You make a terrible guard on the other hand. Keep your back straight!" Itsuki followed after her lover and now there was nobody paying attention to them anymore. She appeared to be one of many nobles that were using one of the guards as their personal security. Judging by the complete lack of interest, Itsuki found that it must happen a lot in whatever this setting was supposed to be.

"This room remains free." They had strayed from the main hallway for a bit and Hibiki actually recalled how this part of the castle was laid out. "I went in here by... mistake." Hibiki was hiding something and Itsuki figured it out right away.

"You were eating." A wide grin. "Don't worry, I'll have some of the servants bring **me** food and you can have some of it."

"My, how **generous** of your ladyship to spare something for insignificant me." Hibiki groaned quietly and had to hold in laughing. Opening the door, it was unlocked like almost all doors in the palace, Hibiki stepped in and the very second Itsuki had entered as well, she shut the door and ,right on the spot, sunk to the ground, finally able to sit for once. "How did you endure wearing this for an entire evening?"

"Come on Hibiki, this is nothing compared to the battles we've been in since we got to this place. Well. The place before this. You know what I mean, right?" Itsuki got a little tangled in her own explanation.

"I do, I do." Hibiki held up her hand and smiled. "If we put it in perspective, this isn't even on the level of fighting monsters every week, like when we were teenagers. Sure, I hated the running around but that wasn't really any worse than doing a double shift in a restaurant as a waitress."

"You served customers before? I'll have to visit that store. Do they make you wear a cute uniform?"

"Too~bad." Hibiki stretched the words as far as she could. "I don't work there anymore and they had no uniform at all."

"What a disappointment." Itsuki sat down on a very comfortable chair and gestured for Hibiki to join her. "Don't sit on my lap, the armor weighs a ton."

"Feels like it's not just a figure of speech." Hibiki pulled herself up with some effort and clanked over to the chair and sat down across her partner. Taking a deep breath and planning to peel herself out of the armor in the very near future, Hibiki looked to Itsuki. "But all of this aside, what are we gonna do? Shouldn't we try to find the others?"

"That is easier said than done." Itsuki sighed and leaned back into the chair, resting her elbow on the arm-rest, her hand touching her chin. "We don't know all that much about this place yet."

"I suppose that means no taking it easy in this room for me." Hibiki sighed as well. "I hope I get to be a noble next time around. I'll spend all night eating and then sleeping."

"You **could** stay behind, but knowing you, you'll just get lonely being on your own all night." Itsuki grinned wide, savoring Hibiki's attempted complaint that got stuck right in her mouth. "Go on, tell me it's not true."

"Fine, geez. It's true! You can be such a bully, Itsuki." Getting up and moving to the window, Hibiki wondered just how far this _land_ actually stretched and how much of it was real.

Itsuki joined her at the window a few seconds later, taking Hibiki's freed hand. "Don't sulk."

"I'm not sulking." Hibiki said with a sulking expression on her face.

"Then what do you call that face?" Poking Hibiki's cheek, Itsuki pointed to their reflection in the window. "You're an advert on how to sulk right now."

"How mean!" Hibiki snapped, growling at Itsuki, who had her usual happy go lucky expression and was clearly still teasing her. "Ogre! Demon! Lord of the Underworld! Char Aznabel!"

"The heck was that last one?" Itsuki laughed, watching her lover slowly turn more and more red.

Trying to run away, ashamed that she had blurted out an anime villain name, Hibiki nearly fell over her own feet, because they were clad in heavy armor, only to have Itsuki catch her, holding her by her hand and back. "Now I believe given our roles, this kinda looks the wrong way." Itsuki grinned.

Hibiki started to pout but let Itsuki save her from a heavy fall, quite literally, and took a deep breath. She was used to this, why did she get so riled up all of a sudden? Was it because this place was screwing with her mind? Or was it even really doing that?

"Hibiki." Itsuki wiped the grin off her face and took a more serious tone. "I would love to mess around all night but I think we'll have ample time for that once we get everyone cleared up on what is going on."

Hibiki felt just a tad disappointed that her partner was now talking business, in a manner of speaking, instead of continuing what they were doing. She kinda wanted to get out of that armor and under Itsuki's dress, too, but there was something in the back of her mind that strictly told her _bad idea_.

"It's gonna be hard to find everyone. I'll go to the grand hall and look around among the nobles. Can you take a look at any guard you come across? Just pretend you're patrolling on someone's orders. Maybe check if there is a dungeon or something. Beauty mentioned thieves, that would be where they end up."

"The left gauntlet stays off, right? That's the sign to show you're a real Cure." Hibiki thought that was a welcome change since each piece less was definitely an improvement of the situation.

"For the nobles it's paper or cloth around the stem of their glass. We haven't made up any sign for the thieves or servants yet. But if you notice someone behaving oddly, it's worth a closer look. I doubt anything bad can happen here. It'll all reset around midnight anyway."

"Are you really sure about that? My legs don't feel like anything reset." Hibiki sighed. She had excellent stamina but servant work was really hard and the castle was almost absurdly large.

"Looks like our physical condition and memory doesn't but everything else does." Itsuki smiled. "Not like I could ever forget about my beloved Hibiki, memories or not."

Hibiki turned bright red. "You seriously can be brutally honest." She couldn't even look at Itsuki at the time. She felt just as excited as when she had first ended up at the yellow Cure's place.

"Isn't that what you like about me?" Getting really close to her partner, Itsuki cursed that metal armor for covering most of Hibiki's great body. "Among other things, of course." Itsuki licked her lips and pulled Hibiki's face against her chest.

It was as if an alarm went off in Hibiki's head, one that told her that any guard found being intimate with a noble would likely face summary execution after trial. "W-wait." Hibiki had trouble getting through her rather strong desire to just shove Itsuki on the comfortable looking sofa and throw off that stupid armor to have sex with Itsuki right here and now.

Itsuki felt the same alarm but it wasn't quite getting through to her. "Why would I do that?" The noble had nothing to fear from being found, so she wasn't feeling the panic that seemed to rise in Hibiki. Seeing the scared look on her lover's face however knocked her back to reality, strongly enough to suddenly feel sick.

Taking a few steps back and looking at the window, Itsuki took several deep breaths, trying to calm down. "That was... intense. I have no idea what came over me."

"The same thing I felt. But in **my** head, the sirens went off." Hibiki tried to stop her heart from beating like a jackhammer, with only minor success. "I didn't feel this outside."

"Same here. Maybe it's the rooms? I mean, they are kinda private and... inviting for that sort of thing. I wouldn't be surprised if they were all enchanted in some way."

"You mean like... make you... horny?" Hibiki wasn't blushing anymore, just rattled.

"The way I was thinking about just getting you to sleep with me regardless of what consequences you, as a guard, would face later, possibly, wasn't just being horny. It's like all my inhibitions were wiped right off my mind." Itsuki chuckled. "And I didn't even have anything to drink yet."

"Let's get out of here. We can still get a room when we're in better roles." Considering that she didn't have the chance to actually take a shower after running around as servant all night, Hibiki wasn't too eager to get all hot and sweaty from sex and then possibly have to keep playing roles for days to come.

"Right." Letting Hibiki leave first, Itsuki stepped outside and felt like a gust of cold wind blew in her face for a second. Not unlike going to a bar, having a few drinks and then getting outside in the middle of the night. "That is some strong magic in there. Kinda bizarre though."

"Itsuki." Hibiki briefly got close to her partner, kissed her and then took two steps back before anyone paid attention. "I'll go and _patrol_. Wanna meet somewhere later or when the next loop starts?"

"We don't know what roles we'll be in. But this gives me a nice idea. Give me your dagger. On the back of your girdle." Itsuki knew that all guards carried a sword and dagger, mostly for imposing measures.

Fumbling about on her back, Hibiki found the small blade, unsheathed it and handed it to her partner. "What are you gonna do?"

"This." Itsuki turned towards the door and carved a large C right in the center of the door. "I want to see if this persists. It's an unnatural change by one of us players, I'll just call us that for now, and that makes me think it might carry over to the next loop."

"A place for all of us to gather?" Hibiki wondered if thirty people would actually fit in there all at once. _If some sit on the laps of others and most keep standing, probably_, she thought.

"Good idea. I just wanted to test a theory, but that is actually a good idea. Now... where exactly in the castle are we?" Itsuki wasn't bad with directions but the castle was humongous with several wings. From the outside it had looked like a mountain erupting into the night sky.

Hibiki took a quick look around and probed her memory. "Let's see... If you go from the entrance and take the first large hallway to the right, you should get here as long as you keep going straight." All that running around had paid off for Hibiki.

"If we can make it, meet me back here before midnight. Don't get yourself arrested, sweetheart." Itsuki smiled again and would have liked to go ahead and kiss Hibiki, but there was a patrol of two guards walking by, very slowly, and eying the unlikely pair. Raising her voice, Itsuki took a wholly different attitude. "You may go now."

Hibiki took a quick glance over her shoulder, noticed the guards, hastily bowed slightly and then walked off, with just one gauntlet.

=== Dissonance ===

Nao was rolling over the cold prison floor, laughing her heart out so hard that tears were streaming down her cheeks. "I can't! **I can't!**" Stopping for a second, she looked up and at the annoyed faces of the trio from the Yes 5 group before she broke out in laughter again. "I really **can't**!"

"You're way overreacting." Rin grumbled and wanted to give Nao a good smack on the back of her head. Maybe a good punch to the front, too, if she kept laughing like an idiot.

"B-But! This is just too funny! To get arrested like that!" Nao was now coughing and felt she was gonna pass out soon if she didn't get a grip. Facing away from the other girls, Nao got up, put her forehead against the cold stone the walls were made of and tried to calm down. There was no way she could both look at those three **and** be calm.

About ten minutes earlier. "What do you mean you don't know how to pick a lock? Didn't you make jewelry for a while? That's almost the same thing, isn't it?" Kurumi grumbled, leaned against the wall right next to the locked door.

"That is not even **remotely** related. And at least my skills extend beyond cooking and acting cute with the girl you like but don't have the guts to move on it!" Rin was really annoyed, still trying to break the lock with the lock-picks she had been carrying.

"Don't fight please..." Nozomi was there too, trying to prevent those two from starting a brawl. Thankfully, none of their powers worked in any way here, so at the worst they could give each other a few bruises.

"Working in the kitchen sucked but this is even worse. And how did I get stuck with the **only** people, probably, among all the thieves that can't pick a lock?" Rin grumbled some more, mostly unintelligible complaints, before she finally gave up and started bashing the door with her foot, making a lot of noise. "If I had my fucking powers, I could burn this damn door down in a second!"

"Any of us could break it then, hothead." Kurumi had gone from princess to thief and she didn't find that particularly pleasing. "I was one of the princesses before this. How the heck did I end up like **this**?" Kurumi pulled on her clothes, mostly cheap cloth and leather in varying states of being worn out.

"Who are you calling hothead, you NEET!" Rin turned to Kurumi.

"I put that behind me!"

"Don't think I forgot how you were getting all best friends with Karen and sidelining Komachi. I haven't forgiven you for all the bullshit you put her through, not one bit!"

"Look who is talking! You're even worse than I am!"

"**I** didn't get dumped for being an insufferable leech!"

Nozomi was blabbering in the background, trying to prevent them from fighting, but she was being completely ignored.

"No, **you** took it upon yourself to shack up with Kanade, who is not only a minor but also as crazy as you are stubborn and aggressive!"

"You fucking leave Kanade alone or I swear to god I will punch your lights out!" Rin was seeing red now.

"Come and try it! You think I can only kick your ass as a Cure? I'll wipe the floor with you and then some!"

"**Shut the hell up!**" Nozomi screamed at the top of her lungs and that rattled Rin and Kurumi so much that they both looked at her in shock. They hadn't really heard Nozomi use language like that before.

"Fighting is gonna get us nowhere!" Nozomi glared at each of the other two in turn. "And personal insults the moment we're on our own and things don't go our way?! I can't believe you're both adults!" Those words, coming from Nozomi, really strung. Kurumi looked on the ground. She was still seriously mad, but there was some merit to what Nozomi was saying.

"I expect you two to be better than that! We're one of the older teams, so act like it!"

"Nozomi, there is-" Rin pointed behind Nozomi but was cut off.

"I don't care! I am not going to let you do or say anything until you can look at each other and shake hands!"

"No, seriously, you should-" Kurumi was now pointing too.

"Is it so hard for you two to make up? Of course things aren't the same as back then, but you shouldn't be fighting like this! Everyone has things they would have liked to go differently and we can't all always approve of what we're doing, but we can at least accept that everyone has their own life and- Jeez, **what** is it?" Rin and Kurumi were now making gestures for Nozomi to turn around.

And when she finally did, she was looking at a squad of eight guards, pointing polearms and bows in their direction.

Telling this story to Nao, Nozomi wasn't very good at keeping secrets, had resulted in the green haired girl nearly laughing herself into a coma. "They probably heard you bashing the door." Kurumi mumbled and was immediately glared at by Nozomi.

"How do we get out of here?" Rin didn't want to even acknowledge that **incident** had ever happened. It was so stupid, she couldn't believe it. It was like she was caught inside a comic book.

"Through the rocks." Nao pointed at the wall. "If this is the same jail cell as I want in the last time. But it's just my luck to be a thief twice in a row. And this time I'm imprisoned all the way from the start!"

"What do you mean by _through the rocks_?" Kurumi asked, happy to find something to talk about that wasn't going to cause another fight.

"Last time Moonlight, the real one, came to bust us out. I checked out the wall before you three got thrown i-in h-here," Nao covered her mouth and had to try really hard to hold it in. She needed a few seconds to calm down again. "but it looks like there is no way to open it from the inside. That's a serious oversight on construction if you ask me."

"An oversight?" Rin groaned. "Now look here, clearly this place wasn't built but magically created. Just like every goddamn thing ever since we got whisked away to god knows where. Speaking of that, when the hell are we gonna be able to go home?"

"Before we go home we're gonna find a way back to not-home and out of here. And before **that**, we probably should get out of prison." Kurumi said, earning Rin's spite once again.

Getting up and restlessly walking around the cell, Rin started just kicking the wall to blow off some steam. Grumbling slurs under her breath, nobody quite wanted to know what Rin was saying. After about a minute and a half, Rin was out of breath and leaned against the very same wall she had kicked so much and fell backwards. "The hell?!"

The wall, like a sliding door, turned on the spot and revealed a hidden passageway behind the wall. "That's different from the cell I was in last time." Nao said and didn't look at any of the others.

"It doesn't matter. Let's go. Rin, are you okay?" Nozomi extended her hand to Rin, and to the surprise of everyone present, the hotheaded thief actually took it.

"Dirty as heck but sure, I can walk." Rin was starting to wonder where all these temper issues were coming from. She wasn't usually this quick to blow a fuse. Especially not in front of Nozomi.

Heading down the tunnel, Rin in front, they reached an intersection and as she turned to look into one of the branching off tunnels, Rin bumped heads with someone else. "Shit." Rubbing her forehead, Rin looked in front of her and made out a dupe of White. Or possibly the real one. But there wasn't any easy way to make sure of that. "Are you a Cure?"

"What do you mean?" The woman was rubbing her forehead as well, looking confused by the question. "Did someone get poisoned?"

There was nothing else the dupe could say before Rin's fist connected with her face and soundly knocked her out. Nozomi was immediately behind her friend and was in shock over what had just happened. "Rin!"

"Sorry, I just... I think this place cuts my fuse in half."

"More like ninety per cent." Kurumi said out loud and was happy that Nozomi between them was stopping Rin from punching her as well.

"H-H-Hey..." Nao pointed towards where they had knocked out the Cure White lookalike. It was disintegrating into bright spheres and then those spheres vanished into thin air. Ghosts were absolutely the last thing Nao wanted to meet now.

Before they could react, the white spheres appeared again and almost like out of thin air, the thief Rin had just knocked out appeared and was immediately looking surprised to see them. "Did you just break out?"

"Huh? Er, yeah, that's right." Rin didn't quite grasp what was happening right in front of her eyes.

"I'm on my way to the treasury, any of you good at heavy lifting?"

"No, sorry." Rin immediately rejected the possibility that some dupe would drag them all over the place for some fools errand.

"That's too bad. I'll see you after the party ends to divide up loot." Waving and leaving through another tunnel, the dupe was gone within seconds.

"What the hell was **that**?" Rin said out loud and spun around, ready to punch someone else, when she heard a voice from where the dupe had come from.

"Reconstruction." Coming out of the shadows, another Honoka showed up, giving off a wholly different aura than the one before. "Only one of the players would **punch** one of the constructs. And before you ask me if I'm the real Cure White, I am."

"Thank you sherlock, talking about whatever science nonsense is going on totally wasn't tipping me off already." Rin snapped and immediately hid her eyes behind her hand. "Sorry. This place is getting to me." _Get a goddamn grip, Rin. You're acting worse than any teenager_.

"I noticed that as well. I've been very irritated ever since I was suddenly transported from the grand hall to a large cavern beneath the castle." Honoka looked past Rin and could just about make out who else was there. "I've witnessed what just happened by coincidence but it was rather interesting. I have news from Beauty, but this isn't really a good place to talk. We should retreat to the thief headquarters."

Five minutes later, the five girls were sitting at a large table and Honoka was doing most of the talking. "I met Beauty not but because she violated her role and entered the thief passageways as a noble. All the other thieves treated her as if the plague was approaching, in a manner of speaking. They all retreated into different secret passages or headed simply away from her. I was the only one who stood by, confused by the sudden irrational behavior of the other thieves and then I saw Beauty."

"Reika is a noble? God, that is **so** unfair!" Nao complained.

"So did Beauty have anything important to say or is there no point to this story?" Rin closed her eyes for a moment and got up, refilling her drink at the large barrel. Why was it that she was suffering so much worse from a short temper than the others in this place?

"She did. Essentially, we are caught in a repeating time loop. Once the clock hits midnight, the queen will address the court in a speech and at the end of this speech, time will rewind to just before the party starts. It also seems to seemingly randomly assign us new roles. Beauty was a thief before. I was a servant in the grand hall."

"Kitchen girl." Rin said before emptying her tankard and going for another drink.

"Thief." Nao grumbled.

Nozomi kept quiet for a few seconds. "Guest of honor, specialist in astrology." Feeling the stares of the other girls on her, Nozomi reacted with sulking. "I know... that is **so** not me."

"There doesn't seem to be any basis, as of now, to how the roles get assigned."

"Kanade, Beat and Blossom were all in the kitchen with me." Rin added now. "I have no idea where they ended up or in what role as you call it."

"I was a princess. So was Muse. Karen was a servant girl. I don't know about everyone else."

"Beauty proposed something that would make finding each other much easier and less," Honoka looked at Rin. "dangerous for everyone involved."

"And that would be?" Kurumi hoped it wasn't some overly complicated plot.

"Each class of roles will adhere to a specific sign that tells all of us that they're the original. Guards will keep off their left gauntlet. Nobles will use paper or cloth and wrap that around the stem of their glasses. She discussed these with Sunshine, whom she met before me. They did not settle on a rule for servants and thieves yet, so I proposed one to Beauty. One thing all thieves have in common is that they keep their hair tidied up beneath a green bandana. Simply leaving that off will make us easy to recognize. It will be easy to justify to the other thieves as well and does not involve us having to actively **do** anything."

Rin was the first to pull off her bandana and it actually felt refreshing. "I was getting sick of the damn thing anyway."

Kurumi and Nozomo followed suit. "Thank god we're in our civilian forms. Hiding our Cure form hair beneath those things would be totally impossible."

Nao was the last to take hers off, together with White. "I actually liked it."

"Because your hair looks like it anyway." Rin said and everyone chuckled.

"Furthermore, I am confident that Rouge's earlier actions prove that if we forcibly try to alter the events of the party by force or try to break out by the same means, things will break but simply restore itself. Even if we stormed the grand hall and caused a massacre, they would all indefinitely come back to life, most likely."

"So how do we get out, sherlock?" Rin was still calling her that because she thought it was fitting.

"Honestly, I have no idea. My best guess is that there is **something** we can do while staying in-role and achieve whatever we're supposed to achieve. Finding that out is probably part of whatever this is."

"At least there are no evil super powered psychopath copies of us that are out to kill us this time." Kurumi snarled and felt Nozomi stiffen up. "You alright, Nozomi?"

"I'm fine." _How could I think for a second that the mirrors are a thing of the past now... they're going to remember this for years, possibly forever_.

"That our powers are sealed is another indicator that we're supposed to solve this by whatever means we have assigned to us from our role." Honoka sighed. "Honestly, I am not a great fan of role play."

"That makes it sound kinky." Nao said and earned weird glances from everyone. "What?! Come on, it totally did sound like that!" Blushing intensely, Nao really hated this day.

"Moving on." Honoka said and got up. "We should spread out and try to find whoever else is also a thief, possibly a guard. It will be difficult for us to take a close enough look at any servants or nobles, so we should focus on just the hidden passageways and the dungeon for now."

"Speaking of that... Apparently one of the princesses is an Akane. She hired us to rob the palace tonight. I heard one of the thieves say that in the last loop." Nao remembered. "Marine was also a thief, with me."

"Good work remembering that, March. We should all keep our eyes and ears open. Even a seemingly insignificant detail could prove really useful when we start trying to get out of here."

"In that case you should try to find Muse. She is, or was, the first princess and she was talking to all the princesses in the last loop." Kurumi told Honoka and wondered where the girl had ended up now. "There are some really scary people among the princesses." Kurumi didn't really **want** to share the next bit of information but holding it back would just eventually come full circle and bite her in the ass. "The princess I was, the sixth, Kurumi Vivilfell Escala, is a really cruel and merciless person."

"I would like to write all of this down, but sadly everything I had on me vanished when the loop started over and I fear that will keep happening." Honoka thought that the progress of finding a way out was unnecessarily complex.

"We can always think about that later. First we should focus on getting everyone together before time runs out. Speaking of time, how close are we to midnight?" Rin really wanted to see Kanade.

"The party had been going for a little while when I meat Beauty and some time has passed since then, but we should still have two or three more hours before midnight." Honoka estimated and looked at the numerous tunnels that stretched out from the main cavern. _Considering the thieves were hired, it makes no sense for there to be this many tunnels and secret passageways. Is that just part of the setting or is there something to the thieves that we don't know about yet?_

"I'm going to look for Kanade." Rin said, stopped, burped, put down her tankard and left. Everyone else thought that she was just going to get herself arrested again.

"I'm going upstairs." Nao said. "Maybe I'll find Reika." Nao walked off without another word.

"Do you want to come with me, Nozomi?" Kurumi offered to her long time friend.

"Sure." Nozomi was happy that she wasn't going to end up alone. _Not that anyone can be really alone in this place. There are people everywhere_. She had been constantly assaulted with questions, cheap jokes and even cheaper offers when she had been a guest of honor in the grand hall.

Honoka was left on her own and just minutes later, nobody was to be found in the great cavern.

=== Dissonance ===

Michiru had made quite the discovery. It wasn't just that her powers were sealed, there were also certain protective measures in place. While she had spent the entire previous night as a guard protecting the treasury, and eventually falling asleep out of boredom, she was now working as a servant in the kitchens, with less than stellar success. Earlier, she had stepped into a knife someone had dropped. Not only had there been no pain but the knife seemed to pass through her foot, not pierce it. As if it was a ghost knife. Once she pulled her foot back, it dissolved into particles and vanished.

She would have gone crazy from boredom if she had not met two other Cures. Aqua and Muse to be specific, were working in the same kitchen as her and had noticed her completely out of role behavior when she tried to just walk out of the kitchen earlier.

Telling Karen and Ako about it, and exchanging information in general, the three were caught lazing around in a corner by the chief cook and punished, having to go down to the cellar and carry ingredients up to the kitchen for the rest of the night.

Going down for the third time now, Ako lamented her lot. "I think I do prefer being a princess and dealing with politics to this."

"If I see even one more onion I believe my eyes will dry up forever." Karen replied, happy to be actually away from the cooking. She didn't mind cooking for one or two people but she had easily peeled and cut over a hundred onions since she came to in the kitchen and she had just about enough of onions for a long time to come.

"But we are lucky that we found each other. It was really tiring to pretend to be one of them."

"Why do we feel the impulse to act according to our roles? I propose that finding the answer to this will bring us one step closer to removing ourselves from this prison." Michiru said, starting to be a little obsessed with their situation.

"I wouldn't really call it a prison." Ako didn't think it was **that** bad. Of course some parts were uncomfortable, but wasn't that true for life in general?

"Grand hall servants have it a bit better. And being a noble you could basically retreat to a private room and laze around or sleep. The guards probably aren't much better off than we are, right now." Karen said and they turned around a corner, each of them carrying a heavy sack filled with flour. It was incredible just how much food the kitchens were producing. Or had to produce, it was hard to say what was really the case with things as they were.

They went around another corner and Ako bumped into someone, stumbling backwards, dropping the bag of flour on the ground and falling on her butt. "Watch where you're... going..." Ako turned pale when she realized **who** she had bumped into. A green haired woman with very large breasts and a golden mask. _Holy shit, of all the princesses I had to run into the psychopath_.

The princess glared down at Ako and everyone in the vicinity, servants and guards alike, were distancing themselves so they wouldn't get caught in the fallout of the clumsy servant's actions. "I'm so sorry, I-" Ako started her apology but was quickly shut up by the princess.

"**Guards**!" The Komachi yelled and within a second, as if they had been waiting for it, a Love and Setsuna guard showed up in full armor and with weapons drawn. "Arrest these three numbskulls and take them to the nearest room. I will personally educate them on proper etiquette and the consequences of failing to meet it."

Ako looked at the reactions of everyone around herself and from the way they looked at her, she might as well be dead already. But there was something very off about that princess, Ako felt. She didn't feel nearly as intimidating as when she had dealt with her last time. _Is this the real Mint? If so, why would she cause a ruckus?_

Ako, Karen and Michiru were pushed into a nearby room that was empty, held in front of the sofa, on the ground. Both guards tried their best to look grim but they didn't do a very good job at it. The second the door closed behind the princess, the guards relaxed and the Love guard even held out her hand towards Ako. "You okay?"

"I thought you were the real Mint. The princess I dealt with before was much more threatening than you." Ako said, knocking some dust off her clothes. "Why the charade?"

"You should know. For one reason or another, there is this nagging feeling in the back of our heads that makes us try to stay in character as much as possible. But why would the princess modeled after me be such a heartless person? It's horrible." Komachi sighed and sat down. "Love, Setsuna, thank you. I would've hated to find an excuse for any real guards to leave me alone with three servants."

"Don't mind it, don't mind it." Love smiled and waved her hand. Sitting in one of the chairs, that creaked dangerously under the weight of Love's armor, she looked towards the three captives.

"How did you three meet up?" Karen wondered out loud and wandered over to Komachi, kissing her in front of everyone else. "I'm so glad to see you."

Komachi blushed a little. "Same here. I don't know how Love and Setsuna met but I found those two flirting with each other while on duty and immediately knew that they couldn't be real guards."

"I don't need any help finding my Setsuna." Love grinned wide. "My Setsuna radar is impeccable!"

"Why do I actually believe you have something like that?" Muse groaned and wasn't surprised when the two guards exchanged loving looks.

"I actually heard you three talking earlier and was waiting for you to make another errand so I could arrange this _accident_." Komachi smiled to Karen. "You can take it easy for the rest of tonight. Nobody is gonna come looking in here. If they ask, I put you though hell, though, okay?"

"Someone is here." Michiru just blurted out all of a sudden. "I can sense that someone is in here and trying really hard to not make a tone."

A partially armored Erika suddenly jumped out from behind the sofa."What are you, an esper?! That's gotta be against the rules!"

Nobody knew what to say. "If... you heard us talk, you'd know it's us. Why hide?" Ako asked, knowing she wouldn't like the answer at all.

"I've been taking it easy in here, taking a nap. I was hoping you'd just leave and I could go back to sleep." Erika apparently was immune to feeling any shame whatsoever, or so Komachi, Karen and Setsuna thought.

"Blossom would be livid if she knew." Love said with a big grin and Erika suddenly became even shorter than she usually was.

"N-No need to tell Tsubomi, right?" She looked at all of them in turn. "**Right**?"

"Yes, yes." Ako agreed to finally get going with whatever they needed to actually discuss. "Aqua, about this place-"

Just as she was talking, the bookshelf at the left side of the room, as seen from the door, swung into the room and a rather dusty and dirty looking Honoka thief emerged from it. "I thought I was gonna be stuck behind that wall."

"If a **ninja** shows up next I am going to assume I'm still sleeping." Erika proclaimed.

"Give it a rest, Marine." Muse was getting a little annoyed. Raising her voice Ako got a little loud. "Any other Cures that want to join our little meeting of uninvited guests?!"

A few seconds of silence passed before Ako sighed and turned to Karen, realizing she had forgotten what she was going to ask. Covering her eyes with her hand, Ako wished she could just go to sleep like Marine had done.

About fifteen minutes later, Honoka had brought everyone up to speed and learned about what Michiru had found out. With the rules for nobles, guards and thieves in place, it only left the servants and it was on Karen, Ako and Michiru to find a suitable sign. "There are too many differences between the way a grand hall servant dresses compared to those who work in the kitchen or are in private employ. Never mind the cooks."

"So clothing based changes like the thieves are impossible." Honoka stated and thought about what else could be used.

"Injuries." Michiru said.

"Didn't you and White just discuss how there is no way to hurt others or ourselves in this place?" Komachi interjected.

"Yes, that is correct. That does not mean we cannot give the illusion of having one. The constructs all follow their given job with great effort, which concludes that they will not injure themselves." Michiru looked around for a moment and then walked to the curtain and ripped it apart at the seam. Taking the cloth and wrapping it around her index finger, it looked like a makeshift bandage. "This."

"That's genius." Love blurted out, not realizing how accurate that was.

"With that we have a sign for every type of role. It should make identifying much easier during the next loop. We should be able to find those that hadn't been told the signals yet and then move on to figuring out a way out of here." Honoka took control of the discussion. "Muse. I heard from Rose that you were the first princess during the last loop and talked to a lot of the princesses."

"I did. And I believe I know what you are getting at, and I agree. I believe there is definitely some ploy against the queen and it is probably going to happen during this masquerade. The first princess is planning something. Although I doubt she is the only one." With those words, Ako looked to Komachi. "The third princess in particular, as well as the sixth, appear to be major players in this court's politics. The second princess has no real interest in politics and aims to be a general when the first princess takes the throne. I cannot speak for the fourth and fifth, I didn't get to talk to them. The seventh is also on my side." Ako realized the slip of her tongue a little late. "I meant the side of the first princess."

"No, I believe your original sentence fits. If we are to somehow bring this plot to fruition before the masquerade ends, we are likely going to have to rush the events forward ourselves." Michiru said.

"Don't tell me we're gonna kill the queen. That doesn't sound like something heroes of justice would do." Erika wasn't really on board with this plan.

"What if the queen is evil? Not to mention, how many heroes of justice fight each other in brutal fights to fix the universe or whatever the hell we're doing?" Ako wasn't really in the mood to deal with Marine right now.

"If she's evil, that's fine then, let's chop off her head." Erika said and giggled. "Off with her head? Alice in Wonderland? Geez, you guys..." And now she was fully on board.

"Either way," Setsuna started. "We need to find a way out of here. Once we identified everyone, we should start trying to figure out what this plot specifically is and then go from there. We're going to need the help of **our** princesses. Muse would be the most helpful. Mint is probably a close second."

Komachi had been quiet about what her role was planning. "The third princess, Komachi Trisjil Escalia, won't be of much help. Her plan, I gathered at least that much in my conversation with the eight princess, is to turn this kingdom over to their neighbors and long time enemy. She is the first princess' greatest enemy."

"Thank you for telling me, Mint." Ako was truly grateful for that information. "Knowing that much, the next time I become the princess I can put a lot of pressure on the third princess. I'd like to know all the specifics you are aware of."

"It'll take some time." Komachi nodded. "In turn, you can tell me about what you know. It could be useful to pressure your allies into telling me what you are up to." Komachi was starting to like this court politics game a little.

The two cures retreated to a corner of the room and started to go into detail about what they knew. Honoka then turned to Love and Setsuna. "I would like you two to accompany the third princess all the way to the end today. Not all of us have a princess role we can assume and it would be best if everyone at least knew what the queen looked like."

"Will do, sir!" Love saluted and chuckled.

Setsuna saluted as well. "Aye." She blushed a second later. _Aye is for the naval forces..._ "I mean yes, sir."

"What about me?" Erika was leaned over the back of the sofa, still only half in armor.

"Get some rest. That basically goes for everyone that has no chance of seeing the queen and is stuck in a not so useful role. March has been stuck as a thief for both loops. If someone ends up in a role that does not permit them the chance to get some sleep or relax, I can see stress piling up. While we can't be physically injured, I have no doubt that we can become unstable from sleep deprivation or dehydration."

"Bright and I can bring some food from the kitchens. We can say that Muse has been held back by the third princess and is being abused and unless we bring bad food and drinks, she'll be executed. Nobody should ask many questions with an excuse like that." Karen quickly came up with a plan.

"How much longer is it until midnight?" Setsuna asked.

"Not much." Michiru answered. "Eighty minutes and about thirty seconds plus the unknown amount we missed during the last loop compared to this one. I believe we _started_ earlier in this loop."

Everyone stopped what they were doing and stared at Michiru. Love was the first to address the elephant in the room. "How do you know how many **minutes** are left?"

"I counted the minutes during the last loop. I was, early on, under the impression that I could be under attack and this was a hallucination to trap me in a vegetative state." Michiru looked around. "I believed that to be a valid scenario judging by what happened to everyone until now."

"I want to say something but I can't... she **is** right actually." Karen said. "In any case, if there is less than ninety minutes left, at least those of us who have nothing else to do and can move freely should go and look for whoever else is remaining without knowledge of the signal."

Everyone agreed.

=== Dissonance ===

Almost two hours later, Reika was walking hand in hand with her sister towards the grand hall, at least that was the role she was assuming. Spending the entire night looking for people, passing on the information about what was going on the signals, she saw several Cures on her way to, and through, the grand hall. There was no way to tell if any of the princesses were a real Cure right now, but it wasn't overly important anyway.

She had been unable to find out much about what her role had been doing prior to the masquerade, even if that knowledge only existed as hearsay, as there likely was not _before_ the masquerade. Being announced made Reika feel slightly uneasy and she tried her best to appear to enjoy being together with Akane. That, of all people, it would be the girl she shared Nao with had to be the one that was in love and relationship with her role was quite unsettling. Almost as if it was that way on purpose.

She spotted two real Cures from the corner of her eye. They stood in the crowd, holding their glasses with a handkerchief and were watching the ceremony rather intensely. Sunshine and Beat. She couldn't give them a signal or anything but she hoped that Sunshine had found more than just Beat. But it was progress either way.

The last princess was finally announced the group and slowly moved upwards. Reika had not seen this part of the castle before and carefully absorbed everything she saw, writing it to memory. Reaching the top-most level, Akane finally separated from her. The princesses, one after another, knelt before the large curtain that covered a small rectangular space containing a throne. As Reika walked up to it, she felt panic. Not the kind one felt from a great adversary or certain death. She had faced those many times and for those, her nerves might as well have been made of tempered steel. But this was the kind of scenario were a faux pax would carry great embarrassment and right now, at the apex of the masquerade, Reika felt _panic_ like she had never felt before.

Kneeling, she felt the eyes from behind the curtain almost drill holes into her but she managed a polite smile anyway. The one second she was kneeling seemed to stretch and stretch until time didn't seem to be following it's own laws anymore, seemingly extending forever.

There was one dominant thought in her head. _Don't mess up_. Finally, the moment passed and Reika rose, slowly walking to where Akane had taken a seat and sitting right next to her. It wasn't until all the princesses were seated before the queen made her appearance.

Reika paid special attention to the mask the queen was wearing. There were thirty Cures and counting the jewels in the mask, there were exactly thirty as well. The colors matched the Cures, as well. _Is that where our powers are stored? Is getting that mask the way to end this masquerade? _

As the queen started her speech, Reika paid great attention to that as well, hoping for a hint. But it seemed fairly generic. Thinking that the mask was the real target, Reika focused all her senses on her surroundings.

And just when the queen spoke her last word, time started rewinding at breathtaking speed.

=== End of Chapter XXIX ===


End file.
